Journal of Higher Education Management - Vol 35(2)

researchers, teachers, and colleagues outside of your unit can be mutually beneficial, increase professional learning, and benefit the institution (i.e. creativity in solving institutional challenges or increasing faculty retention) (Cross, 2007; De Laat, 2012; Pugh & Prusak, 2013). However, not all faculty have access to social faculty networks, higher level faculty networks, or the social capital to develop them, hence one of the benefits of a FDP which can provide an opportunity for faculty to engage with new networks.

Additionally, research has shown that faculty thrive and want an opportunity to engage in IPN development in less rigid environments that allow for more free expression (Xu & Martin, 2011). Thus, the traditional structure of FDPs held in centralized faculty development centers, in classrooms with an expert, or heavily managed by leadership could minimize faculty autonomy, lower motivation to engage, and stunt IPN growth amongst faculty (Tynjala, 2013). Other options, which research has shown that faculty respond well to, are opportunities off-campus, flexible, non-evaluative, technologyenhanced, egalitarian, and opportunities that promote autonomy (Clus, 2011; Cross, 2007; Niehaus & O’Meara, 2015). FDPs that provide opportunities for faculty to develop informal professional networks are important and aid in increasing equitable access to diverse senior level faculty and administrators, increase collaboration, climate, and foster collegiality.

Climate – Climate is a measure of the real or perceived quality of interpersonal, academic, and professional interactions on a campus and consists of the current attitudes, behaviors, and standards of faculty, staff, administrators and students concerning the level of respect for individual needs and abilities (Hurtado, 1992; Rankin, 2001). A healthy climate is characterized by faculty who have respect for others, communicate, and engage in civil interactions with other faculty, students, and staff (Peters & King, 2017). Faculty members, administrators, and staff are all significantly impacted by campus climate (Maranto & Griffin, 2011; Pedersen & Minnotte, 2017). As an example, faculty members who rate their campus climate as healthy and inclusive are more likely to feel personally and professionally supported (Cipriano & Buller, 2012). This feeling of support is related to positive outcomes, such as increased productivity, positive career attitudes, and collaboration (Diggs et al., 2009; Harde et al., 2011). Improving campus climate is a central goal of administration that is often reflected in faculty development programs (Austin & Sorcinelli, 2013; Bauman et al., 2014), because of the positive influence on faculty productivity, engagement, retention, and collegiality (Diggs et al., 2009; Harde et al., 2011; Trower, 2012).

Collegiality – Collegiality is the amicable interaction and coexistence between members in an organizational setting, which is a central component of a healthy climate and culture in academia (Trower, 2012). For faculty, the lack of collegiality has been linked to diminished work quality, low workplace satisfaction, poor morale, climate issues, limited collaboration, and low retention (Cipriano & Buller, 2012; Clark et al., 2013). In a study of collegial interactions and instructional development with 30 faculty members, participants who identified as experienced expert teachers had larger, stronger, and more diverse networks as compared with experienced non-experts which provides evidence for the role of collegial interactions throughout a faculty career (Waes et al., 2015). Large strong networks extend a faculty’s abilities in many areas key to success in the academy such as teaching and research; making these collegial relationships important to professional development (Cross & Thomas, 2008; Waes et al., 2015). In addition, some scholars suggest that enhanced networks through developed collegial relationships should be an important goal or outcome of all training programs because of the benefits listed above (Van den Bossche, & Segers, 2013). Dually important is the role collegial relationships have in faculty collaboration.

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