New and Early Career Faculty

The New Faculty Orientation Week (NFOW) was established in 1999 as part of the University's commitment to helping you make smooth and positive transitions to Ferris State, and to successfully advance students' development and learning. The week-long orientation is complemented by the Faculty Transition Program that continues throughout the Fall and Spring semesters. Together, the New Faculty Orientation and Faculty Transition programs share the following goals:

1. To enable you to cultivate stimulating, student-centered, and inclusive learning environments;
2. To assist you in establishing peer relationships that can support and enhance your personal and professional growth and development;
3. To support and enhance your engagement or participation in the University community;
4. To enable you to gain and successfully use knowledge about the University's mission, goals, core values, processes, and students;
5. To enable you to gain knowledge of and successfully use University resources (e.g., FLITE, Academic Support Services, instructional technologies, and support personnel); and
6. To assist you in making a positive transition into the FSU academic community.

For 20 years, Ferris State University has offered a New Faculty Transition Program (NFTP) aimed at helping faculty who are new to Ferris be effective teachers and make a positive transition into the Ferris community. Beginning in Fall 2019, NFTP was redesigned as the Faculty Transition Program (FTP). Whereas NFTP was open only to first-year faculty, FTP is open to first- and second-year faculty (tenure track and non-tenure track).

The Junior Faculty Fellows Program is a selective program open to second- and third-year faculty (both non-tenure track and tenure-track). The program aims to support Fellows in identifying, designing, and completing teaching, scholarly, creative works, or other service projects that align with Fellows’ professional goals and aspirations. JFFP provides a supportive, collaborative environment that helps Fellows advance their work and share their progress, successes, and challenges with their colleagues