New Faculty Welcomed to CSUN at Annual Orientation

  • Greg Knotts talks to new faculty

    Greg Knotts, director of the new faculty orientation program, welcomed faculty to the annual New Faculty Orientation held on Aug. 20 and 21 in the Oviatt Library. Photo by Nestor Garcia.

  • Matadors baseball head coach Greg Moore and some of his players hand out team shirts to attendees. Photo by Nestor Garcia.

  • Faculty hold jerseys

    New faculty show off their Matador jersey "swag" at the New Faculty Orientation. Photo by Nestor Garcia.

  • California State University, Northridge Provost Harry Hellenbrand speaks to new faculty at orientation. Photo by Victor Kamont.

  • CSUN President Dianne F. Harrison and her husband, John Wujack, greet new faculty at a reception at their home. Photo by Nestor Garcia.

  • New faculty chat

    New faculty chat during a reception at President Dianne F. Harrison's home. Photo by Nestor Garcia.

California State University, Northridge’s newest faculty got a crash course on CSUN — from tips on creating a syllabus to helpful technology to icebreakers for getting to know their students — at the New Faculty Orientation held Aug. 20 and 21.

Nearly all of the 41 new tenure-track faculty hired this semester attended the annual event, which was themed “S.H.I.N.E.: Strategies, Highlights, Individualized, Networking and Emotions.”

“The New Faculty Orientation program is such a welcome addition to the CSUN culture,” said Greg Knotts, director of the new faculty orientation and programs, professor in the Department of Elementary Education and coordinator of the Queer Studies Program. “NFO manages to get the needed bureaucratic tasks accomplished while new faculty meet veteran faculty, have some fun and learn about the campus community.”

He said the event highlights important information about the campus and its resources.

“Taking part in the NFO gave me a sense of the larger community to which I am connecting,” said Jessica ChenFeng, a new faculty member in the Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling. “The staff and all the parts of the campus they invited to the NFO space were so warm and embracing, and I kept hearing similar themes of collegiality, collaboration and openness.”

ChenFeng said she would recommend that all new faculty participate in new faculty events like the orientation.

The program included presentations by the Office of Human Resources, the Division of Information Technology, the Division of Student Affairs and the Oviatt Library. In addition, members of the men’s baseball team, student orientation leaders and students from the Department of Kinesiology led an exercise break. Members of a CSUN student a cappella vocal group serenaded the new faculty, and President Dianne F. Harrison hosted a special reception for new faculty at her home on Aug. 21.

For more information about the New Faculty Orientation, visit the Office of Faculty Development webpage or contact Greg Knotts at greg.knotts@csun.edu.