Simpson College is “dedicated to excellence in private higher education” and to “an innovative teaching and learning process enabling students of all ages to develop critical intellectual skills”.
The breadth and depth of Simpson’s comprehensive faculty development program supports the range of faculty endeavors associated with excellence in private higher education. The ultimate goal of faculty development is to improve student learning. The proximate goals of faculty development include supporting traditional professional work (e.g., scholarship, conference attendance), teaching and learning, advising, institutional development (e.g., nurturing faculty leaders), and personal development (e.g., balancing work and a personal life).
The faculty development program at Simpson recognizes the diverse needs and interests of the faculty. The opportunities an individual faculty member chooses to pursue may be influenced by disciplinary affiliation, amount of prior teaching experience, family obligations, and the stage of the person’s career.
The faculty development program includes support for teaching and student learning; support for advising; support for faculty research, scholarship and creativity; support for the curriculum; support for the academic community including new faculty orientation and mentoring for all faculty; support for the whole faculty meeting; and support for assessment.