Through the informal conversations, the new professors learn the best places to shop in the area and the best local restaurants.
Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill., is one of the few colleges that has a faculty orientation program as comprehensive as Wheaton’s.
It starts with about a weeklong series of workshops that introduce tenure-track professors to the college and the community, and informs them of what’s expected of them as a scholar and teacher, Dean Jeff Abernathy said.
It continues throughout the semester with regular “teaching circle” sessions, where new faculty can discuss issues related to their jobs, exchange ideas and hammer out problems.
“We want our faculty to understand the expectations we have for them,” Abernathy said.
Extensive orientation programs are particularly important at small colleges, said Dr. Richard Ekman, president of The Council if Independent Colleges.
“At a small college it’s pretty hard to live your life without interaction with everybody else on campus,” he said. “At a large school, you might not go beyond your department.”
Niederstadt looks forward to the seminars.
“My only complaint is that it starts before I finish teaching. I’m always a few minutes late,” she said.
The Associated Press
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