The overriding purpose of the SCC Office of Faculty and Staff Development is to provide a variety of ongoing growth facilitating opportunities for all employees of Southeast Community College. The office encompasses five major developmental centers with five distinct purposes.
The purpose of the Center for Professional and Personal Growth and Renewal is to maintain institutional vitality, encourage individual personal growth, and to create a powerful, positive and professional work environment. The seminars and workshops offered through this Center are designed to provide all SCC personnel extended ways to effectively and creatively develop professionally and personally, in order to serve our students and to support and advance the mission of SCC. These programs are be facilitated or coordinated through the Office of Faculty and Staff Development.
A sampling of seminars from the Center for Professional and Personal Growth and Renewal include such topics as “Time and Stress Management,” “How to Become a Problem Solver in Times of Conflict,” and “Everyday Techniques to Improve Your Memory.” Staff Development also offers the Great Staff Retreat each spring.
Teaching is a dynamic and complex activity that benefits from “continuous attention to what we teach, whom we teach, and how we teach.” (Tobias, 1992) Continuous enhancement and search for the best teaching practices in order to increase and ensure student learning is the purpose of the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching. The Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching supports the teaching purpose of Southeast Community College by providing teaching programs and resources for all faculty members. Whatever the teaching assignment, the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching provides programs and services that address teaching needs. Samplings of some programs offered in this Center include topics such as “Motivating Student Learning” “Teaching With Pizzazz” “Learning Styles” and “Formal and Informal Classroom Assessment and Evaluation of Student Learning.” Staff Development also annually offers the Great Teachers’ Retreat.
In the Center for Quality Leadership the overall purpose is to enhance leadership skills and abilities of college administrators or supervisors, and others who wish to become administrators or supervisors. The seminars or workshops offered in this center are available to all SCC personnel who are interested in leadership and learning the necessary knowledge, skills, and attitudes it takes to become an efficient and effective leader. These programs are facilitated or coordinated through the Office of Faculty and Staff Development. A sampling of such seminars include seminars such as: “The Power of Synergy” “Whale Done” “Leading With Style” and “Team Building, Leading With Commitment.”
The goal of the Center for Technology Updates is to provide ongoing technical training options for all SCC personnel. Various classes include updates in Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Access, and Lotus Notes. The staff development office also offers classes and updates on our AS400 system and newly installed portal system.
The Center for Safety and Wellness offers a variety of options for our faculty and staff. In the safety arena all SCC personnel create a two-year safety plan. There are many avenues available to fulfill a safety plan. Some of the options include selected videos, on-site campus seminars and on-line learning programs. In the Wellness Center staff development offers two major fitness programs annually, however, we encourage all employees to maintain a healthy lifestyle throughout the entire year. The Office of Faculty and Staff Development also provides a monthly wellness magazine, which is available to all employees.