The New Faculty Institute, San Diego Mesa College’s year-long orientation program for new faculty members, welcomed twelve new full-time faculty members to campus on August 14-15 for “We Are Mesa” Days.

As the first New Faculty Institute event, “We Are Mesa” Days featured two days of presentations and activities designed to acclimate new tenure-track faculty to Mesa College.

Presentations included topics such as preparing for classes and understanding job duties to learning about services available to both faculty and students.

The first team-building activity took place August 14, with the new group coming together to make lunch with the help of the Culinary Arts/Culinary Management department in the state-of-the-art Mesa Commons building.

This year’s New Faculty Institute cohort includes Blythe Barton, Dance; Kelsey Brown, Personal Trainer; Sudhakar Kalagara, Chemistry; Dave Odasso, Communication Studies; Nadia Pidgeon, Interior Design; Scott Plambeck, Communication Studies; Sean Ricketts, Track & Field / Cross Country; Allan Schougaard, Computer Information Science; Kristian Secor, Web Development; Jesus Gaytan, EOPS Special Populations; Terrence Hale, General Counselor; and Patricia Rodriguez, General Counselor.

In addition to learning about about Mesa and campus life, the New Faculty Institute provides faculty with support and networking opportunities, as well as a 50,000-ft. view of the community college system.

Tags: New Faculty Institute