Faculty Development Coaching and Consultation
Coaching and consulting sessions with Rebecca Pope-Ruark are available to all faculty (academic and research) of all ranks.
What’s the Difference between Coaching and Consulting?
Coaching and consulting are different points on the continuum of professional development. When we think of professional development, we often think of working with mentors who share their expertise and advise, or with sponsors who champion us to others.
In consulting, you work with an expert in an area to improve an aspect of your work. In consultations, we identify your needs and work with you to provide resources, guidance, and support for your professional development. Working with Rebecca in a consulting role, we might engage in activities such as
- Developing a semester, 3-year, and 5-year strategic plan
- Developing maximally productive writing practices
- Building a research and publication pipeline
- Being a good mentor
- Learning academic project management, time management, and organization strategies*.
Consulting meeting are available as one-off conversations or extended engagements to work through your needs as desired.
Who's the Coach?
Dr. Rebecca Pope-Ruark is an ACC-credentialed coach through the International Coaching Federation. I work exclusively with faculty in higher education and practice values-based coaching. I have nearly 20 years of experience in higher ed as a graduate instructor, tenure-track and tenured professor, faculty teaching and learning specialist, and now as the Director of the Office of Faculty Professional Development.
Coaching, on the other hand, is a process of working through opportunities and challenges with a “thinking partner,” the coach, whose role is to ask good questions that allow you to think through your situation, goals, and strategies for moving forward. Rebecca is an expert in a process, and you are the expert on your life and work. By working together, we can creatively approach a variety of topics to enhance your professional self, such as
- Identifying values and goals that guide your academic and professional commitments
- Navigating conflicts and challenging conversations
- Creating and sustaining effective self-care practices and cultivate work-life balance
- Troubleshooting areas of work where you feel stuck
- Transitioning to different career and life stages successfully
- Imagining future career steps and leadership possibilities.
- Generating new ideas for your research and scholarship.
Coaching is often a longer commitment than consulting, often in 3-6 60-minute sessions. Coaching is NOT an expert giving your advice on your particular situation or a remedial learning environment. I'm here to support you as you make your own decisions in your own time.
*Topics related to teaching and learning can be directed to the Center of Teaching and Learning.