Purpose
Supporting faculty in their career and professional development requires fresh, innovative strategies that respond to complex, evolving needs. While many institutions offer workshops and standard programs, these often fall short of fully engaging busy faculty or adapting to diverse contexts. This lightning talk will explore how using a Human-Centered Design (HCD) framework, a flexible, creative problem-solving approach rooted in empathy, can help institutions look deeper, ask better questions, and co-create solutions that truly support faculty growth.

Methods
This session will introduce participants to core design thinking principles as a practical tool for reimagining professional development. Participants will learn how design thinking reframes faculty support as a collaborative process, moving beyond top-down programming to design with faculty as active partners. Through real examples and short reflective prompts, the session will walk attendees through key HCD phases: building empathy to understand faculty experiences; defining root problems hidden beneath surface issues; brainstorming fresh ideas without judgment; and testing low-risk prototypes that adapt to different contexts. Participants will also reflect on how this approach can scale to diverse institutional cultures.

Intended Takeaways
In just seven minutes, attendees will leave thinking differently about how faculty development can be designed—seeing how a human-centered mindset can unlock creativity, uncover barriers, and generate ideas that fit real faculty lives. The goal is not to offer one solution but to spark curiosity, encourage experimentation, and inspire educators to try co-design in their own settings.

Conclusion
By planting the seeds of Human-Centered Design, this talk invites a global community of educators to reimagine career development that starts with the people it serves, creating sustainable, relevant, and supportive systems for faculty at every stage.