The Office of Academic Affairs, working closely with the Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning and other campus offices, provides a number of activities relevant to faculty professional development. These activities are designed and created with faculty input based on their expressed needs and interests. Among the activities provided are:

  • Mentor/Mentee Lunches. Mentors will be given free lunch gift cards at a local restaurant to take their mentee to lunches to informally share ideas about teaching, research, and service issues. These discussions might include topics such as work/life balance, adjusting to a new community, introducing mentees to colleagues and including them in social events, and sharing academic experiences.
  • Classroom workshops on teaching best practices, including:
    • how to discuss “critical incidents” and incivility and bias;
    • how to develop inclusive pedagogy and foster a classroom climate of educational equity;
    • how to establish student learning goals and goal assessment;
    • how to design and teach online courses and develop effective remote learning practices;
    • how to use experiential learning activities to enhance student engagement; and
    • how to teach information literacy.
  • “Let’s Talk Teaching” open discussion sessions, where faculty members meet to informally discuss and share experiences.
  • Writing and research workshops.
  • Grant writing workshops.
  • Workshops on understanding the P&T process; department and college standards; demystifying the professions; articulating teaching, research and service goals; and strategies on how to get promoted/tenured.
  • Faculty presenting their research and creative scholarship to their department, school, and College community.