2004-2005 Faculty Resource Guide


1.  Welcome
Message from the President; Message from the Vice President of Academic Affairs; Mission Statement

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Message from the President 

Dear New Faculty Members: 

I’m pleased to welcome each of you as one of the faculty at Framingham State College.  I’m very proud of the academic credentials and excellent teaching of our faculty, who come to us with diverse backgrounds and experiences, making the academic culture here a rich and nurturing one.  This resource guide is one way to negotiate the collegiate waters at Framingham State College for new sailors.  I wish you a long and enriching voyage at this College which has been on its own journey of discovery for 165 years, set on its adventurous way by Horace Mann as the first institution of higher education to train teachers in the United States of America.  Welcome aboard!  I look forward to meeting each and every new faculty member during the academic year. 

Dr. Helen Heinemen
President

Message from the Vice President of Academic Affairs 

Dear New Faculty Members: 

You can learn much about a college by the way it puts itself forward.  Like many of you who are accessing this resource guide, I am new to Framingham State, and my first impressions were shaped by physical appearance as I walked around the College.  Our campus is very much a small New England one with short paths crossing immaculate grounds, connecting the different elements together and creating the physical sense of community.  In the short time since that first tour that I have been working here, I’ve met many faculty and staff and learned that it is a strong community in the interpersonal sense as well. 

This resource guide covers the nuts-and-bolts of daily existence, and we hope the material helps you to have a smooth, successful beginning and to become productive teacher-scholars.  Any resource guide, however, cannot substitute for the interaction that takes place among colleagues.  All of us – veterans and newcomers – have a role to play in this regard, finding the most meaningful and fulfilling ways to take from, and add to, our community. 

I look forward to getting to know each of you. 

Dr. Robert A. Martin
Vice President for Academic Affairs

Mission Statement
“University Learning in a College Environment” 

Framingham State College was founded by Horace Mann in 1839 as the first state-supported institution of public higher education in the United States for the training of teachers.  Located in Framingham, Massachusetts, a community 20 miles west of Boston, the College assists in fulfilling the workforce needs of the Commonwealth with an emphasis on the rapidly growing high technology and service region known as MetroWest.  The College integrates liberal arts and science programs with a variety of professional programs at the Baccalaureate and Master’s levels. 

The College offers distinctive programs in: 

• Teacher Education and Preparation – Programs to prepare teachers at all levels of Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12 education.

• Nutrition, Dietetics, Food Technology, Chemistry and Biology – Unique professional programs integrated with foundation sciences.

• Business and its Applications Across the Disciplines – Programs with special preparation for the new technological economy.

• Advanced Technology – Programs infusing information technology throughout the curriculum.

Framingham State College draws the majority of its students from within Massachusetts and the New England region.  Traditional college-age students, as well as non-traditional students seeking higher education on either a full- or part-time basis, are served and are accorded opportunities to participate in campus life through a variety of co-curricular programs and activities and to develop the necessary knowledge and skills to compete in a global and technological society.