The New Faculty Experience
by Dr. Richard Forest, Dept. of English Language and Literature, Central Michigan University

Eight weeks into the semester, being asked to submit a brief article from the perspective of a new member of faculty is a reminder – a reminder that I am, indeed, new faculty.

Certainly, I do occasionally notice this simple and obvious truth – when advising a student for the first time, wondering which form I need and how many copies; when taking minutes in my first committee meeting, wondering what exactly goes on record (and what doesn’t); when meeting colleagues from other departments at the Faculty Association meeting or meeting colleagues from my own department at an event. Yes, occasionally I encounter a small reminder that I am new. But it is remarkable, just eight weeks after joining the regular faculty of CMU, just how rare such moments have become.

In part, this may be because I am not really new to Central, having taught here as a temporary faculty member last year. The campus is not new to me, the classrooms are familiar, and I still stop by the usual coffee shop each day for the usual shot of espresso. New responsibilities and expectations are perhaps easier to accommodate in the context of comfortable surroundings and familiar habits.

But I don’t think that is the only reason that I no longer feel particularly new to the department. The other reason is involvement. Being a member of an academic department means being busy, and a lot of faculty life can be fit into an eight week period. In these last eight weeks, I’ve taught dozens of classes, graded hundreds of tests, written thousands of words. I’ve attended poetry and fiction readings, department and committee meetings, Major Night, and a conference. I’ve given a guest lecture for a student honor society, supervised practicum placements, and helped organize the comprehensive examination for one of our MA programs. I’m involved in program review. I’ve voted on initiatives that matter to the future of the department. It’s been busy.

If you’re a member of faculty, you may recognize yourself in this list. Remove the specific details, add your own, and you’ll probably have a list at least as long. Being a member of an academic department means being involved, and this involvement means that you don’t remain a novice for long. After a few weeks of advising sessions, committee meetings, and campus events, it’s all beginning to become rather comfortable, even routine. Your colleagues and department may have practices in place to ease you into the position and help you acclimate. My department certainly does. But it is often through direct involvement and activity that you really become familiarized with how the department functions and with your role in it. I’m happy to say that in my case the balance has been right – I’ve been invited to engage in departmental work in ways that are not overwhelming (at least, no more so than the job inevitably seems to be), but that still get me involved in the actual work of being a member of the department. This is perhaps the main reason that I rarely feel new these days, in spite of having joined the faculty so recently.