A List of Faculty Issues in Higher Education: A Great Resource for University Administrators and Faculty

As a tenured-faculty member, I am always excited about mentoring new faculty (especially women and new faculty of color). This mentoring relationship is always great for me because I had such wonderful mentors (both faculty and staff) when persisting through the tenure-track process.

This mentoring relationship is very important for tenure-track and tenured faculty who are seeking to become a full-professor. (This is another journey through which I am persisting right now.) Tenure-track and tenured-faculty (especially women and faculty of color) encounter along the journey towards their goals:

Here are some of the current issues and resources for individuals tied to faculty affairs roles at universities and colleges in the United States:

Current Issues focused on Faculty Affairs:

- The growing number of women and people of color in faculty positions.

- Faculty and work-life balance.

- Stopping the tenure clock for faculty who are pregnant or who are new or adoptive mothers (or fathers).

- Faculty retirement and retirement plans.

- Faculty workplace flexibility.

- Faculty involvement on universities committees and work groups.

- Faculty compensation and merit pay.

- Faculty workload (balancing researching, teaching and service).

- Part-time and adjunct faculty workload.

- Faculty Orientation

- Faculty Training 

- Faculty and External Fundraising and Grantsmanship Activities

- Faculty Recognition

- Faculty Recruitment and Retention

- Faculty Workplace Satisfaction

Faculty Affairs Resources:

- Faculty Issues: A Resource by the American Council on Education

- Giving "Voice to Faculty"

- Policy Matters" Faculty Trends and Issues (A Resource from the American Association of State Colleges and Universities - AASCU)

- Analyses of Faculty Issues

- Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (A Resource from Harvard's Graduate School of Education)

- Common New Faculty Issues and Solutions (Rochester Institute of Technology)

Please feel free to tweet, share, and comment below! Let me know if I missed something from the list!

Sincerely,

J. Edwards

@drjtedwards

Higher Education Faculty/Staff and Stress - My Stress Reduction Strategies. :)

Readers,

This week is focused on something that everyone who works in the higher education environment usually experiences at one time or another...STRESS! I am focused on stress reduction and the different techniques that people adopt to reduce their stress.

First, I will start with several things that I do when I am stressed out from teaching classes and research.

1 - Graphic Design - I LOVE designing fliers, t-shirts, logos, brochures, etc. Recently, I started designing announcement cards (i.e. - birth announcements, etc.) for friends and family.

2 - Shopping at Thrift Stores - Surprisingly, I enjoy walking around our local Goodwill to discover ideas from other people's projects (i.e. - art projects, holiday projects, clothing projects, gardening, etc.). This is a HUGE stress reducer for me, because I have a small glimpse into another person's life for a small amount of time AND I get to purchase materials for a reduced cost (either to give to friends and family or to re-purpose inside of my own home).

3 - Gardening - I was very excited to start my garden a few weeks ago. I cleared all of my plants from last year (a few of them were still alive - swiss chard, etc.) and I started anew! Now, I have the following plants growing in my garden - red/green/orange/yellow bell peppers, tomatoes, stevia, kale, strawberries, etc.

What do YOU do to reduce your stress from the higher education environment.

Sincerely,

J. Edwards

Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.

Become a fan of Millennial Professor on Facebook - http://goo.gl/gnN41

EDUCAUSE 2011 Annual Conference - Streamed Sessions (Another Professional Development Opportunity)

Readers,

Here is ANOTHER great resource from the EDUCAUSE website. I hope that I am able to attend next year. Our financial resources for travel are very small, but I hope that I am able to gain a sponsorship to attend the conference next year. :) Any takers?

