Changes, New Offerings and
a Networking Opportunity for 2016
By Doug Dollar
With the arrival of volume 30 of the Journal of Faculty Development this month, I wish to announce some changes and then some new offerings for our readers.
Changes
First, after serving as the Editor ever since issue one of volume 18 in the spring of 2001, Ed Neal will step down, but remain involved with the Journal as Editor Emeritus. While balancing the demands of the Journal with his duties as the Faculty Development Director at The University of North Carolina and later as a consultant, Dr. Neal brought a great deal of professionalism to the job and notably enhanced the standards of this publication. During the same time he managed to compile as editor the New Forums title, Academic Writing: Individual and Collaborative Strategies for Success (2013). He cannot be thanked enough for his accomplishments in guiding the Journal and determining its direction. Very fortunately, his experience and sage advice will not be lost to this effort.
Stepping up as the Editor beginning with the January 2016 issue is Russell Carpenter, currently Executive Director of the Noel Studio for Academic Creativity and Program Director of the Minor in Applied Creative Thinking at Eastern Kentucky University where he is also Associate Professor of English. Dr. Carpenter has published on the topic of creative thinking, among other areas, including three texts by New Forums Press: Introduction to Applied Creative Thinking (with Charlie Sweet and Hal Blythe, 2012), Teaching Applied Creative Thinking (with Charlie Sweet, Hal Blythe, and Shawn Apostel, 2013), and It Works for Me, Flipping the Classroom: Shared Tips for Effective Teaching, (with Hal Blythe and Charlie Sweet, 2015). He has guest edited or co-edited special issues of the Journal of Faculty Development on social media and the future of faculty development. In addition, he has taught courses in creative thinking in EKU’s Minor in Applied Creative Thinking, which was featured in the New York Times in February 2014, and rhetoric and composition in the Department of English. Dr. Carpenter earned a PhD in Texts & Technology from the University of Central Florida (UCF) in 2009.
New Offerings
Beginning with this volume, the Journal’s online edition will provide two book-length supplements annually in addition to its three regular issues. The first for 2016 will be the new title, Handbook for Higher Education: A Framework & Principles for Success in Teaching by David Garrett Way, which offers seasoned classroom advice faculty 
developers will want to share with instructors across their campuses. The second supplement, Innovating Faculty Development: Entering the Age of Innovation by Charlie Sweet, Hal Blythe, and Russell Carpenter, comprises the authors’ new model for the field of faculty development as it enters what they call the “Age of Innovation.” Supplements will not be offered with the printed edition, but readers may adjust their subscriptions by contacting me at [email protected]. Additionally, subscribers to the online edition of this Journal may participate in the National Innovative Faculty Development Network at no extra charge, which brings me to my next and final points.
Networking Opportunity
I am happy to announce, in cooperation with the Noel Studio for Academic Creativity at Eastern Kentucky University, a new networking opportunity in the form of the National Innovative Faculty Development Network (NIFDN). The effort originates with a desire to engage faculty developers in an ongoing examination of a new model for their professional endeavors – an approach to enable centers for teaching and learning to weave themselves into the basic campus tapestry, including the institution’s strategic plan, budget, and relevant stakeholders’ activities. This space does not allow more in-depth discussion, but NIFDN offerings include:
- an online institutional or personal subscription to the Journal of Faculty Development, as noted above, to include three issues and two supplements annually;
- a 20% discount to the annual Noel Studio for Academic Creativity Pedagogicon, an intensive, one-day conference sponsored by the Kentucky Council for Postsecondary Education (the 2016 event occurs May 20) http://studio.eku.edu/2016-pedagogicon;
- a 20% discount on all New Forums Press titles;
- free eNewsletters to include Faculty Development Today, Applied Creative Thinking, and Scholarly Writing and Research;
- online professional discussions through the NIFDN LinkedIn group.
In conclusion I am excited about the future of not only the above venues, but of the potential of working with you, the readers, through the NIFDN offerings and the new ideas and initiatives that are possible as a result. Happy 2016!
To participate in NIFDN, simply subscribe to the online edition (either Institutional or Individual) of the Journal of Faculty Development. Details of your membership will be emailed to you. If you are already a subscriber and have not received information about your NIFDN membership, email us for enrollment details: [email protected]
