Lehman’s New Faculty Seminars started with a warm and social gathering of new and second year faculty, deans, program directors, and senior administrators, who came together to share greetings, a campus tour, and a hot meal catered by Caridad.
Lehman is welcoming 22 new faculty this fall, including the Dean of Education, Harriet Fayne, the Chair of African and African American Studies, Mark Christian, three new assistant professors in the Leonard Lief Library, nine new Natural & Social Science faculty, six new Arts & Humanities faculty, and three new Education faculty, ranging from lecturers to associate and assistant professors. Added to last year’s new faculty cohort of 27, this year’s new faculty continue transformational changes taking place for Lehman.
At the first seminar meeting, new faculty mingled with second year faculty guests and with senior and mid-level administrators to share Irene survival stories, moving experiences from country and state to New York, and of course the usual first day of classes anecdotes about students, classrooms, and online information requests. Deans Fayne and Timothy Alborn offered advice to new faculty about making the most of CUNY and its sister universities as well as about the opportunities for collegiality and faculty development offered by the Teaching & Learning Commons. Associate Provost Robert Whittaker and Chief Information Ronald Bergmann encouraged faculty to make use of resources already available and to be active in developing new sources for communication and research.
Special Collections Librarian Janet Munch led a campus tour with historical and contemporary notes on buildings and public art around the College. Wopo Holup’s Intersections installation and Jackie Ferrara’s Covered Walkway provided particular points of interest as did the juxtaposition of Gothic and contemporary architecture. Lehman’s New Science Building inspired questions regarding the integration of green and cutting edge laboratory technologies into the new space.
Our new faculty bring a variety of continental (Europe, Australia, Asia, Africa) and cultural experiences and education to their research and teaching, reflecting and complementing Lehman’s remarkable student diversity. We are already beginning passionate discussions of football dominance (soccer to those who have an NFL and AFL to follow), global politics, and of course, the challenges of public and local transportation.
Over the next weeks, we will begin exploring academia as a profession. Supported by ePortfolios and online discussions, faculty will read about institutional environments and academic communities as well as faculty mentoring. Experienced faculty and staff will visit the seminar to answer questions and provide further resources for new faculty to thrive in Lehman’s beautiful and stimulating atmosphere.