Each of the following links include archived tweets from the session, a video of the session, a podcast of the session, 

Here are several of the FEATURED sections of the conference:

Privacy in an Era of Social Media - Sponsored by Desire2Learn, Gold Partner danah boyd, Social Scientist, Microsoft Corporation

IT from Both Sides of the Executive Table Michael A. McRobbie, President , Indiana University

ECAR Student and IT Study Eden Dahlstrom, Senior Research Analyst, EDUCAUSE Tom de Boor, Senior Analyst, Grunwald Associates Peter Grunwald, President, Grunwald Associates

DIY U: Edupunks and the Future of Higher Education Anya Kamenetz, Senior Writer, Fast Company Magazine

Innovation Trenz Linda Y. Cureton, Chief Information Officer, NASA

Analytics Today: Getting Smarter About Emerging Technology, Diverse Students, and the Completion Challenge Mark David Milliron, Deputy Director, Higher Education, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

There's Never Been a Better Time to Be an Innovator Aneesh Chopra, United States Chief Technology Officer, United States Office of Science and Technology Policy James H. Shelton, III, Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and Improvement, United States Department of Education

Open Educational Resources: Access, Impact, and Sustainability Through Policy Cable Green, Director of Global Learning, Creative Commons Joel M. Smith, Vice Provost & CIO, Carnegie Mellon University

As Learning Goes Mobile Lee Rainie, Director, Pew Internet & American Life Projects

Chronicle Tech Trends: Challenges for the Future Josh Fischman, Senior Editor, Research and Technology, The Chronicle of Higher Education Jennifer Howard, Senior Reporter, The Chronicle of Higher Education Marc Parry, Reporter, The Chronicle of Higher Education Jeffrey R. Young, Senior Writer, The Chronicle of Higher Education

Transforming Learning Through Analytics: A Conversation with George Siemens and Vernon Smith George Siemens, Technology Enhanced Knowledge Research Institute, Athabasca University Vernon C. Smith, Vice President, Academic Affairs, Rio Salado College

Enjoy!

Sincerely,

J. Edwards

Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.

Become a fan of Millennial Professor on Facebook - http://goo.gl/gnN41

Educause and Professional Development from HOME or the OFFICE

Readers,

I am always seeking neat professional development activities that I can integrate in my everyday (very busy) life without spending a registration fee.

The Educause website never ceases to amaze me, because they are always posting innovative videos. Only current members are able to access the videos that have been released during the past six months, but EVERYONE is able to access videos that are slightly older than six months.

Here are some of the videos to which EVERYONE has access:

Digital Content in Higher Education – Practical Findings

Textbook Affordability: Emerging Solutions in Ohio

A Tale of Two Redesigns

Enjoy!

Sincerely,

J. Edwards

Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.

Become a fan of Millennial Professor on Facebook - http://goo.gl/gnN41

Fun, Organizational Tips for Faculty (4/5) - Faculty Development Modules for Online Teaching (Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board)

Readers,

Lone Star College, Sam Houston State University, and Spring ISD recently created a repository of learning modules focused on online teaching and learning.

Here is a link to the Faculty Development Modules - LINK.

These learning modules are focused on the following topics:

1 - Introduction to Online Learning

2 - Flexibility and Time Management

3 - Learning Styles

4 - Classroom Management and Communication

5 - Cultural and Global Considerations

6 - Legal Issues

7 - Collaboration and Community Building

8 - Trends in Online Learning

9 - Assessment

10 - Web Literacy

11 - Vertical and Horizontal Alignment

12 - Student Retention and Faculty Development

This project is funding by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB)

Enjoy!

Sincerely,

Dr. Edwards

Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.

Become a fan of Millennial Professor on Facebook - http://goo.gl/gnN41

Do You Recycle Your Syllabus Every Year? Think Outside of the Box!

Readers,

Sometimes, I have to remind myself, my students, and my coworkers to think "outside of the box". As academics, we can become accustomed to performing the same task the same way year, after year, after year... 

Think about your syllabus, do you just recycle the SAME syllabus EVERY SINGLE YEAR? Does your pre-fall or pre-spring process include changing the date and page numbers? Unfortunately, this process is true for many of my academic colleagues across the nation. 

