Change is constant and transition (between roles, between institutions, and between seasons of personal and professional life) requires a careful balance of courage and patience to navigate well. At their core, our jobs are framed by the theme of transition as we work with students through one of the most significant transitions they'll go through during their educational journey. Join Dr. Martin and Dr. Muha as they explore the timeless topic of transition together in this episode and how we can see transition as a valuable opportunity for growth.

In our last episode, we learned about faculty support of students from the Student Development side. This month, we’re exploring the idea from the faculty perspective. Welcome Dr. Rachel Hammond to the podcast, Dean of the Business Department at Calvin University. Rachel speaks with us about how problems in the student’s life often show up first in the classroom, and how faculty can walk with the student, in concert with Student Development, in order to care for them well and holistically.

Positive and mutually beneficial relationships between faculty and staff are essential to the mission of Christian colleges. We say we want to form and develop the whole student, and that type of holistic support is most effective when communication between curricular and co-curricular groups. But how do we arrive at that level of collaboration? Dr. Mark Muha's expertise in this area is featured in the January episode. He talks about his research on the factors that predict faculty and staff collaboration and how to apply this knowledge to improve your collaboration efforts this semester.

Chapters:

0:00 Dated mid-season update of the Lions and Eagles

2:30 Introduction of guest (it's Mark)

8:42 Mark's professional background

14:38 Lead-up to Mark's dissertation topic

18:16 Starting presumptions about how collaboration works

22:10 Study outcomes - what predicts collaboration?

28:50 Practical outcomes

38:50 Adapting relational coordination theory to your context

46:20 How to start improving your collaboration this month

Discover Mark's Work:

Mark's ACSD Growth Journal Article: Pursuing Campus Collaboration That Works: Assessing the Impact of Relational Leadership and Work Engagement on Relational Coordination between Student Affairs and Academic Affairs in Christian Higher Education