BACKGROUND: Faculty vitality is integral to the endurance of higher education. Strengthening vitality is particularly important for mid-career faculty, who represent the largest and most productive segment, but also the most dissatisfied. While the mid-career phase is particularly vulnerable, the backdrop of academic medicine appears to be another factor that may put faculty at risk of attrition. To address these issues, Boston University School of Medicine initiated the Academy for Collaborative Innovation and Transformation (ACIT), a ten-month mid-career faculty development program consisting of six two-day interactive learning modules and multidisciplinary group projects. METHODS: This study is a mixed-methods evaluation of ACIT using a quasi-experimental design to assess the program's impact on faculty and institutional vitality. Pre-post surveys compared participants with a matched reference group. The quantitative data were augmented by interviews and focus groups with participants, senior leadership, department chairs, and ACIT staff members. RESULTS: At the program's conclusion, ACIT participants showed marked gains in knowledge, skills, attitudes, and connectivity when compared to the referents. Results also indicate that the program was largely successful in equipping participants to accomplish the four primary learning goals: to self-reflect and pursue an individual development plan; to connect longitudinally to one's peer cohort and to the larger organization; to collaborate effectively with colleagues across disciplines, sectors, and roles; and to enhance ability to implement transformative work. Lastly, the majority of didactic sessions were rated highly for both content areas and speakers, while the group projects and learning communities received mixed reviews. Based upon these results, recommendations were made to improve the design, execution, and costs of the program. CONCLUSION: Given that mid-career faculty development in academic medicine has not been extensively studied, this evaluation is able to provide a novel perspective to guide future initiatives aimed at this specific subset of higher education.

The purpose of this study was to explore early-career faculty&rsquo / s needs on teaching related issues and examine the effectiveness of an online environment that was designed as a support to a graduate course on teaching in higher education. The study was carried out through two phases including a needs analysis and evaluation of the online environment. Findings of the needs analysis were used as input data in designing the online environment. An exploratory mixed design was employed to investigate graduate assistants&rsquo / perceptions about the effectiveness of the online environment in general, and the components specifically. Results of the first phase revealed that early-career faculty (n=53) were highly willing to participate in faculty instructional development activities, mostly through workshops and internet-based systems. Having students&rsquo / active participation into class was found to be one of the biggest concerns of new faculty. The second phase of the study provided descriptive data related to graduate assistants&rsquo / (n=10) use of an online environment incorporating a discussion forum, exemplary V teaching case and informative videos. Interaction with people from different academic fields helped the graduate assistants to experience and gain different perspectives about teaching. The graduate course itself raised graduate assistants&rsquo / awareness with regard to the teaching aspect of their profession. Online components generally provided the graduate assistants with different perspectives on teaching, and contemplate their future teaching. Based on the findings of the study, it can be concluded that online technologies have a potential to support faculty instructional development through incorporating visual media and communication tools.

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Doctor of Education / Department of Educational Leadership / Trudy A. Salsberry / This dissertation examines an understudied group according the American Council on Education: the tenure-track early career faculty (ECF). The focus is on the culturalization, socialization, academic culture, and emergent themes discerned from ten semi-structured interviews with tenure-track ECF. This qualitative bounded system case study was conducted in the context of a Midwestern Carnegie I Research Land-Grant Institution, an institution with emphasis on teaching, research, and service. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted and transcribed. From these, codes, categories, patterns, and themes were found. Additional documentation was also considered such as participants’ resumes and the faculty handbook, COE: Orientation to COE A Guide for Faculty 2008-2009. The themes included a reliance on socialization from the parent degree granting institution, and an overall request for balance between professional and personal life. In addition the ECFs need mentoring at their new institution in research, writing and publication, in professional identity, and socialization to tacit knowledge via cognitive apprenticeship. A recommendation is that there be a bi-directional conversation on socialization, rather than a top down approach.