APSU unveils new Center for Advancement of Faculty Excellence
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Austin Peay State University recently unveiled an important new initiative – the APSU Center for Advancement of Faculty Excellence (CAFE). The CAFE was developed to offer dynamic programs that will help retain and cultivate an engaged, collaborative and diverse faculty at APSU. The CAFE also will promote teaching excellence and student learning in an inclusive and active learning environment. The center will initially serve Austin Peay’s full-time faculty, but as it grows it may include programs for temporary and part-time/adjunct instructors.
The center’s programming and collaborations will develop effective and innovative practices to help APSU faculty succeed as teacher-scholars. Although the CAFE will focus primarily on effective teaching and student engagement, it will also support advising, productive scholarly work and effective service.
“As an institution that cares deeply about the excellence of teaching and student success, we are excited to be able to establish the center, in order to help enrich the professional life of faculty throughout their career at APSU,” Dr. Maria Cronley, APSU provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs, said.
The center will serve as a hub for faculty development resources and initiatives, and it will lead to the creation of more dynamic development programs.
“I am excited about making this investment in our faculty and look forward to it paying off through providing quality leadership opportunities, and increasing faculty engagement, recruitment and retention,” Dannelle Whiteside, interim APSU president, said.
In the coming weeks, the University will conduct an internal search for a faculty member to serve as the CAFE’s inaugural director. The director will coordinate all of the CAFE’s programs, including the Faculty Leadership Program, the First Year Faculty Orientation program and the Faculty Mentoring programs (new and continuing). The director will also collaborate with University departments to identify, develop and assess new faculty development initiatives such as a syllabi review, curriculum and assessment redesigns, faculty learning communities, teaching observations, peer consultations and discussion groups on advances in pedagogy.
The director, in collaboration with an advisory council, will oversee the center’s mission, guiding principles and activities. The CAFE director will report to Austin Peay’s Senior Vice Provost and Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs.
More information on the CAFE will be available in the coming weeks. For information on the director position, visit http://apsu.peopleadmin.com/postings/12466. Because it is an internal posting, faculty members will need to click on the link to access the posting. The deadline to apply is Feb. 1.
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