Faculty Development, Grants, Programs & Awards
Whether you are early in your teaching career or are an experienced educator, the WMUx Office of Faculty Development exists to support you with a comprehensive suite of services, resources, and events.
If you are interested in professional development or classroom management advice, including help with academic job market materials and interview strategies, you can contact Dr. Gwen Tarbox, Professor of English and Director of the Office of Faculty Development at gwen.tarbox@wmich.edu.
We encourage you to explore the variety of ways you can engage with WMUx. We also invite you to share your own research interests and specialty through our faculty spotlights. Read below to find some additional information for your specific instructor group or explore our links for information on grants, programs and awards. Looking for helpful resources outside of WMUx? Check out the institutional memberships you can access as a WMU instructor.
Faculty
Tenure and Promotion Information
As you work towards tenure and promotion, there are two resources that you should regularly consult: your department's policy statement and the WMU-AAUP Agreement. Every semester, the holds a tenure and promotion workshop, but you can also set up a confidential professional consultation with us where you can work with an experienced faculty member to plan your teaching and research agendas. New faculty members are invited to join our Early Career Faculty Learning Community (ECFLC) that is offered every year. Members decide upon topics that interest them related to professional development and meet once per month to engage in activities and socialize. In the fall, invitations to sign up for the ECFLC are sent to all faculty members who are in the first four years of their appointment.
Instructional Development Project and Travel Grants
Grants for instructional development will be awarded by the Office of Faculty Development to support efforts of Board appointed, bargaining unit faculty at Western Â鶹´«Ã½Ó¦Óà University to improve student learning through instructional and curricular redesign and innovation. Funding is provided for in Article 40.4 of the Western/WMU-AAUP Agreement 2021-2026.
Part-time Instructors
WMUx PIO Contact
Elizabeth Cowan, a part-time instructor in the School of Music, is also the part-time Instructor Organization faculty fellow in WMUx. She is available to meet with you one-on-one to hear your concerns or to help you discover helpful teaching and learning resources. You can contact Elizabeth at elizabeth.cowan@wmich.edu.
Over the last year, Elizabeth helped develop a part-time instructor survey and conducted PTI focus groups. We are using the survey and focus group data to help us develop this site and to offer content that part-time instructors have told us is important to them.
Receiving Onboarding Assistance
When you are hired as a part-time instructor (PTI), you will go through an onboarding process with the WMU Human Resources department. This office can answer any questions that you have about your contract, your paycheck, and the logistics of securing an ID and a parking permit.
Your hiring department may have an onboarding process for new PTIs, but if it doesn’t, you can set up a meeting with the chair or supervisor to learn more information about the department and the course(s) that you will be teaching.
Instructional Development Project Grants
Grants for instructional development will be awarded by the Office of Faculty Development to support efforts of Board appointed, bargaining unit faculty at Western Â鶹´«Ã½Ó¦Óà University to improve student learning through instructional and curricular redesign and innovation. Funding is provided for in Article 17.5 of the WMU-PIO AFT/AFL-CIO Agreement 2021-2025.
Graduate Students
WMUx OLLI Graduate Teaching Fellowship Program
Calling all advanced doctoral students who are ready to take their instructional skills to the next level—the WMUx OLLI Graduate Teaching Fellowship program is an incredible opportunity to develop a course of your own, present your research to an enthusiastic group of lifelong learners, enhance your CV, and earn a $300 scholarship!
The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at WMU (OLLI) offers high-quality, non-credit educational experiences for mature adults (50 and older) in the greater Kalamazoo area. Those chosen for the Graduate Teaching Fellowship program will design and teach a one- to two-session course for the OLLI demographic on a topic related to their research during the spring semester. In preparation, fellows will attend three interactive working sessions to refine their instructional skills in a supportive environment under the mentorship of WMUx’s Teaching and Learning team and the Office of Faculty Development. Past courses taught by Graduate Teaching Fellows included topics such as autonomous vehicles, Jane Austen movie adaptations, Macbeth, prairie ecosystems, and snake handling.
Interested? Learn more by referring to the 2024-2025 or by contacting Dr. Ramona Lewis. Don’t delay—the deadline to apply is 5 p.m. on Thursday, October 3.
