Faculty empowering faculty: SoTL leaders catalyzing institutional and cultural change

Abstract

Faculty are increasingly interested in engaging in the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) across disciplines, necessitating educational development support. While many institutions utilize one-time workshops and faculty communities offering professional development funding, the case study presented in this article takes a different approach. The aim of the Engaged Teacher-Scholar (ETS) program is to support faculty growth in a process of becoming ETS leaders across the university campus. ETS leaders advance an individual SoTL research project and are trained to develop a plan for and offer professional development events to their department, college, and university related to SoTL. The article presents an overview of the program's objectives, organization, and outcomes over four years of implementation. The article concludes with implications for implementation at other institutions.