Access the Recording: Strengthening Your Department Chair Playbook

Strengthening Your Department Chair Playbook

Facilitator: Erin Furtak, PhDProfessorUniversity of Colorado, Boulder Spotlight on Faculty Development Strategies On-Demand Webinar Recording Department chairs play a pivotal role in shaping faculty success—but the demands of the role can be challenging and isolating. Whether you’re new to the position or a seasoned leader, this on-demand webinar offers a practical look at how the … Read more

Access the Recording: 5 Secrets To A Super Productive Semester

5 Secrets to a Super Productive Semester

Facilitator: Rachel McLaren, PhDProfessorUniversity of Iowa How the Faculty Success Program Can Transform your Professional AND Personal Life On-Demand Webinar Recording Ready to finally make a breakthrough in your writing and research productivity? If you’ve ever started a semester with big goals—only to end the term feeling frustrated or behind—this on-demand webinar is for you. … Read more

Free Weekly Planning Template

NCFDD_Weekly_Planning_Template

A Weekly Planning Template Designed for Faculty: Simple, Practical, and Stress Reducing Create more intentional weeks with a 30 minute ritual that helps you protect writing time, stay focused, and reduce overwhelm. Download Your Free Template What You Will Get A free, ready to use Weekly Planning Template created specifically for the realities of academic … Read more

Rethinking Productivity: Why Faculty Need Accountability, Not Just Good Intentions

academic productivity

At the beginning of each semester, many faculty set thoughtful goals. Finish a manuscript. Restart a stalled grant proposal. Make visible progress on a long-delayed project. The intentions are sincere, and the stakes feel real. Yet as the weeks pass, those plans often slip beneath the weight of teaching, meetings, service, and daily responsibilities. What … Read more

How to Know If You’re Ready for a Grant Strategy Overhaul

grant funding strategy overhaul

Author: NCFDD Faculty rarely overhaul their grant strategy because of a single failed submission. More often, it is a steady pattern. You work hard but your proposals feel rushed. You generate strong ideas but struggle to shape them into a compelling narrative. You know funding is essential, but the process feels fragmented, unpredictable, and more … Read more

The Loneliness of Academic Life and How to Break the Cycle

academic support

Author: NCFDD Academic life is often portrayed as collaborative, intellectual, and community driven. In reality, many faculty describe it as isolating from the earliest stages of graduate school through the years leading to tenure. The pressure to perform, the expectation to manage everything independently, and the lack of built-in peer support can make even the … Read more

Workshop Recap: An Agile End-of-Year Reflection

end of year reflection

As another semester closes, faculty often find themselves stretched thin, managing heavy workloads and the emotional demands of academic life. In her live NCFDD workshop Planning for Rest and Recovery: An Agile End-of-Year Reflection, Dr. Rebecca Pope-Ruark invited faculty to pause and reflect, to consider what it means to end the year with intention rather … Read more

Planning for Rest and Recovery: An Agile End-of-Year Reflection

Planning for Rest and Recovery Webinar

Watch the Recording: Planning for Rest and Recovery: An Agile End-of-Year Reflectionn Host:Rebecca Pope-Ruark, PhDDirector of the Faculty Professional DevelopmentGeorgia Institute of Technology Take a deliberate pause, recharge, and step into the new year with clarity, focus, and renewed energy. Have you had a year of intense teaching, research, service, meetings, and deadlines? It’s time to … Read more

APLU Annual Meeting

SREB Institute on Teaching and Mentoring

Theme: Rising to the Moment 📍November 9–11, 2025 | Philadelphia, PA We’re excited to share that NCFDD will be attending the 2025 APLU Annual Meeting! This year’s conference theme, “Rising to the Moment,” celebrates the bold leadership and innovative spirit of public and land-grant universities as they adapt to meet extraordinary challenges and opportunities. The … Read more

Planning for Rest and Recovery: An Agile End-of-Year Reflection

end of year reflection

Author: Rebecca Pope-Ruark I spend a lot of my time teaching faculty and academic leaders about burnout, which the World Health Organization (2019) defines as “a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.” It has three characteristics: exhaustion, depersonalization or cynicism toward those you work with, and real or perceived … Read more