New faculty learn about professional and campus resources

Storm Gloor, a professor of music and entertainment studies in the College of Arts and Media, explains that he also is a teaching consultant for CU Denver’s Center for Faculty Development during New Faculty Orientation on Monday.

With classes starting in a week, new faculty members at the University of Colorado Denver received a wealth of information about faculty and campus resources during New Faculty Orientation on Monday.

Some 31 faculty members attended the daylong session in the Terrace Room at Lawrence Street Center.

Orientation began with a continental breakfast and a photographer snapping head shots that faculty members can use for their Web pages or publications. It continued with information about the many ways the Center for Faculty Development (CFD), located on the third floor of LSC, supports and helps develop faculty.

Donna Sobel, Ph.D., the CFD's acting director, gave an overview, saying, "The center is a fabulous resource that has been here at the University of Colorado Denver for nine years." Sobel said the CFD will host an open house from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 22 and will also be kicking off another semester of Lunch and Learn programs for faculty, including sessions that explain the process for moving into tenure-track or full tenure positions. She suggested that faculty members bookmark the CFD website because it is an excellent resource for information and professional development.

Mary Connelly, an associate professor in visual arts in the College of Arts and Media (CAM) and CFD faculty fellow, explained that an online version of the faculty orientation program is available by logging onto the CU Denver campus portal. Courses now available online in Skillsoft include "New Faculty Orientation-CU Denver," "CU Assessment and Instructional Alignment" and "CU Americans with Disabilities Act."

Storm Gloor, a professor in music and entertainment studies in CAM, told the gathering that "seven years ago this week I was in your shoes sitting here in orientation." He noted that he just "crossed the bridge" of attaining tenure and is now working with CFD as a teaching consultant. "I'm available if you'd like me to meet with you and talk about things that you're encountering in the classroom and any areas you need assistance in," he said. "One of my specialties is using technology and integrating technology into the classroom."

Sobel emphasized that the CFD's consultation service is available to anyone -- tenure, tenure-track, senior instructor, adjunct -- "whatever the title." "One of the things we do a fair amount of through our center is observations," she said. "We all know as instructors, as educators, we can always, always do it even better than we're doing it today."

Orientation also included presentations about the Office of Research Development and Education (Naomi Nishi, assistant director; and Lynette Michael, director); mentoring and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (Brenda J. Allen, associate vice chancellor for diversity); the present and future of CU Denver (Rod Nairn, provost); diversify your syllabi (Orlando Archibeque, Auraria Library representative); CU Online (David Thomas, academic technology director); and other campus and faculty resources.