Faculty Coaching

Faculty coaching is a collaborative, reflective process that supports faculty members in clarifying goals, navigating complexity, and making intentional choices in their professional lives. At Auburn, coaching is grounded in respect for faculty expertise and autonomy, reflective inquiry and thoughtful dialogue, and a strengths-based, forward-looking approach. Unlike mentoring, consulting, or supervision, coaching does not involve advice-giving, performance evaluation, or problem-solving on behalf of the faculty member. Instead, the coach partners with faculty to:

• clarify priorities and professional goals,
• explore challenges and opportunities within their institutional context,
• surface assumptions and new perspectives, and
• identify practical next steps aligned with personal values and career stage.

Coaching conversations are faculty-driven, confidential, and focused on growth, agency, and action. You can read more about coaching in Higher Education in this Academic Impressions article.

Faculty work within a dynamic academic environment that requires balancing multiple roles, expectations, and transitions across the career span. Faculty coaching supports thoughtful, sustainable engagement with this complexity.

Coaching commonly supports faculty in five key areas:

1. Burnout prevention and recovery through sustainable workload planning and boundary-setting
2. Clarity and decision-making aligned with career stage, goals, and responsibilities
3. Renewed motivation and purpose, especially during periods of stagnation or change
4. Transitions into new roles or leadership positions with confidence and direction
5. Launching or reframing projects in teaching, research, or leadership

Research on faculty coaching highlights its positive impact on clarity, confidence, well-being, and professional effectiveness. Recent scholarship, including Transformative Coaching for Faculty and Staff in Higher Education by Katie Linder and colleagues, emphasizes coaching as a powerful approach for supporting sustainable, reflective, and fulfilling academic careers. 

Faculty coaching is available to Auburn faculty at various career stages and is offered in both individual and group formats. While coaching is open to all faculty, it may be especially valuable for faculty who experience additional layers of complexity in their professional roles.

Individual coaching offers a confidential, personalized space for faculty to clarify goals, navigate challenges, and make intentional career decisions. It is especially useful for faculty at transition points—early-career, mid-career, or preparing for leadership—and for those navigating complex institutional, cultural, or role-related demands.

Group coaching brings together faculty with shared roles or interests for guided reflection and peer learning. It is well suited for cohorts, learning communities, departments, or interdisciplinary groups working on common challenges such as teaching innovation, leadership development, or professional sustainability.

Faculty coaching reflects Auburn’s ongoing commitment to supporting faculty excellence, professional vitality, and thoughtful engagement across all stages of an academic career.

Dr. Iulia Pittman is Professor of German and Linguistics in the Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at Auburn University and a Biggio Faculty Fellow. With twenty-five years of experience in higher education, she brings deep expertise in teaching, leadership, and mentoring. She is a certified Advanced Neurolanguage Coach, and in her work as a coach, she draws on both her academic background and formal coaching training to help faculty navigate challenges, build on their strengths, and discover greater fulfillment in their professional lives. Grounded in her own experience with multilingualism and multiculturalism, she brings a unique perspective that allows her to support faculty from a wide range of backgrounds in navigating complex academic environments with clarity, confidence, and purpose.