Every Lenoir-Rhyne University full-time faculty member will have a faculty biography webpage on the new website. These webpages will be linked to from the new campus directory as well as appear on academic program pages with other program faculty.

New submissions and updates for faculty biography webpages can be submitted using a simple online form at www.lr.edu/faculty-webpage-updates.html.

A faculty biography webpage includes the following information:

• A brief overview of your background, research interests and teaching—typically 300 words or less
• Education – listed in reverse chronological order (terminal degree listed first)
• Complete contact information – title, phone, email, LRU mailbox number (e.g., LR Box 7500), office building location and office number (Rhyne 200). This info will be maintained separately in PowerCampus, but we want to make sure we have the correct info on file.
• A professional headshot – new headshot photography for Hickory and Columbia will be scheduled February-April 2021 by Marketing and Communications and dates/times communicated to faculty by email. Asheville faculty headshots were captured in fall 2020.
• Optional: Professional CV (provided as an attachment to the faculty webpage) or link to professional website containing your CV.

Faculty Biography Webpage – Format & Style

Below are more specifics regarding the format, style and tone for faculty biography webpages.

Faculty biography webpages are written in third person and are intended to be conversational in tone. Ideally, they should be 300 words or less.

Think of your faculty page as your way of introducing yourself to prospective and current students. Your faculty profile page should include information about your specialty and discipline, your passion for teaching, how you involve students in your research and scholarship and how you mentor students in producing original work. A faculty biography should be done in a short, narrative format and be conversational and welcoming in tone.

A faculty biography webpage is not the place for a comprehensive list of publications, or highly technical details of your research dissertation. Rather, it is a place to cover career highlights and focus on main points that distinguish you as a professional and excite you about your work.

As a supplement, you are welcome to provide a current CV or link to a professional website for more detailed information on all of your professional experience, affiliations, publishing and accomplishments.

What to Avoid

Since your position title and education will be listed separately on your faculty biography webpage, avoid writing out your title and education within the main biography narrative.

For example, avoid doing this since this position and educational information is already on the page:

Jane Smith, Ph.D., is associate professor of business. She received her Ph.D. in Human and Organizational Systems from Fordham University, MBA from Wake Forest University and B.A. in Management from Lenoir-Rhyne University.

Education

You should list your education in reverse chronological starting with your terminal degree. List your degree, major or program and then institution. Format and style example:

Ph.D., Chemistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
M.S., Psychology, Duke University
B.A., History, Lenoir-Rhyne University

If you have certifications you would like to list, please provide those as well.

Professional Headshot

As noted, new professional headshot photography will be scheduled February-April 2021 by Marketing and Communications and dates and times communicated to faculty by email. Please pick an advertised date and time that is convenient for you to get a new headshot (see scheduled February-March headshot dates). If a new headshot is not taken during the spring 2021 semester, a previously taken university headshot will be used.

If you already have a professional headshot taken by a non-university photographer, you may upload the photo using the online submission form. You should provide an original, uncropped photo so we can resize it as appropriate for the web. Please provide images in color, not black and white. Headshot photos should be taken and provided horizontal in orientation versus vertical.

The redesign website will include new faculty biography webpages, which will be linked to from the new campus directory and academic program pages.

Faculty Biography Webpage Examples

Since we don’t have linkable LR examples to share, please refer to these examples to help guide writing your faculty biography webpage and additional requested information.

• https://www.queens.edu/faculty/sarah-griffith.html
• https://www.queens.edu/faculty/patricia-koplas.html
• https://www.queens.edu/faculty/jeffrey-thomas.html
• https://www.queens.edu/faculty/zachary-white.html

Questions

If you have questions, please reach out to Doug Minor, associate vice president for digital strategy, at doug.minor@lr.edu.