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.
* Closing the Gaps – Maximizing Student Success for the First-Year and Beyond
Friday, September 20, 11:00 a.m.-noon, Atherton Union 326
Presented by Nii Abrahams (Director, First Year Experience) and Julie Greger (Retention Specialist)
All faculty are invited to this session to learn more about efforts made through the Office of the First-Year Experience to close gaps, leverage data to maximize retention, cultivate belonging, and collaborate across campus to create a seamless student experience.
Guests will receive a Market Place voucher to enjoy lunch with colleagues following the session.
* Butler’s Core Curriculum
Wednesday, October 30, 11:00 a.m.-noon, Atherton Union 326
Presented by Chad Bauman, Faculty Director of the Core Curriculum
Are you a new faculty or staff member wanting to learn about Butler’s Core curriculum?
Are you an advisor needing a refresher on cure curriculum requirements?
All faculty are invited to join us at this session to learn the nature and history of
Butler’s Core curriculum, why we have one, and what’s distinctive about it.
Guests will receive a Market Place voucher to enjoy lunch with colleagues following the session.
* Advising Tips from the Pros
Thursday, March 20, 11:00 a.m.-noon, Atherton Union 326
This conversation will provide an overview of best practices for student advising. Experienced Butler faculty will offer insight and strategies to best support and advise your students.
Guests will receive a Market Place voucher to enjoy lunch with colleagues following the session.
* Preparing Your Faculty Activity Report Using Faculty180
Wednesday, April 9, 11:00-noon, Atherton Union 326
Travis Ryan, Associate Provost will provide advice for completing the Faculty 180. Faculty 180 is the software platform for submitting annual Faculty Activity Reports (FARs), which all full-time returning faculty are required to submit each year by August 31. Currently only full-time faculty are required to submit FARs, however all full-time and part-time faculty are encouraged to join us for this important session to learn more about the evaluation process.
Guests will receive a Market Place voucher to enjoy lunch with colleagues following the session.
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.
Shelly Furuness will offer a 16-session series of workshops in fall 2024 on the fundamentals of effective university teaching. The series will meet in-person in Gallahue Hall 150 every Tuesday from 3:00-4:30 beginning August 27th 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. Each session will be a stand-alone topic within the larger context of the interconnected framework of the planning, instruction, and assessment cycle.
All faculty new to Butler University are invited to participate and the series will be paced to meet the needs of that 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.
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.