How to Plan a Productive Summer Without Burning Out

Faculty member planning summer academic productivity goals for writing and research

As we continue the Summer of Faculty Development series, one thing becomes clear quickly: summer rarely feels as open as faculty expect it to. After a demanding semester, summer can feel like the first real opportunity to make progress on research, writing, course planning, grant work, or professional development. Projects that sat untouched during the … Read more

Access the Recording: The State of Faculty Development: Bridging the Faculty Support Gap

The State of Faculty Development: Bridging the Faculty Support Gap

Facilitator: Joy Gaston-Gayle, PhDProfessorNorth Carolina State University What faculty need is changing. Is your support keeping up? On-Demand Webinar Recording In this webinar, we shared insights from our national survey on the current state of faculty development and what those findings mean for administrators and faculty alike. You’ll get: Listen to the recording to better … Read more

Why “Catching Up” on Research Over the Summer Rarely Works

A faculty member sitting at a desk writing, with an open notebook and coffee, planning summer research goals

Author: NCFDD In this Summer of Faculty Development blog series, we keep coming back to one plan most faculty have made at some point: using the summer to catch up on research. By the end of the semester, the list is usually long. A manuscript that stalled. A proposal that needs more than a light … Read more

Why Faculty Feel Behind Before the Semester Even Ends

academic productivity during busy semester

Author: NCFDD Academic productivity often feels hardest to sustain late in the semester. If you’ve caught yourself thinking, “I thought I’d be further along by now,” you’re not alone. As the semester moves into its later weeks, with deadlines and end-of-term demands starting to stack up, many faculty start to notice a gap between what … Read more

Access the Recording: Executive Function and Student Success

Facilitator: Brandon Slade, EdSFounder, Untapped Learning | School Psychology | Teacher | Executive Function Coach Learn how small, strategic teaching shifts can strengthen students’ planning, organization, and self-regulation while also helping faculty work more effectively. On-Demand Webinar Recording In this practical, research-informed webinar recording, Brandon Slade draws on his work with thousands of students and … Read more

How Faculty Lose Research Momentum (and How to Get It Back)

faculty member losing momentum

Author: NCFDD There’s a point in the semester when research starts to feel harder to return to. Not because the work isn’t important, and not because you’ve run out of ideas. More often, it’s because too much time has passed since the last meaningful step forward. What once felt like steady progress now feels stalled, … Read more

What Productive Faculty Do Differently at the Start of the Week

faculty member productive planning week

Author: NCFDD For many faculty, Monday begins in reaction mode. Emails pile up. Meetings take over the calendar. Urgent requests quickly set the tone for the week. By Wednesday, it’s easy to feel busy without being sure what actually moved forward. This is where faculty weekly planning makes a difference. Highly productive faculty don’t necessarily … Read more

Faculty Development Support Is Now Essential for Institutional Stability

Faculty development support and institutional stability in higher education

For many years, faculty development was positioned as enrichment. Valuable, but optional. Helpful, but not central. Something institutions offered to support individual growth rather than to sustain core academic functions. Findings from the State of Faculty Development 2026 survey suggest that framing no longer reflects faculty reality. Increasingly, faculty describe professional development as necessary support … Read more

Build a Publishing Pipeline That Keeps Your Research Moving

A practical course for faculty who want a clearer system for organizing writing projects, prioritizing what matters most, and making steady progress toward publication. Faculty are often encouraged to write more, but few receive guidance on how to manage multiple projects at different stages of development. Building Your Publishing Pipeline is a four-week virtual course … Read more

New Survey: Faculty Support Falls While Pressure Rises, Faculty Well-Being Declines Dramatically Amid Funding Cuts

More than 70% of faculty report cuts in professional development while nearly two-thirds report declining well-being, raising concerns about long-term impacts on teaching, research and student success DETROIT (MARCH 26, 2026) — NCFDD—a faculty success organization founded in 2010 that partners with 300+ institutions to reduce isolation, increase research productivity, and support sustainable academic career paths—today … Read more