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At MSU Denver, we are committed to the success of our faculty. The Office of Faculty Affairs, the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Design, and the Office of Diversity & Inclusion have collaborated to create a year-long course for our new tenure track faculty.
The Roadrunner Faculty Academy (RFA) was designed to support new faculty as they navigate faculty life at MSU Denver by providing tools, strategies, and skills to thrive in teaching, scholarly activity, and service. Specifically, the RFA has been designed to help make progress toward the following goals:
- Implement Effective and Inclusive Teaching
- Demonstrate Excellence in Scholarly & Creative Activities
- Mindfully navigate the tenure-track at MSU Denver
- Connect with MSU Denver Community and Support
The RFA will provide new faculty members with the foundation needed to be a successful teacher and scholar at MSU Denver.
Schedule
Among other topics, this Roadrunner Faculty Academy will include:
- Teaching and learning theory
- Assessing our students and ourselves
- Effective teaching practices
- Service and Scholarly & Creative Activities
- Communication, Conflict and Community
- and Tenure and promotion at MSU Denver
New tenure track faculty will spend 2 hours per week in this year-long program which includes both asynchronous and synchronous work.
Synchronous Meeting Dates
Please note that all meeting dates are on Fridays between 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM.
Fall 2026
- August 28, 2026
- September 4, 2026
- September 18, 2026
- September 25, 2026
- October 9, 2026
- October 23, 2026
- November 6, 2026
- December 4, 2026
Spring 2027
- January 22, 2027
- February 5, 2027
- February 19, 2027
- March 12, 2027
- April 2, 2027
- April 16, 2027
- May 7, 2027
Frequently Asked Questions
The RFA is a hybrid program. New tenure-track faculty will access the online portion via Canvas. Participants are added to that shell before the first week of classes. Let us know if you need help!
Before Fall 2023 MSU Denver had no robust first-year faculty programs at all. The CTLD offered workshops, faculty learning communities, etc. (which are always open to all faculty), but those were voluntary and were almost never supported with money (stipends) or time (reduction in teaching load). Offerings were restricted to those that we thought faculty could engage in without being overwhelmed by added work.
In the spring of 2023 there was discussion about how to spend some one-time pandemic relief funds that were earmarked for faculty development, and so the Roadrunner Faculty Academy was born. Glossing over a lot of work, shared governance discussions, and months of intense work, the first RFA cohort started that fall.
This is a really sensible question, and we encourage you to reach out to us for a larger discussion, if desired.
Short version: The RFA is MSU Denver’s first-ever robust first-year faculty program. It was initially funded using temporary pandemic-related funds, but in fall 2025 the university has made it a budget priority to pay for reducing the teaching load of the new TT faculty. In return, those faculty are required to consistently spend time on the learning, discussion, and activities of the RFA itself. Because two of the four goals of the RFA are related specifically to tenure-track faculty, and because RFA funding is tied to new TT hires, it isn’t possible to add other faculty to this program.
However! The CTLD has other support structures open to non-tenure track faculty. The SMART Program, in particular, is a flexible way to grow as an instructor and can be supported by departments or deans.
Contact
Please contact the CTLD with questions about this program.