2012-2015 Core Committee Self-Nomination Statements

Name: Martin Springborg
Title: Faculty
Institution: Minnesota State Colleges and Universities

Background in Professional and Organizational Development:

I first developed a passion for faculty development as a graduate student at the University of Minnesota, while taking Preparing Future Faculty courses through their then Center for Teaching and Learning Services. Taking the path into this field has not only given me knowledge and years of experience relative to quality teaching and improved student learning, but also experience in system-level faculty and professional development program administration.

My first entre into the field of faculty and professional development was at Inver Hills Community College in Minnesota where I was a faculty member in the Art Department. I served on IHCC's Faculty Development committee for three years. Increased involvement in this role eventually led to my departure from IHCC to work full-time as a program director at the MnSCU CTL.

As a program director, I assumed a leadership role in the organization of an annual system-wide faculty development conference. I also assisted faculty in applying for and managing grants; provided support and advice to campus faculty development liaisons at each of our system's 32 institutions; and wrote about and presented on topics such as techniques for the assessment of student learning, teaching and learning with technology, and student engagement.

My experience both as a faculty member and faculty developer has proven invaluable in a number of roles focused on organizational development as well. My work as a coordinator of system-wide faculty development leadership teams in MnSCU is one example of this work, as this involved assisting faculty and administrators on campus-level goals. I also served on the Minnesota Online Academic Services Committee, the purpose of which is to inform MnSCU system-level decisions about online education. Currently, I am a member of the Higher Learning Commission's Academic Quality Improvement Program (AQIP) Peer Review Corps. In this role, I advise on regional campus-level quality improvement projects that have teaching and/or faculty and professional development foci.

The MnSCU Center for Teaching and Learning was dissolved this year due to a statewide budget crisis, but I continue to nurture my interest in faculty development and student learning in several ways. While I am once again working primarily as a faculty member teaching photography and art history, my scholarship (in the form of an ongoing photographic essay) is focused on the collaborative work of faculty and administrators. A large part of my teaching is done online, and so I am always investigating and sharing with my colleagues new educational technology. Next spring, I will serve as a consultant to a consortium of small colleges as they develop a centralized teaching and learning center. I am also pleased to be a co-instructor at the University of Minnesota's Center for Teaching and Learning, in the same Preparing Future Faculty program that ignited my passion for faculty development.

What would I like to see POD accomplish over the next three years:

I began my involvement in the POD Network in 2005. While I did not present at my first POD conference, I co-presented concurrent sessions in 2006, 2007 and 2008. I co-facilitated a pre-conference workshop in 2009, when I also served as the conference resource fair coordinator. In 2010 and 2011, I served on the conference committee in shared leadership roles as co-program chair (2010) and co-conference chair (2011).

My involvement in POD goes beyond those experiences as over the years I have advocated for MnSCU faculty membership in POD and participation in its annual conferences. I am interested in a number of issues relative to its membership. In the next three years, I hope to help POD work toward the following goals:

- Continue to meet the needs of POD's changing/evolving membership -specifically graduate students, faculty and administrators from small colleges, and those members who come from institutions without teaching and learning centers or those who have been charged with establishing them.

- Increase member engagement in shared resource development through various web-based tools, such as social media outlets and WikiPODia. I think that this effort could also help improve the POD website; augmenting the site with less static and more participatory environments could make for a more valuable and useful space for our members and member institutions.

- Continue to find new ways to support centers as they face downsizing or closure. This involves supporting conference opportunities and electronic resources specifically aimed at sharing resources on center assessment and accountability and developing resources that help center staff and/or directors in defending quality programs.