(427) Investing in Faculty Success: School-Driven Faculty Development Committee

Background: The importance of pharmacy faculty development is well-established in the literature, and the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS) has University- and School of Pharmacy-level strategic plans that include a specific focus on faculty development. In compliance with ACPE standard 19.5, the MCPHS School of Pharmacy-Boston (SOP-B) established a Faculty Development and Recognition Committee (FDRC) in 2019 with the charges of implementing programs and creating resources to support faculty development as well as celebrating faculty accomplishments.

Methods: Ideas for programs and resources to support MCPHS SOP-B faculty development were generated from a variety of sources including formal needs assessments (faculty surveys), American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy faculty survey data, Executive Council feedback, and ad-hoc feedback from individual faculty members both on and off the committee.

Results: The FDRC spearheaded 24 unique programs to support faculty development over the past five years. Program topics were diverse and spanned the categories of teaching (9), scholarship (7), career development (4), well-being (3), and service (1). Some programs occurred once, while others are recurring events. In addition, a 12-section repository of faculty development resources was created and maintained by FDRC members within a shared online folder.

Conclusion: The MCPHS SOP-B FDRC has been successful in creating a robust pipeline of faculty development programs that are informed by faculty needs and addresses the spectrum of faculty responsibilities. The SOP-B is committed to continuing to build on this work, which directly relates to one of the priorities in the School’s current strategic plan. Future directions include collaborating with the MCPHS SOP-Worcester/Manchester to identify professional development opportunities that can be offered to faculty in both Schools of Pharmacy.