Revision with unchanged content. There is a perception that a variety of forces, both social and technological, are accelerating the rate at which change is needed and occurring in higher education. There is also recognition that the primary means through which institutions change is via the creativity, innovation, pedagogy, and scholarship of their faculty. Addressing the challenges offered by these change issues, faculty development programs provide an institutionalized mechanism through which change may become manifest systemically. Situated within the context of institutional change, this study sought to better understand the underlying psychological processes that facilitate the adoption of innovations and new pedagogical practices by faculty within higher education. Through an interdisciplinary approach, self-efficacy research and Rogers diffusion theory were used to inform a line of inquiry that ultimately offers guidance for the evolution of future faculty development practices as well as directions for future areas of research.

Ph.D.,received his degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Virginia Tech. He is currently the Assistant Director of the Faculty Development Institute and serves as the Assistant Director of Strategy and Planning within Learning Technologies at Virginia Tech