CTL Faculty Co-Director Job Description and Application Instructions

Background and Context

With help from the Mellon Foundation, the Claremont Colleges established a Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) in 2017. The mission of the CTL is to

  1. Promote a faculty culture of life-long learning and commitment to effective and excellent teaching,
  2. Enable and support faculty to learn about, implement and advance evidence-based teaching and learning practices and technologies in every stage of their careers, and
  3. Build institutional capacity for supporting excellence in teaching and learning.

To pursue these goals, the CTL

  1. Develops and programs opportunities for faculty to learn about evidence-based, student-centered, inclusive teaching and learning practices and technologies and to support each other in that learning,
  2. Provides personalized and confidential support to faculty and instructional staff on their teaching,
  3. Catalyzes collaboration across the Claremont Colleges on matters relating to teaching and learning by supporting the work that our institutions are already doing, connecting faculty to needed expertise, advancing of the scholarship of teaching and learning, and supporting departmental and institutional initiatives.

The CTL attempts to promote anti-racism and to advance greater equity, diversity, and inclusion at the Claremont Colleges through its design and initiatives.

More information about the CTL is available at http://teaching.claremont.edu.

Since July 1, 2018, the CTL has been staffed with a Program Director, two Faculty Co-Directors, and a Program Coordinator, housed in an office suite on the ground floor of Honnold Library.  Harvey Mudd College, the current lead institution for the CTL, provides oversight and management. The CTL also receives input from an Advisory Board, consisting of faculty, administrators, and librarians from all seven colleges and the Library. Barbara Junisbai (Pitzer) and Warren Liu (Scripps) are the current Faculty Co-Directors.  Both of our co-directors’ terms will end on June 30, 2022.

The Faculty Co-Director position is a multi-year appointment (either two- or three-year terms). Each Faculty Co-Director teaches half of their usual teaching load for their home institution while spending approximately 15 hours per week working for the CTL. Faculty Co-Directors are also expected to contribute approximately one month of their time to the CTL during the summer and are compensated 1/9th of their salary for that work.

Job Purpose

In concert with the rest of the CTL staff, the Faculty Co-Directors will support the goals of the CTL through these three essential duties and responsibilities:

1. Designing and organizing events and resources for faculty and instructional staff

  • Staying up to date on current research on inclusive pedagogy, educational technology, and/or high-impact teaching practices relevant to the Claremont Colleges
  • Designing and disseminating instructional resources and connecting faculty to educational research
  • Planning, promoting, leading, and facilitating workshops, seminars, reading groups, or faculty learning communities
  • Assisting in the monitoring and assessment of events

2. Providing faculty and instructional staff with personalized support on their teaching

  • Developing relationships with faculty to learn about their teaching and learning needs and goals
  • Meeting privately with faculty to provide support on their teaching and learning and connecting them with expertise they need
  • Upon invitation from faculty, observing their classrooms and providing support and feedback

3. Catalyzing collaboration across the Claremont Colleges on matters relating to teaching and learning

  • Working with departments on curricular design projects or implementation of new instructional strategies or educational technology
  • Working with other educational technologists and non-faculty learning specialists on projects and initiatives that promote teaching excellence
  • Maintaining a database of in-house faculty expertise on various topics and connecting faculty to one another
  • Promoting and managing grant/fellowship opportunities for faculty relating to teaching and learning
  • Coordinating with teaching-related units of the Claremont Colleges

Faculty Co-Directors of the CTL will gain experience in faculty development, improve their own teaching using insights from educational research, develop their leadership skills, and learn how to collaborate across the Claremont Colleges. This position is more than a service opportunity—it is also an excellent opportunity for faculty to advance their own teaching and scholarship, especially if it connects to teaching and learning.

Knowledge, Skills, and Qualifications

Faculty Co-Directors must have a continuing full-time faculty appointment at the Claremont Colleges and have deep knowledge about the Colleges. Faculty Co-Directors will be selected based on the following criteria:

  • Demonstrated excellence in teaching and the success of all students
  • Commitment to and experience with promoting greater equity, inclusivity, and diversity
  • Ability to collaborate effectively with others at their home institution and across the Claremont Colleges
  • Integrity, respect for others, and appreciation for confidentiality
  • Emotional intelligence and ability to communicate convincingly with others

Though not required, the following characteristics are also helpful for this position:

  • Prior experience with faculty development or the CTL
  • Knowledge of current research, trends, and thinking on anti-racism, diversity and inclusion, particularly in higher-education settings
  • Knowledge of current research, trends and thinking in higher education teaching and learning
  • Prior experience with program assessment and evaluation
  • Expertise in various forms of educational technology
  • Contribution to the scholarship of teaching and learning or other forms of educational research

 Faculty from all fields of study are invited to apply, although the academic deans hope to appoint Faculty Co-Directors from different disciplines and colleges over time.

Application Instructions

Applicants are asked to submit a (1) cover letter, (2) current curriculum vitae, (3) personal statement about their philosophy on and prior experiences promoting equity, inclusion, and diversity, and (4) contact information for three references who can best address how the applicant meets one or more of the criteria in the “Knowledge, Skills, and Qualifications” section above. The cover letter should include information about how the candidate meets those criteria, how this position would be professionally fruitful, and some specific ideas for workshops or projects that the CTL could pursue.

These materials, when taken as a whole, should demonstrate how the applicant meets or exceeds the criteria described above.

Applications must be received by February 4th, 2022  electronically to ctl@claremont.edu. The academic deans, CTL Advisory Board, and CTL staff will review applications with a goal of announcing appointments by the end of the semester. We hope to contact finalists in earlyMarch.

The CTL will endeavor to be as inclusive as possible in the selection of Faculty Co-Directors. Faculty of color are especially encouraged to apply. It is the intent that these CTL Faculty Co-Director positions will rotate among the seven Claremont Colleges over time and that the disciplinary foci of the Program Director and Faculty Co-Directors be broadly representative. Claremont Colleges Services will make any necessary accommodations to enable the participation of as many people as possible.