{"id":23683,"date":"2025-09-08T16:46:28","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T20:46:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cfc\/?p=23683"},"modified":"2025-10-01T08:25:23","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T12:25:23","slug":"new-faculty-join-the-catamount-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cfc\/blog\/2025\/09\/08\/new-faculty-join-the-catamount-community\/","title":{"rendered":"New Faculty Join the Catamount Community"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_row column_structure=&#8221;3_5,2_5&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;3_5&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The Office of the Provost and the Coulter Faculty Commons welcomed 60 new faculty on August 6-8 for New Faculty Orientation (NFO). Throughout the three-day event, new faculty members enjoyed a warm Catamount welcome from Chancellor Kelli R. Brown, Provost Starnes, Associate Provost Huffman, Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management &amp; Student Success Moultrie, and Faculty Senate Chair Alsayyed.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559738&quot;:150,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Some sessions that stood out that new faculty highly recommended were: <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Colleague Connection<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0(an interactive networking bingo game),\u00a0<\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Welcome to Success &amp; Supporting Our Students<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0(a panel and case discussions with Student Success and Student Affairs), and\u00a0<\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Ask Us Anything<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0(a faculty panel where\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Brian Byrd, David Jons, and Tracy Mensah fielded questions).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">As a result of attending NFO, 81% of respondents said their confidence levels in their preparedness to teach at WCU increased significantly; 85% reported their preparedness to support students increased significantly; and 93% reported that NFO gave them a sense of connection with the university. One new feature that helped connect new faculty to WCU was a short history walk across campus that was led by Peter Koch, Associate Director of the Mountain Heritage Center.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Almost 40 campus partners participated in the resource fair, another highly rated component of NFO. One new faculty participant noted, \u201c<\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Overall, NFO was an outstanding experience. I learned so much about WCU\u2019s rich history and how I can best service the university\u2019s students and my colleagues. I\u2019m very grateful to those who organized for providing new faculty with the space to meet and network with one another, too!\u201d<\/span><\/i><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=&#8221;2_5&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_image src=&#8221;https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cfc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/87\/2025\/09\/NFO-Class-of-2025-300&#215;226.jpg&#8221; alt=&#8221;Group picture of NFO participants during the History Walk.&#8221; title_text=&#8221;NFO Class of 2025&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_image src=&#8221;https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cfc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/87\/2025\/09\/nfo-percentages-1.jpg&#8221; alt=&#8221;Percentage breakdown of NFO attendees&#8217; satisfaction.&#8221; title_text=&#8221;nfo percentages&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_image src=&#8221;https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cfc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/87\/2025\/09\/Possible-Colleague-Collab-2-for-NFO-blog-scaled-e1757364094964-300&#215;242.jpg&#8221; alt=&#8221;Two new faculty chatting with each other during bingo.&#8221; title_text=&#8221;Colleague Collaborations at NFO&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.4&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Office of the Provost and the Coulter Faculty Commons welcomed 60 new faculty on August 6-8 for New Faculty Orientation (NFO). Throughout the three-day event, new faculty members enjoyed [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3284,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\"><img class=\"alignnone wp-image-23686\" src=\"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cfc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/87\/2025\/09\/NFO-Class-of-2025-1024x771.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"440\" height=\"331\" \/><\/span><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The Office of the Provost and the Coulter Faculty Commons welcomed 60 new faculty on August 6-8 for New Faculty Orientation (NFO). Throughout the three-day event, new faculty members enjoyed a warm Catamount welcome from Chancellor Kelli R. Brown, Provost Starnes, Associate Provost Huffman, Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management & Student Success Moultrie, and Faculty Senate Chair Alsayyed. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{\"134233117\":false,\"134233118\":false,\"201341983\":0,\"335557856\":16777215,\"335559738\":150,\"335559739\":0,\"335559740\":240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Some sessions that stood out and attending new faculty highly recommended were: <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Colleague Connection<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> (an interactive networking bingo game), <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Welcome to Success & Supporting Our Students<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> (a panel and case discussions with Student Success and Student Affairs), and <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Ask Us Anything<\/span><\/i><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> (a faculty panel where <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Brian Byrd, David Jons, and Tracy Mensah fielded questions).<\/span><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">As a result of attending NFO, 81% of respondents said their confidence levels in their preparedness to teach at WCU increased significantly; 85% reported their preparedness to support students increased significantly; and 93% reported that NFO gave them a sense of connection with the university. One new feature that helped connect new faculty to WCU was a short history walk across campus that was led by Peter Koch, Associate Director of the Mountain Heritage Center.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Almost 40 campus partners participated in the resource fair, another highly rated component of NFO. One new faculty participant noted, \u201c<\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Overall, NFO was an outstanding experience. I learned so much about WCU's rich history and how I can best service the university's students and my colleagues. I'm very grateful to those who organized for providing new faculty with the space to meet and network with one another, too!\u201d<\/span><\/i><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[57,490,436,102],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","category-cfc-insider","category-teaching-and-learning","category-university-support"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":22015,"url":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cfc\/blog\/2025\/01\/15\/etle-spring-2025\/","url_meta":{"origin":23683,"position":0},"title":"ETLE &#8211; Spring 2025","author":"Anabel Livengood","date":"January 15, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In &quot;AI&quot;","block_context":{"text":"AI","link":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cfc\/blog\/category\/ai\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"QR code to registration form.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cfc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/87\/2025\/01\/ETLE-2025-reg-SV_9ohl1hG2sh0Hp2e-qrcode.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":21131,"url":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cfc\/blog\/2023\/02\/24\/summer-institute-for-teaching-learning-sitl-2023\/","url_meta":{"origin":23683,"position":1},"title":"Summer Institute for Teaching &amp; Learning (SITL) 2023","author":"Ian Selig","date":"February 24, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Blog&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cfc\/blog\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cfc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/87\/2023\/02\/Bradshaw.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":22607,"url":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cfc\/blog\/2025\/02\/24\/apply-to-be-a-faculty-mentor\/","url_meta":{"origin":23683,"position":2},"title":"Apply to be a Faculty Mentor","author":"Anabel Livengood","date":"February 24, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Blog&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cfc\/blog\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20589,"url":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cfc\/blog\/2022\/02\/15\/faculty-embracing-inclusive-pedagogy-at-wcu\/","url_meta":{"origin":23683,"position":3},"title":"Faculty Embracing Inclusive Pedagogy at WCU","author":"Terry Pollard","date":"February 15, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Blog&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cfc\/blog\/category\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16498,"url":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/cfc\/blog\/2020\/09\/08\/professional-development-grant-upcoming-deadline\/","url_meta":{"origin":23683,"position":4},"title":"Professional Development Grant: Upcoming Deadline","author":"Eli Collins-Brown","date":"September 8, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Established in 2012, this grant supports the strategic mission of WCU by providing funds for faculty and instructional staff to pursue professional development opportunities in areas such as teaching and learning, scholarship, leadership, certification, accreditation, assessment, and other related areas. 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