How do faculty in the department work and interact?
We keep our doors open most of the time we are in our offices. We work long hours and spend lots of time with students. We try to create an atmosphere where learning is both expected and fostered. We strive to create a collegial atmosphere, one where students recognize that they are respected and valued. We are willing to ask our students questions that we cannot answer. We are also willing to listen to and learn from our students. The faculty usually meet together for one hour each week. Decisions are typically made by consensus. Our goal is to make decisions that incorporate the insights of all the faculty members into our discussions. We respect each other and seek to learn from each other, recognizing that we have different strengths and weaknesses. We try by our actions to show our students that people with differing backgrounds, beliefs, and thought processes can actually do a better job and reach better decisions when they work as a team.
