New Faculty Annotated Bibliography
Found in Scholarship and Professional Development > Annotated Bibliographies
Boice, Robert; Advice for New Faculty Members nihil nimus; Allyn and Bacon, Boston 2000. 277pp ISBN 0-205-28159-1
Advice for New Faculty nihil nimus (nothing in excess) is a liberating book for faculty who are willing to seriously consider how they currently spend their time and are ready to begin new disciplines. As the title states, moderation in all things: teaching, writing, and colleague and student interaction all require intentionality (Boice offers very specific and useful advice) in order to live at a comfortable pace and be the most effective. The optimal pace and effectiveness stems from Boice’s years of research which is based on hundreds of exemplary faculty who are very successful and actually enjoy their life in the academy. Boice offers an alternative to all faculty to regain the wholeness of a disciplined, intellectual life that has been replaced by fragmented tasks.
Boice, Robert. (1992). The new faculty member: Supporting and fostering professional development. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
"Boice identifies the major challenges facing most new faculty--teaching, scholarly writing, and simply fitting in as colleagues--and provides tested solutions for helping them cope. He outlines a structured mentoring program to build collegiality through social support networks. And he presents specific techniques for helping new faculty find time, fluency, and balance as writers, including advice on dealing with editorial evaluations or rejections." (book jacket)
Gibson. G.W. (1992). Good start: A guidebook for new faculty in liberal arts colleges. Bolton, MA: Anker.
"Good Start” provides a great deal of useful information to young professors and those who would become professors. [Gerald Gibson] writes about selecting a college, securing a position, and getting oriented to the new job. He demystifies and offers valuable suggestions about teaching, scholarship, service, and tenure. He focuses on working within the academic organization, managing time and stress, and maintaining effectiveness. In short, he discusses everything a new faculty member needs to know about being a college professor that graduate school did not teach." (Foreword, Jerry G. Gaff)
Simon, Caroline, Laura Bloxham, Denise Doyle, Mel Hailey, Jane Hokanson Hawks, Kathleen Light, Dominic P. Scibilia, Ernest Simmons; Mentoring for a Mission: nurturing new faculty at church-related colleges; Eerdmans, Grand Rapids 2003. 129 pp ISBN 0-8028-2124-3
The eight authors of Mentoring for a Mission demonstrate that faculty mentoring begins with and rests on a community of faith. They recommend that instruction and reflection on the Christian heritage, tradition, and mission of the college is crucial for faculty to gain an understanding of purpose and motive and to perceive possibilities for making a contribution. The authors balance this broad scope by recognizing that mentoring is personal, emphasizing the value of new faculty members and addressing their specific needs.
Simon, et. al., place mentoring issues--understanding the culture and expectations, effectiveness in the classroom, scholarly work habits, an attitude of service, among others--within the context of Christian discipleship. An academic career, in other words, offers opportunity to practice virtues such as wisdom, humility, love, conviction and hospitality. New faculty are encouraged to ask the profound, yet practical, question "How can I contribute to what matters most?" As part of the answer to this question, they discuss creating and sustaining a mentoring program. The authors anticipate such outcomes as increased collegiality, improved faculty retention, and rejuvenating veteran faculty while building future leaders. Even better, the authors conclude that the best reason for providing a mentoring program is because it is "the right and fitting thing to do as an exercise in Christian hospitality."