Services and Programs
The Center for Faculty Development at University of Houston-Clear Lake provides a range of opportunities for faculty to enrich their teaching and research roles on campus.
For information about any of our programs, please contact us at facultydevelopment@uhcl.edu. We're also happy to set up a consultation session with your team or department to assess your needs.
Faculty Communities of Practice
Join a small group of like-minded faculty members from across the university to discuss and examine a shared interest. Communities form in September for each academic year.
Make your Own - If you are a UHCL faculty member with a great idea and would like to develop a Community of Practice (COP), please fill out this form to submit your proposal.
Communities of Practice Guidelines
The Center for Faculty Development also organizes and facilitates several Communities of Practice including:
New Faculty – All first-year faculty meet regularly to further their orientation to being a UHCL faculty member
Adjuncts - All adjuncts are welcome to attend the monthly meeting for an open discussion on any topic they find relevant to them.
Ongoing Events
Learning Innovators
The original faculty development activity at UHCL. Faculty are invited each month for an open discussion of all faculty development issues.
CFD Development Funds
The Center for Faculty Development provides individual and group grants for faculty to (1) develop and transfer knowledge and skills; (2) creating a resource product or event; and (3) improve their mentoring network. Grant applications are due in early October and March. Additional information can be found in the "Call for Proposals (PDF)" link below.
Tracks and Development Funds Application GuidelinesFaculty Fellows
CFD Faculty Fellows help the individual and university in an area of faculty development (e.g., writing across the curriculum, scholarship of teaching and learning, anti-racism pedagogy). Faculty Fellows receive a course release a year and funds for materials and travel. Faculty Fellows journey from gaining expertise in the topic area (Year 1) to teaching and informing UHCL faculty (Year 2) to making systemic changes at the university (Year 3). Proposals are due in the Spring. Here is the link to the latest Call for Proposals.
Faculty Development Day
A one-day internal conference on everything related to faculty development. Typically, Faculty Development Day is on the last Friday in January.
2024 Faculty Development Week Program (PDF)
Writing Challenges and Retreats
In October and February, we host a 28-day writing challenge of writing at least 30 minutes on research and scholarship 5 days out of each of the 4 weeks. Faculty are placed in pods to help keep everybody accountable. In December and May we have a 2-day writing retreat in which participants set aside time to focus on writing for those two days.
Consultations
The Center for Faculty Development can provide a wide array of consultations on different areas of faculty development. These include:
Midterm Feedback – We provide an online formative midterm feedback for your course
Classroom Observation – We can observe your class and provide a formative evaluation on teaching areas that are of concern to you. Typically, this includes an initial meeting, the observation, and a post-meeting
Teaching Documents – If you would like a 2nd pair of eyes helping you on
Promotion & Tenure Documents – We examine narratives for 3rd Year Reviews and Promotion & Tenure.
Other Consultations – We are happy to consult with you on any other Faculty Development topic. If we can't help you, we'll try to find somebody who can.
Please click on the link to go to set up a faculty consultation
Communities of Practice not affiliated with CFD
Feminist Teacher
The Feminist Teacher community open to all UHCL members, meets the first Wednesdays of each month. 10:30am to 11:30 am to discuss feminist pedagogy face-to-face at the Faculty Club and by zoom . Our conversations are informal, and we utilize readings from books, journals, and related sources as a starting point for our monthly discussions. This Fall semester we will read Rest in Resistant by Tricia Hersey. For more information, please contact Dr. Giazu Enciso (giazuenciso@uhcl.edu) or Dr. Jennifer McCauley (McCauley@UHCL.edu).