Try something different this year, look at your evaluations and reflect on your personal experiences with the students in the courses. Take their suggestions into consideration. Talk to your colleagues at other institutions who are teaching similar classes and look at the blogs of professors who teach your courses at other higher education institutions.

My mantra for the fall semester is to "think outside of the box". What will YOU do differently?

Sincerely,

Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.

Become a fan of Millennial Professor on Facebook - http://goo.gl/gnN41

Eight Ways to Protect Your Facebook Privacy - A Great Article from USA Today!

Readers,


Recently, I received an e-mail from a colleague from another university in Texas and she was wondering how I handle Facebook friendships with students. I stated that I did not become friends with my current students on Facebook, but I did become friends with students who recently graduated from our communication program. The only exceptions to this rule are students from student organizations whom I advise through service roles at my university.


USA Today's Tech and Trends featured an article titled, "Eight Ways to Protect Your Facebook Privacy". Through this article, readers can discover how to protect themselves from internet hackers and unwanted communication from friends (and those who are not friends) on social networking websites. 


Here are the main privacy suggestions in the article...
1 - Who Can See What
2 - Place Your Friends on Lists
3 - Who Can Find You
4 - Browse Facebook Securely
5 - Who is Logging In as You?
6 - Which Apps Know You?
7 - Even Your Friends' Apps Know You, Too
8 - Who Can Post On Your Wall


Overall, the article is extremely informative and I think the most important part of the article was under the "who is logging in as you" subheading. I was able to look under my privacy settings to discover that my iPad was currently logged on to Facebook (however it states that I am logged in to Facebook in another location). Hmmm... However, great read!


Sincerely,


Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.

Our Annual "Communication Department" Christmas Party! - VERY Exciting!

Readers,

I absolutely LOVE our annual "Communication Department" Christmas party! I look forward to this celebration EVERY year! A dear colleague and I revived the Christmas party in 2009 and another colleague picked the planning process up this year. We always have the party in our meeting room during lunch time.

This year we had a traditional Texas BBQ (no brisket for me, just chicken) with beans, cornbread salad, Texas toast, jalapeños, and three types of dessert (including smores). Yum! 


After the delectable lunch, we had a wonderful white elephant gift exchange! Our limit was $25.00 from your house! This year, my gift was: Learn Italian software, Learn French software, a cookbook, Theraflu, and candy. I received FIVE recent award-winning DVDs! Yay!

A few weeks ago, I received this link via my RSS feed - Alternatives to the Holiday Office Party

I enjoy this celebration because this is the ONLY time that the entire department can get together during the year! 


If your office does not have an annual Christmas party, here's a great idea resource for you.

(  ) Schedule an Ugly Holiday Sweater Day

(X) Hold an In-House Catered Lunch with Employee Fun and Games

(  ) Participate in a Holiday Card Exchange

(  ) Make a Charitable Contribution in Lieu of an Office Party

(X) Schedule an Employee Potluck Lunch

(  ) Decorate Your Office, Cubicle, Work Area Contest

(  ) Pick a Secret Santa Pal

(  ) Plan an Office Party for a Different Season

(  ) Hold the Office Party - Put Keep It Low-Key and Casual

X = Our choice!

We had a great time! How was your holiday party?

Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.

What's In YOUR Business Card Holder? - Simple Strategies to Differentiate Your Business Cards from the Rest!

Readers,


Here is another great article from the Chronicle of Higher Education titled, "Hacking Your Business Card". 


I used the university business cards for awhile, but I wanted to make myself stand apart from the rest of the faculty who attend research conferences. So, I logged on to Office Max and created some GREAT business cards with their online software. 


I chose purple and white (my university's colors) and I chose to include the logo. They were very professional and Office Max runs a LOT of sales on business cards!


In addition to regular information, I decided to include my Twitter and Yahoo IM information.

What's on YOUR business card?


Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.

