Mentorship and Professional Development

Professional Development for New and Early Career Faculty

• New Faculty Orientation newly hired faculty members will be contacted regarding new faculty orientation, a series of programs designed to help new colleagues familiarize themselves with Trinity’s policies, resources, and our organizational culture. Orientation is typically held the week before classes begin in August.
• Mentorship Program: In recognition of the challenges associated with transitioning to a new campus, upon arriving on campus, each early career faculty member is paired with a faculty mentor, outside of their home department, to offer advice, support, and mentorship.
• The Collaborative for Learning and Teaching provides instructional and curricular support to individuals, teams, and departments across campus. It also hosts workshops on pedagogy, academic technology, and related programs throughout the year.
• Early Career Faculty Research Group members meet informally in The Collaborative for Learning and Teaching to share research-in-progress with peer colleagues and to share strategies to promote the generation of new scholarship.  
• Early Career Faculty Lunches in the Collaborative focus on the issues most pressing for the newest members of our community, including work/life balance, teaching, promotion and tenure, and research. 
• ACS Summer Teaching Workshop Trinity regularly sponsors an early career faculty member to attend this annual event designed to strengthen teaching performance, expand teaching techniques, and explore pedagogical issues within small private liberal arts colleges. Department Chairs are invited to nominate a colleague in their area to participate.

Professional Development for Current and Aspiring Leaders

As stated in the Trinity Tomorrow strategic plan, Trinity is committed to developing a community of faculty, staff, and student leaders. Faculty members who are interested in developing their acumen for academic leadership may wish to discuss the following with Dr. Duane Coltharp, AVPAA: CFD:

• American Council on Education (ACE) Fellows Program is a customized learning experience that enables vice presidents, deans, department chairs, faculty, and other emerging leaders to spend a year in residence at another institution.
• HERS Leadership Institute is a national program committed to creating and sustaining a community of women leaders in higher education.
• Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) Workshops for Department Chairs Trinity regularly sponsors the participation of Department Chairs in workshops to help them develop their skills as academic leaders.

In addition, Trinity recognizes that individual faculty may be best served by engaging in other forms of faculty development beyond the examples named above. Faculty members are encouraged to consult with their department chair and Dr. Duane Coltharp  to discuss individualized personal and professional development plans.