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In the fall of 2001, Linda Larson, faculty member in the Speech Communication Department at Mesa Community College, became the faculty-in-residence at the Maricopa Center for Learning and Instruction. The MCLI faculty-in-residence is a short-term leadership position designed to address an important faculty initiative. The faculty-in-residence is a residential faculty member on loan for the benefit of a district-wide initiative. Many projects can benefit from this short-term intensive focus.
As the chair of the Faculty Professional Growth Steering committee, Linda guided the revitalization of the FPG program. The FPG steering committee was charged by the Faculty Executive Council (FEC) to coordinate and oversee the process revisions of FPG that resulted from major changes in the program negotiated by the Meet and Confer team of 2000-2001. During her two-year residency, Linda provided fulltime leadership in advancing the three goals recognized by the FEC survey of May 2000. These goals were: (1) increase opportunities for participation in the professional growth program for all faculty; (2) improve communication to all faculty about the FPG program; and (3) streamline the application approval process.
Some members of the FPG Steering Committee and Staff Support (L-R): Sylvia Enriquez, FPG Staff support, mcli; Kurt Chambers, Phoenix College; Bill Holmes, Chandler-Gilbert; and Linda Larson, mcli (not pictured: Rosemary Kesler, GateWay; and Anne Dudely, Phoenix College). |
Being able to focus exclusively on the FPG revitalization enabled Linda to maximize the efforts of the dedicated members of the FPG steering committee. For example, providing drafts of policy and process revisions increased the output of the FPG Steering committee.
Highlights of the revitalization include negotiated changes in the Residential Faculty Policies (RFP) that increase faculty opportunities for participation in the program. For example, prior to July 2001 the limit of 75 hours beyond the Master's degree included a subcategory limit that only 50 of those additional hours were eligible as academic hours. This restriction did not serve the wide variety of MCCCD faculty. Occupational faculty were particularly restricted by this limitation, as continuous growth in their specialty is more readily available in alternative experiences such as conferences, workshops, and work experience. The same is true for fine arts faculty where the teaching specialty is developed by exposure to new methods and materials typical of workshops and other alternatives to an academic course. More effective monitoring and utilization of the FPG budget were achieved especially with the addition of a full-time administrative secretary for FPG.
The greatest achievement toward improving the communication to all faculty was the creation of the FPG web site. Working with MCLI's Instructional Technologist, Alan Levine, the revised policy guidelines were posted in an electronic format that allows faculty easy access at any time. One of the historical challenges for faculty has been to know what FPG programs exist and to understand how they work in relation to their professional objectives. Effective July 2002, RFP policy provides reassigned time for the FPG committee representatives. The role of the college FPG committee representatives is a role of peer leader and coach in accessing this information.
Points of success in streamlining many processes included the creation of electronic application forms, improved email notification, and policy review. For decades, FPG policy guideline revisions were a difficult process, being both philosophically challenging and compounded by time constraints. With the new process, the electronic policy review board posts the penultimate drafts developed by the FPG Steering Committee for input and review by the full FPG committee and the FEC. This review process allows for individual review and comment on the policy proposals while reducing the time spent on policy approval in face-to-face meetings. During the two years the faculty-in-residence focused on FPG, all policies were reviewed and many rewritten.
The entire sabbatical leave guidelines were revised during the current year. This major revision clarifies the directions for writing a sabbatical proposal, assures consistency between the RFP and the FPG guidelines, and communicates to applicants the scoring criteria for the competitive process.
The efforts of many indefatigable faculty members have helped in this revitalization project. Steering committee members included Rosemary Kesler, Janice Reilly, Sandra Wells, Monica Wadsworth, Kurt Chambers, Anne Dudley, Bill Holmes, and Dennis Shaw. The support provided by former interim director Marybeth Mason and current interim director Maria Harper-Marinick as well as the entire staff of the MCLI has been tremendous. In the spring of 2003, Linda will complete her residency and return in August to teaching at Mesa.
 Linda Larson, mcli
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