Your Curriculum Vitae - Common Questions

Readers,


As faculty, (adjuncts, instructors, professors), etc., do you have a CV (curriculum vitae) to record your accomplishments, service, and teaching records? How often do you update your vitae?


One of the commonly asked questions in higher education is about the length of the vitae. According to an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education, "Creating and Maintaining Your CV", the average CV is three (postdoc) to 20+ pages (senior professor).


Currently, my CV is 13 pages and I have all of my presentations and publications listed. Is this too much? Should I include all of my presentations? Until told differently by one of my mentors, I will keep my CV in its current state.


According to the Chronicle of Higher Education article, people should include the following pieces of information.

• Contact Information (email, postal address, telephone)
• Education (list all of your degrees including undergraduate)
• Professional Employment (list all of your positions, with dates and ranks)
• Research Experience (might be subdivided into publications, presentations, grants, etc)
• Teaching Experience (might be subdivided into courses taught, theses supervised, curriculum development, etc)
• Honors and Awards
• Professional Service (might be subdivided into Department, College, University, Professional Organizations)

What items should you include and what items should you exclude?


Sincerely,


Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.

Free Seminar on September 13th - Online Teaching Success (By Ednak)

Have you ever wondered what is the best way to break in to the online teaching industry? Join us for this free event that will highlight a case study of online teaching success. Each of the panelist will share their experiences and best practices for succeeding in the online teaching field. Get answers to these frequently asked questions:

- How difficult is it to get started?
- Are there any pitfalls in teaching online and if so, what are they?
- What are some of the best practices an online teacher should demonstrate?
- Survival tips for your first assignment.
- Tips for time management and creating an appropriate between online teaching / work / home life

https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/473511256

Millennial Professor - Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.

TLT Group FridayLive! Webinar: Professional Development 2.0: Social Media and Personal Learning Networks (June 25, 2010)

Readers,

This is a great invitation to a  free training on June 25th provided by "The TLT Group, Inc."

Check it out! - http://tltgroup.roundtablelive.org/Default.aspx?pageId=338009&eventId=152180&EventViewMode=EventDetails

Sincerely,

Millennial Professor 
Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.

FridayLive! Catching the Wave - An Introductory Exploration of Google Wave

Readers,


This is a great invitation to a  free training on May 21st provided by "The TLT Group, Inc."


Check it out! - http://tltgroup.roundtablelive.org/Default.aspx?pageId=338009&eventId=152180&EventViewMode=EventDetails


Sincerely,

Millennial Professor 
Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.

The New Media Consortium 2010 - Session Materials

The New Media Consortium (NMC), an international non-profit organization focused on the exploration and use of new media and technologies in learning-focused organizations recently held the NMC Symposium on New Media and Learning.

Nine of the session presenters uploaded their materials and resources on the NMC website. Here are a list of the categories that at least one of the nine topics address:

• augmented reality in the classroom environment
• educational gaming in higher education
• digital storytelling (current and future)
• multi-player online games and learning
• twhistory - tweeting history in the classroom environment

Follow NMC on twitter - http://www.twitter.com/newmediac

Millennial Professor
Jennifer T. Edwards, Ed.D.

National Communication Association Annual Convention - Nov. 11th - 15th (My Sessions)

I am EXHAUSTED! I attended the National Communication Association Annual Convention in Chicago, IL and presented FOUR sessions! Here are the titles of my presentations:

Service Learning Discussion Circles Turns 10: Celebrate Service-Learning in Communication
Classrooms
Building: Hilton Chicago, Room: International Ballroom North
*Selected Person: Jennifer Edwards
Presenter on Individual Submission: Peer-to-Peer Mentoring in an Interpersonal Communication Classroom

G.I.F.T.S. Session I (Great Ideas for Teaching Speech)
Building: Hilton Chicago, Room: International Ballroom North
*Selected Person: Jennifer Edwards
Presenter on Individual Submission: Does YOUR Group Have the Most Persuasive Business Plan?

