2018 Conference

Workshop

1. Workshop title:  Lone wolves and growing pains: a collaborative workshop for faculty managing new programs alone
2. Length (half-day or full-day): Half-day
3. Proposed theme and justification: While some Environmental Studies and Sciences programs are well-established, many others are recent additions to a College or University’s curriculum. In many of these cases, new ESS programs hire very few faculty to manage the program, with an expectation that the faculty will leverage interdisciplinary and existing resources to create a successful new program. While this is an exciting position to be in, faculty also have few likeminded colleagues or similar models within their institution on which to draw expertise. Instead, they often must leverage a vast and disparate network of partners and resources. Thus, we would like to offer space to systematically evaluate our individual networks, share our collective challenges and successful strategies, and create a network of our own within AESS we can continue to call upon for advice or ideas.
4. An outline of goals and learning outcomes, and, if appropriate, plans for communication of results:

Our goal is to facilitate a systematic exploration of resources and partners for individual faculty, which will serve as the basis for skill-sharing within our workshop about ways to grow our programs and maintain our emotional stability/avoid burnout. Participants will gain a greater understanding of their own networks and be empowered to better leverage their own resources. They will also identify individuals within AESS facing similar challenges with whom to share ideas, and they will feel more connected to a network of colleagues within AESS. 

We are interested in developing a publication outlining advice and best practices in ESS program development.

5. An outline of the progression of topics and types of learning activities or teaching methods:

We will begin with a brief overview of our workshop topic, highlighting some of the general issues faculty in new interdisciplinary ESS programs face.

Next, we will explain how to create a network map, providing materials (sticky notes and large paper), and encouraging folks to discuss their thought process as they make their networks. We will highlight potential network actors to include, including those who help with:

• Curriculum development and implementation
• Leveraging local resources for sustainability education
• Marketing and recruiting for ESS
• Preparing students for the job market/academic success
• Coping with personal isolation and other emotional challenges
• Managing conflict with other programs
• Campus sustainability

After participants create their maps, we will come back together as a group and share our maps with each other. Through sharing our maps, we will identify areas of interest and struggle that cut across our diverse institutional contexts, and those will serve as the topics we explore in our open skill-sharing session. Again, we may break into small groups, or stay as a large group depending on the size of our crowd/diversity of interests.

At the end, we will summarize some key themes from our maps and discussion, and decide how we would like to stay in touch as a group after the conference.

6. A list of confirmed leaders and a sentence or two about their qualifications and proposed role in the workshop.

• Dr. Susan Caplow, Assistant Professor and Coordinator of Environmental Studies at University of Montevallo.
• Dr. Barry Muchnick, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at St. Mary’s College of Maryland.
• Dr. Sam Whitehead, Department Chair, Assistant Professor of Environmental Science and Conservation, Concordia University Texas.

All three of us are early-career faculty, independently managing a new and growing Environmental Programs. Each of us have significant administrative obligations in addition to our academic duties, such as managing campus sustainability programs. Our hope is that with junior faculty leading the session, participants will feel free to speak candidly about their challenges, and our skill-sharing component will be more egalitarian.

7. A brief description of the workshop:

We offer space to share collective challenges and successful strategies as faculty independently managing new and growing ESS programs. We will engage in a network mapping activity to identify key resources and areas for improvement; participants will discuss ideas to leverage their network for both program growth and personal support. We will offer group counselling for each individual attendee, during which we share challenges and evaluate solutions. Finally, we will explore options for an extended support network comprised of participants and workshop leaders that will serve in lieu of on-campus ESS colleagues. The overarching intent is to minimize the isolation felt by lone wolf ESS faculty, especially those developing new ESS programs. The workshop will be discussion-based and solutions-focused, and each participant will have an opportunity to discuss his/her needs with the group.