Introduction

The faculty at Greenville University are academic professionals who strongly value lifelong learning. We wish to foster a love of learning and personal growth in our students; we seek to model this behavior in our own lives. Consequently, the faculty and administration have sought to create and implement programs that help promote professional development so all faculty members can grow across the span of their careers.

Faculty development at Greenville University implies responsibility and commitment. A fundamental assumption is that each faculty member is committed to excellence—to developing his or her
professional skills as a university teacher and to contributing meaningfully to the University, the community, and to one’s academic field. We believe the best way to do that is by means of a forward looking, intentional plan which sets attainable goals and outlines the means for achieving them. At the heart of our faculty development program is the belief that faculty develop best within community and through a strengths-based approach.

This central view of learning through community places our Faculty Learning Communities (FLCs) as foundational to our professional growth as we develop our craft of teaching alongside teams of our peers. Evocative coaching is equally as important and will be used as a critical tool to empower individual growth and change through partnerships. Our FLCs and evocative coaching are then
explicitly integrated into the review and evaluation of our teaching faculty. The promotion of growth and development in faculty will come through regular reviews and classroom analysis that are integrated within the FLC structure.