Saint Mary's University of Minnesota is looking for a Director of Faculty Development who is eager to contribute to its Lasallian Catholic mission of awakening, nurturing, and empowering learners to ethical lives of service and leadership. We invite individuals to help transform lives through education, inspired by the Catholic Intellectual Tradition’s quest to understand the human experience through faith and reason and its embrace of all who are dedicated to learning from one another through authentic conversations in search of the truth. We are especially interested in and give preference to candidates who demonstrate a vision to create and nurture initiatives that will advance our mission within the scope of their duties and who will foster a culture of dialogue that, with respect for all people, supports the search for meaning and purpose in pursuit of excellence.
The Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT), within the Office for Character, Virtue and Ethics (CVE), is dedicated to supporting educational excellence at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota through robust opportunities for mission-centered, professional development for faculty. CELT serves to awaken, nurture, and empower faculty to: develop instructional best practices that put the learner at the center of the educational experience; adopt a holistic approach to education that embraces all aspects of our learners and their lives; utilize best practices of design and delivery to enrich learning at all levels; integrate knowledge, skills, and dispositions developed in the classroom with relevant, real-world applications; embrace tried-and-true as well as innovative educational practices based on emerging research and scholarship; create opportunities to connect learning to the Saint Mary’s Lasallian Catholic heritage, especially the Catholic intellectual and moral traditions, Lasallian pedagogy, and the Twelve Virtues of a Good Teacher.
Reporting to the vice president of CVE, the director works closely with the vice president and other university leaders to set, implement, assess, and continually enhance vision, goals, strategy, and programming related to faculty development for both Winona and Minneapolis campus locations and online instruction and programs.
- In collaboration with academic unit level leaders, lead CELT’s annual planning process to establish, implement, assess, and continually enhance vision, goals, strategy, and programming for faculty development in alignment with the university’s strategic plan and strategic priorities.
- Consult with the vice presidents of the Office for Inclusion and Human Dignity, Office for Character, Virtue and Ethics, and Office for Mission and Ministry to support faculty formation in the Lasallian Catholic mission and its integration into their classroom, curricula, learning design, and pedagogies.
- Promote a campus culture that values and recognizes the importance of teaching excellence and student learning grounded in intellectual, moral, and other virtues.
- Collaborate with the Associate Director to design, deliver and coordinate professional development activities that support effective teaching practices by means of multi-session courses, programs, workshops, seminars, faculty onboarding, and one-on-one and group consultations.
- Collaborate with the Education Technology department in offering faculty training for effective use of technology in seated, online, and hybrid learning.
- Collaborate with the Curriculum and Instruction, the Learning Design, and the Educational Technology teams as appropriate on providing faculty development opportunities supporting curriculum development and learning design.
- Provide pedagogical expertise for programming in consultation with faculty to advance teaching in each instructional modality; directly contribute or secure appropriate subject matter expertise for all offerings.
- Keep current on emerging learning technologies as they apply to instruction, and collaborate with the Department of Educational Technology to recommend and promote best practices for their use in teaching and learning.
- Assist faculty with selecting, implementing, and assessing instructional methods to advance quality of instruction.
- Develop and maintain standard operating procedures checklists for essential CELT planning.
- Manage the CELT budget.
- Cultivate relationships with outside individuals and groups (e.g., experts, organizations, foundations) and obtain external resources for special initiatives supporting faculty development.
- Oversee marketing and promotion of CELT programs and services with appropriate target audiences and provide timely, meaningful data and reports.
- Oversee the maintenance and development of clear, relevant, high-quality, and engaging content on the CELT website as a virtual hub and repository for faculty development opportunities and resources.
- Support system-wide teaching evaluation processes as appropriate for different faculty categories that includes evidence-based teaching evaluation tools and teaching observations.
- Develop and implement training and development for new faculty orientation and onboarding processes for adjunct faculty and other faculty categories as appropriate.
- Serve on and engage institutional faculty representation and committees at the Winona and Minneapolis campus locations (per respective faculty handbooks) to identify faculty development needs and enhance faculty scholarship and creative works.
- Collaborate with the Director of Assessment, Accreditation, and Compliance on matters relating to assessment of teaching and learning and use data in faculty development continual improvement planning efforts.
- Supervise the Associate Director of Faculty Development, who manages the day-to-day operations of planning and project management of activities of the center.
- Regularly participates in University events, celebrations, and graduations, and serves on University task forces, committees, or other groups as appropriate or the need arises.
- Other duties as assigned.
Essential Skills and Functions:
- Ability to think strategically in alignment with university priorities.
- Excellent interpersonal, communication (written and verbal), and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to navigate a multi-campus and organizational environments involving continuous change.
- Ability to work with a variety of personalities, teaching styles, and academic disciplines.
- Capacity to effectively interact and partner with various internal and external constituencies.
- Demonstrated understanding of an integrated approach to university education (integration of the liberal arts, character formation, and practical/professional training).
- Demonstrated skills in project creation, development, implementation and evaluation.
- Detail-oriented and ability to manage many projects simultaneously.
- Proficiency in using digital environments and tools for effective learning and teaching.
- Demonstrated knowledge regarding best practices in both in-person, online, and hybrid teaching and learning.
- Demonstrated awareness of emerging technologies and their implications on educational practices (e.g., AI and ChatGPT).
- Proficiency in collecting, understanding, and analysis of data related to faculty professional development and success.
- Develops and maintains good working relationships and communications at all levels of the organization.
- Observes safety guidelines and follows safety procedures established by the university.
- Self-motivated with the ability to work effectively alone and within a team environment.
- Support, respect, and advance the mission of Saint Mary’s University as a Lasallian Catholic