Collegiality

A college cannot be successful without faculty and staff who exhibit collegiality toward one another. It is this shared responsibility of professionalism, cooperation, and support that fosters true excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service. Indeed, I believe collegiality among faculty to be a distinguishing characteristic. However, collegiality in the department goes beyond simply filling in for meetings and activity planning. Together, I believe a department can cultivate a positive vibe within the department that makes engagement more naturally fun for the students. 

Within the mathematics department, I am supportive and available to my colleagues as needed. During my first several years while at Florida Southern, I worked closely with the other math faculty in creating a new applied math major and deciding different concentrations as part of that major. I helped to create generic syllabi for a new course called "Abstract Algebra" and prepared the documents needed for their curriculum committee. I have volunteered to cover several recruiting events that were not originally scheduled, as well as to serve on several search committees for open positions within the department. I also mentored many independent studies to supplement the lack of course offerings within the Florida Southern math curriculum and course offerings. 

Reaching out to Other Departments for Ideas

Upon reflecting on all the activities that have been successful in engaging my students, it is the relationships with my colleagues that has been crucial to that success. It is not possible to be an expert in all areas and I have benefitted greatly from the expertise of the other faculty around me on campus. I tend to have a sizable number of computer science majors who also major in applied math. My aim is to include a set of applications in each of my classes that will interest as many students as possible. Below is an email I have sent to the CS faculty at Florida Southern. There were several responses from the faculty that included different areas within computer science that could include linear algebra.

In general, I never hesitate to ask another colleague's opinion about a situation with a student, or to discuss ideas and challenges about teaching. In fact, I have gotten most of my active learning strategies and the concept of specifications grading from discussions with others. I continue to work with my colleagues as I improve my teaching techniques, grading system, and the relationships that I have with students. 

I end this section with some comments I have received in my evaluations that concern my collegiality with my students.