Edwin Simpson, director of the NIU Faculty Development Program, works with faculty on programs to vitalize their career development.

Simpson was recently appointed to the position and describes his job as being “responsible for planning the program” by helping usually tenured faculty members to plan for improvements in their field of knowledge.

When the faculty member has specific goals for research, Simpson helps him by organizing an outline of goals into a contractual agreement.

Simpson, a member of NIU’s faculty since 1968, will name a new co-coordinator to begin duties in January.

Giving faculty the “best opportunity to take advantage of (the development program’s) services” is Simpson’s goal as director.

Through his position, Simpson said he hopes to bring together organizations such as the committee for improvement of undergraduate instruction, the office of sponsored projects and the faculty instructional consultant service. This group faculty support agencies would centralize resources available to the faculty, he said.

NIU’s nationally recognized faculty development program began experimentally in 1982. At a rate of six to 10 tenured faculty per semester, more than 60 faculty members have designed development plans through the program.

“During the past two or three years, the program has responded to additional faculty needs as the academic climate has changed (with new developments in a particular field),” Simpson said.

In the past, only tenured faculty received support from the faculty development program. This year, however, three $1,000 grants will be annually awarded to non-ranking faculty, mostly full-time faculty that will not become tenured.

Simpson has had articles published in Issues in Higher Education in 1985 and To Improve the Academy in 1987. Both were co-authored by S. Supapidhayakul. Simpson’s works have concerned faculty career changes and patterns relating to job satisfaction.

Faculty Renewal in Higher Education is a book with a compilation of his articles and is scheduled to be published in 1990.