The most important person for any faculty development
program is the coordinator. A great deal of care should go into selecting
this individual. The qualities to look for in a coordinator are the following.
- An educational leader whose sole responsibility is
to work with faculty.
- A person well-respected by the faculty and the administration
as a teacher.
- A faculty member with no connection to faculty evaluation
processes.
- A person with vision, commitment, time,
and energy to take the lead in creating, developing, maintaining, and
evaluating faculty development services.
- A person with recent practical classroom experience
and an understanding of the dilemmas and issues the faculty face in
their everyday work.
- An individual who has strong organizational and planning
skills.
In addition, Watts and Hammons (2002) suggest:
- Realistic expectations given available resources and
time
- Understanding of adult learning
- Willingness to learn about programs elsewhere
- Training in human relations and group process
- Training in instructional design, organizational development,
and strategies for implementing change
