New Faculty Programs
Assisting new faculty in making a successful transition to Butler is one of the most important responsibilities of the faculty development.
Orientation
These first two days are designed to help new faculty feel more knowledgeable about the university and prepared to start their new roles at Butler.
New Faculty Orientation (NFO) 2025: Monday, August 18 and Tuesday, August 19
Full-day sessions that introduce faculty to important individuals and offices and providing resources and guidance for preparing your courses and being a successful instructor.
A draft agenda for New Faculty Orientation 2025 will be posted this summer. Please check back for updates.
The New Faculty Enrichment Series (NFES) offers a series of networking, professional development, and mentoring activities focused on topics especially valuable for faculty during their first year on campus. All new Butler faculty members (including those in a new faculty position) are encouraged to participate.
- Beginning of year check-in and Q&A.
Thursday, September 18, 12-12:30 lunch, 12:30-1:30 discussion, AU302 (meal vouchers provided) - End of semester check-in and Q&A
Thursday, December 4, 12-12:30 lunch, 12:30-1:30 discussion, (meal vouchers provided) - Lunch and learn (topic TBA)
Tuesday, February 10, 12-12:30 lunch, 12:30-1:30 discussion, AU302 - Lunch and learn (topic TBA)
Wednesday, April 15, 12-12:30 lunch, 12:30-1:30 discussion, AU326
Email notices will be sent to new faculty prior to each date with descriptions, locations, and RSVP instructions. For more information, contact facultyexcellence@butler.edu.
A series of workshops on the fundamentals of effective university teaching will be available for all faculty during fall 2025. Participants will meet in-person in Levinson Family Hall room 125* Tuesdays from 3:00-4:30 beginning August 26th and will utilize Canvas for additional resources and support. Each session will provide approximately 60-minutes of content and 30-minutes of individual instruction and course development covering a stand-alone topic within the larger context of the interconnected framework of the planning, instruction, and assessment cycle.
New faculty are especially encouraged to participate, though the series is open to all faculty and paced to meet the needs of the primary audience. Participation across the entire series is encouraged, though perfect attendance isn’t mandatory. Upon completion of the fundamentals of effective teaching workshop series, faculty will be able to:
- Apply results-driven instructional planning techniques to design an effective course at Butler University
- Implement appropriate active learning strategies that align with stated learning objectives.
- Design formative and summative assessments that effectively measure student achievement of learning outcomes and inform instruction.
Session topics by date:
- September (four sessions) – Instructional strategies for building community and supporting students in engaging with each other and with course materials, including strategies for getting students to talk to one another and about the course texts and materials.
- October (five sessions) – Assignments, assessments, and grading. Sessions will focus on writing strong assignment descriptions aligned to SLOs, rubric writing, and strategies for managing grading load and giving meaningful feedback.
- November (three sessions) – Ensuring course outcomes are on track, preparing for final projects, and self-evaluation of the course.
- December (one session) – Faculty-directed course revision/tweaking prior to course evaluations., and discussion on best practices for the syllabus revisions.
If you would like to participate in the workshops, please RSVP to facultyexcellence@butler.edu so you can be added to the course in Canvas. RSVPs for participation in the full series is encouraged, but drop-in attendance by topic for is also welcome without RSVP.
*Note that the first session in the series on August 26 will take place in Irwin Library room 129, with the remainder of the series taking place in Levinson Family Hall 125.
For more information, contact facultyexcellence@butler.edu.
Please also visit the Calendar of Events page for information on additional professional development opportunities coordinated through the Center for Faculty Excellence.
To request disability-related accommodations or inquire about accessibility, please contact facultyexcellence@butler.edu. Please allow two weeks’ advance notice in order to allow adequate time to make arrangements. Although attempts will be made to honor accommodation requests with less notice, it cannot be guaranteed that without two weeks’ notice a reasonable accommodation can be provided.