The Pros and Cons of Using New Media in Communication Research
Building: Hilton Chicago, Room: Continental Ballroom A
*Selected Person: Jennifer Edwards
Presenter in session submission: The Pros and Cons of Using New Media in Communication Research

The Role of Training and Development in Improving Organizational Stability while Nurturing Change

Building: Palmer House Hilton, Room: Salon 10
*Selected Person: Jennifer Edwards
Presenter on Individual Submission: The Effectiveness of a Digital Dirt Training Workshop on Millennial Individuals.

Yes, it was a LONG, yet fulfilling conference! PLUS - I had a GREAT hotel room. Complete with a television in the bathroom mirror (take a look at the pictures below)! However, I got a GREAT deal for the hotel and it was within walking distance of the conference hotel.

Lora, one of my colleagues from Southern University New Orleans, accompanied me to the dinner at Merlot on Maple (a really nice Italian restaurant). I LOVED the appetizer, main course, AND dessert! We had a GREAT conversation with a larger group of wonderful communication scholars and we gained some interesting insight into the world of publishing. We discovered that we DO NOT want to write a textbook. It seems that it is very time consuming AND does not count as much as journal articles (in the eyes of academic departments). Therefore, we are going to focus on journal articles and book chapters.

I am glad that NCA is finally over because I finally have a chance to focus on grading and research. Tomorrow (after offering informal critiques to my students), I will search for CFPs focused on my research interests. I need to find a business communication journal for the millennial digital dirt article.

Back to the real world. I have lots of great research that I would like to explore, but tonight I am going to pay some bills and catch up on housework. Wish me luck!


J. Edwards (Millennial Professor)

Millennials Mentoring Millennials

Yesterday, I had a great virtual meeting via Yahoo IM with one of my former students. He is interested in a Ed.D./Ph.D. program and he had a few questions before applying to one in the area. The conversation perpetuated my interest in millennial mentoring.

Since it seems that millennials in the workplace are having such a hard time connecting with Gen X and the Baby boomers, they should mentor themselves. It also seems that other generations think that millennials have a know-it-all personality and want to become the CEO within a ten year span. This is impractical, but we (millennials) do have ambition in the workplace.

This ambition that derives from my generational birthright drove my need to create a list of best practices for millennial mentoring.

1. Provide millennial professionals an opportunity to network with other professionals their age.

2. When initial connections are made, enable millennial professionals to foster a long-term connection by promoting linkedin.com and facebook.com.

3. Explain the importance of face-to-face and virtual mentoring to millennial professionals. If members of this generation realize the importance of peer mentoring, they will be more inclined to sustain the connection.

Please contribute any additional ideas! :)

Sincerely,

Millennial Professor

Academic Journal Submissions = The Job Search

I am slowly learning that submitting a scholarly papers to a journal is like the academic job search. A preponderance of jobs exist on the following websites (http://www.higheredjobs.com, http://www.chronicle.com, and http://www.highered.com), but many of these jobs are NOT for everyone. A strong and specific fit has to exist. The job/journal has to find the correct fit for them and the job/journal has to be the correct fit for you.

I have the correct job, but the academic journal fit is the current problem. Maybe one day, I will discover the correct fit for my scholarly paper submission. The first academic journal rejection letter/e-mail is a humbling experience, but I received some great comments and applied knowledge that I gained from my favorite book of the moment, "Write to the Top: How to Become a Prolific Academic".

"When the decision letter arrives and if the decision is negative, or should major revision be required, tuck the reviews in the file folder containing the manuscript and put the folder away for a few days...Frame these documents as free and valuable feedback (constructive response is truly a gift) designed to improve your work and enhance your chances of publication. Recognize that you are getting an opportunity to improve as a write while collecting crucial intelligence about the journal and the preferences or "personality" of the specific editor (Johnson & Mullen, 2007, p. 71).

Using the wealth of knowledge that I gained from "Write to the Top", I will definitely revise and resubmit the article. This book is absolutely amazing!

MP