Featured photo by Sam McDonald

 

On August 26, 2017 then Provost Austin Agho called to offer me the position of Founding Director of the yet to be established Center for Faculty Development. I remember the conversation well. I was elated and terrified and quite sure I knew next to nothing about faculty development. At that moment there was no Center, no office, not even a bookshelf that could be identified as a Center. All that came into place over the next several months, and we formally opened the CFD in the Darden College of Education and Professional Studies on January 31, 2018. The New Education building remained our home until early 2025 when we moved to Dragas. I took the picture included here my first day in DCEPS in 2017 when all I had was a closet-sized room and a file cabinet. Historically, the picture shows the birth of the CFD. 

Surely, you’ve read by now that after over 8 years as Director of Faculty Development, I am going back to the teaching and research faculty. First, I’ll go on research leave and then return in fall 2026 to teaching in the Department of History. December 5, 2025 is my last day as Director, and it is bittersweet. 

As I leave this position, I want to express how grateful I am for having had the opportunity to grow in so many ways. The best part of faculty development is that one is almost always making faculty happy. The CFD offers resources to help faculty improve what they do in the classroom and sometimes with their research, and my observation is that faculty are almost always appreciative. As a Center we never had much funding beyond our Course-based Undergraduate Research Grants (CURES).  We couldn’t offer stipends or course load reductions, and our staff was small, but we were always enthusiastic for faculty development and able to collaborate with amazing colleagues across the campus. At the CFD we mentored some of the best and brightest around campus and in turn were mentored by our peers and colleagues as well. The work these experiences and collaborations generated was electrifying and always appreciated. For me it was 8 years of constant learning about innovative ways of working with students and understanding the changing needs of students and faculty. 

Over the years I collaborated with some fantastic and dedicated people. Dr. Joyce Armstrong was Assistant Director of the CFD from 2017-2019, Mr. David Simpson was the Technical Writer from 2019-2022. Dr. Tomeka Wilcher became the Center’s first Educational Program Developer from 2020-2022, and Kristal Kinloch-Taylor followed in that role from 2023-2025. Dr. M’hammed Abdous took on the position of Associate Director of Faculty Innovation and Teaching with Technology from 2023-2025. I thank each of these individuals for charting the direction of the CFD with me, and I want to especially acknowledge Dr. Wilcher who offered colossal faculty support during the trying times of the COVID pandemic when we had to move courses online. This past semester the CFD also worked with the first Provost’s Fellow for Faculty Development, Dr. Jay O’Toole, and he continues in this position after my departure offering consistency in the process as well as a vision for future directions. Each named individual brought tremendous talent to the Center.

I also worked for remarkable leaders in Academic Affairs. I already mentioned Dr. Austin Agho. It was his vision to create a Center for Faculty Development, and he then ran a national search for a Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and Strategic Initiatives. Dr. Katherine Hawkins took up that position in 2018, and for years I reported to her.  Working with Dr. Agho and Dr. Hawkins was always rewarding as it was obvious how deeply they cared about faculty. They also gave me room to experiment with faculty development initiatives and encouraged collaboration. In later years I reported to Dr. Yvette Pearson as Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and Strategic Initiatives representing Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Brian Payne. My experience with each of these individuals was positive and affirming, and I appreciated Provost Payne’s kind words directed to me during last month’s Provost’s Leadership Assembly. Over the years I also enjoyed working with Dr. Narketta Sparkman-Key (now Associate Provost of Faculty Affairs at Spelman College), Dr. Shanda Jenkins (Office of Faculty Recruitment and Retention), and Remica Bingham-Risher (Quality Enhancement Plan Initiatives) in their directorship roles representing Academic Affairs, most recently as part of the Faculty Advancement and Innovation Hub. Working at the CFD also brought me into the orbit of Senior Associate Vice President for Faculty Affairs and Professional Development Dr. Anca Dobrian, and Institutional Wellness Officer, Faculty Affairs and Professional Development Dr. Rick Handel at the Macon and Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at ODU medical campus. Their perspectives were always appreciated, and they offered even more vital resources for ODU faculty.

One of the most important tasks the Center and I helped to accomplish was securing a $1 million National Science Foundation ADVANCE Adaptation grant designed to increase the hiring and promotion of women faculty in STEM disciplines and improve departmental climates. Professor Emerita Mona Danner was the driving force behind the production of the proposal and without her help, it would not have been funded. She and I spent many a weekend pouring over drafts. Ultimately, the proposal was funded until the federal government terminated it in 2025. Drs. Austin Agho, Stacie Ringleb, Vukica Jovanovic, Shanda Jenkins, Holly Gaff and many others toiled mightily on it until that happened.

In addition to the individuals mentioned above, there are hundreds of faculty, administrators, and staff who gave their time and talent to the Center for Faculty Development over the last eight years, offering workshops, collaborating on projects, and strategizing teaching and learning best practices. Collectively we explored high impact practices, teaching and research hurdles, and sometimes we simply kvetched about faculty life. Many ideas from these collaborations ended up in FacSheet which was always more than a newsletter and offered scholarly insight on a variety of faculty-focused topics. I am deeply grateful for the help each of you gave me, and I’m a better person and instructor for having worked with such talented professionals. I want to emphasize that I believe faculty are the backbone of any institution, and I regard faculty with the deepest respect, especially since I know how hard we work. As I say goodbye to my role as Director of the CFD, I want everyone to know how privileged I feel to have met and worked with you. The CFD is more than an office. It is the faculty who fill the Center with vitality and creativity, and that energy will continue long after I am gone.  I founded the Center, and I hope in passing it on that faculty development will become an even more integral part of university culture in ODU’s “Monarchsphere.” Contributing to the creation of the CFD at ODU will always be a mark of pride for me, and I wish those involved in the future of ODU faculty development the greatest success. Faculty work most effectively when they work together in creative and nurturing spaces. Thank you for your generosity, and I wish you all the best that faculty life can bring. 

Respectfully,

Annette