The Diffusion of Faculty Development: A Faculty Fellows Program

Tracy W. Smith, Sarah J. Greenwald, Lillian Y. Nave, Victor N. Mansure, and Michael L. Howell

This critical retrospective review describes the ideation, creation, and implementation of a faculty development fellows program at a regional comprehensive university. The authors share their perspectives as fellows regarding primary considerations for designing the program, including attention to the fellows selection process, required multilevel support, cultivation of communication and relationships, professional development of the fellows, development of unit programming, and lessons learned. Each section of the article concludes with critical questions institutions might consider when conceiving a faculty development fellows program.