Professional development can take many forms, and Hendrix celebrates the diverse ways in which faculty can enrich their scholarly lives. Below is an alphabetical list detailing common forms of professional development. Typically, faculty will participate in several of these activities, ensuring that at least some of their professional development activities extend beyond the immediate Hendrix community through engagement with their disciplines, the larger academic profession, or other external venues. The list is meant to be representative, not exhaustive.
- artistic performances appropriate to one’s discipline (such as recitals or plays);
- attendance at regional or national, or international disciplinary meetings;
- continued intellectual growth as evidenced by involvement with areas outside one’s discipline;
- curriculum development;
- enhancement of capabilities in employing technology to support student, professional, or community development;
- exhibitions of visual art;
- involvement as an office holder in professional organizations;
- paper or poster presentations at regional or national or international disciplinary meetings;
- participation in symposia at regional or national or international disciplinary meetings;
- participation in workshops or seminars devoted to the enhancement of pedagogy;
- research that leads to the publication of books, articles in professional journals, or chapters in edited volumes;
- service as a judge or reviewer in one’s discipline (such as peer review of scholarly articles, or judging musical competitions).
Faculty are encouraged to work with their department and area chairs to develop an appropriate plan for ongoing professional development.
Assessment of Professional Development
Professional development can be assessed in the following ways:
- Faculty members can chart their progress in professional development in their own letters of self-evaluation. Ideally, one’s letter both outlines a future course for professional development and assesses the progress one has made since the last evaluation. Consequently, this letter constitutes a very important component of the evaluation process.
- All faculty will obviously submit an updated curriculum vitae reflecting recent activity. Faculty members can highlight specific accomplishments in the letter of self-evaluation.
- Faculty members may wish to include in their dossier samples of scholarly writing either published or submitted, and readers’ reports. They might also submit copies of posters or talks presented at professional meetings.
- Similarly, faculty who have presented artistic performances or held exhibitions of their art might choose to present appropriate documentation of their work. Alternatively, department chairs and area chairs will be encouraged to attend such performances or exhibitions whenever possible.
- Faculty who have applied for external grants may include their external grant application(s) and reviewers’ responses, even for grants not funded.
- Off-campus peers who are familiar with a faculty member’s professional activity could be asked to write letters assessing his or her professional contributions.
- Letters from peers within the institution could also address a faculty member’s professional accomplishments. Such letters might well be written by peers outside one’s discipline if the faculty member wishes to document intellectual growth that has moved beyond disciplinary boundaries.