Sustained Engagement
One of the goals of the IIE is to offer opportunities for faculty to engage in a sustained manner. We see the value in stand-alone workshops and talks, but we also want to focus on programming that encourages our faculty to engage with various aspects of diversity, equity, and inclusion on an ongoing basis. If any of the programs described below look interesting to you, email Institute for Inclusive Excellence for more information.
New Faculty Cohort (NFC) Program
Based on the sustained engagement model exemplified by student-focused programs like Posse and our Pomona Academic Cohorts, the New Faculty Cohort (NFC) is designed to gather newly hired tenure-track and multi-year visiting faculty together twice a month to explore campus resources, build community, and focus on inclusive pedagogy. In short, we want to teach you how to be successful at Pomona College as you begin your teaching journey.
In our meetings, every other week on Fridays for lunch, we will cover a wide range of topics including, but not limited to:
- A student panel discussing trends in the classroom
- Intelligent use of Artificial Intelligence
- Teaching feedback (personal reflection, peer observation, student feedback).
- The Dean of Students office key people and programs
- Support from the Dean of the College office (funding, professional development)
- Inclusive Syllabus design
- A panel of our Wig Distinguished Professor Award for excellence in Teaching winners
- And much more!
We use the text Inclusive Teaching by Kelly A. Hogan and Viji Sathy as our program guide, and we work though the book chapters over the course of the year. A copy will be provided to you, along with a small stipend for your participation.
The NFC has positively shaped the experience for our newest faculty, but you don’t have to take our word for it. Here are a few quotes from past participants:
“I have tremendously benefitted from the NFC program. One thing I enjoyed the most about the program is how it helped build a community for us. Having a regular time to look forwarded to provided sanity for a hectic first-year experience. Knowing that we have support from the organizers and our fellow NFC members provided a practical as well as psychological cushion. And of course, the topics covered were very helpful.”
“My experience with the NFC was integral to my first year at Pomona College. The biweekly meetings were an amazing opportunity to touch base with my peers, gain insight of campus culture, and discuss current pedagogical practices valued within our community.”
“I now have a network of colleagues across disciplines on campus, have a strong sense of how Pomona functions as an institution, and have an array of teaching tools to facilitate more inclusive and engaged classrooms.”
“I feel like my teaching is always improving through continual self-reflection and discussions with the group prompted by the NFC. The social aspect of the NFC was also hugely important. Most of the friends I have made since moving to Claremont were members of my NFC cohort, and feeling like a part of the Pomona College community improves my overall wellbeing, which positively affects my teaching, scholarship, and everything else about my academic life.”
“…the NFC program will boost your confidence in your teaching abilities and make you feel a full member of the Pomona community.
For more information about the New Faculty Cohort, please reach out to us at iie@pomona.edu!
DEI Faculty Cohort
The DEI Faculty Cohorts engage in a year-long program designed for any continuing faculty member interested in discussing efforts to enhance/practice their inclusive teaching practice and improve equity, inclusion, and belonging on campus. Previous themes included: building classroom communities, equity curriculums, and ideas for institutional change.
DEI Cohorts meet anywhere from 6 to 8 times per semester and discuss/reflect on current progress and future plans for inclusive pedagogy. One of the cohort expectations is community building, so commitment to the program includes attendance at all (or most) of the planned sessions each semester. Some of the events will be directed (reading discussion, workshop, etc.) and some of the events will be more informal.
DEI Faculty Project Pairs
Faculty pairs work together to develop and implement proposals focused on inclusive teaching and mentoring practices in their work with students. As faculty pairs develop projects, they consult with the IIE staff, and then meet with an IIE Research and Assessment Fellow who will provide their perspective on the project from a student perspective. Faculty pairs will use the fall semester to develop a project proposal, and work to implement the finished project in the spring.
Sample Projects include (but are not limited to):
- Redesign aspects of a course they teach with equity in mind
- Propose an equity minded educational intervention in the classroom
- Decolonizing a syllabus
- Modifications to assessment and grading structures aimed at increasing equity
- Developing inclusive pedagogy in response to generative AI
- Creating novel programs for more inclusive mentoring structures for a research group
Additional commitments include:
- Participants meet bi-weekly in their pairs throughout the year
- Faculty pairs meet twice a semester with the entire faculty pairs group
- Occasional consultations with the IIE on assessment/evaluation
- Meeting with the assigned Research and Assessment Fellow