Dr. KerryAnn O’Meara Speaks on Faculty Learning Feb. 5

Contact: (336) 334-4314

Posted 2-4-09

GREENSBORO, NC — Dr. KerryAnn O’Meara, associate professor of higher education at the University of Maryland, will give a public lecture about faculty professional growth and development at 2 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 5, in EUC Auditorium.

Sponsored by the School of Health and Human Performance, her lecture – “Taking Faculty Learning Seriously: Implications for Reward Systems, Professional Development and Community” – is free and open to the public. She is the co-editor of the book “Faculty Priorities Reconsidered: Encouraging Multiple Forms of Scholarship.”

Typically in times of retrenchment, reorganization and planning, we speak of faculty in terms of constraints and the “overloaded plate” for good reasons. We sometimes overlook the major assets and talents in our faculty and the significant contributions they make through what they learn and do everyday.

In this presentation, O’Meara considers the current national landscape of faculty work, appointments and challenges, as well as opportunities. Applying the framework of faculty learning, she considers how we might transform the way we organize and reward faculty individually and in departments, if our main focus was their learning and growth.

She considers how we might move from constraint to growth and asks: How can we reframe opportunities for faculty professional development, our reward systems and how we work together collaboratively from the perspective of maximizing faculty learning and talent?

For more information, call 334-5744.