The Faculty Development Digest highlights events and resources that may be of interest to faculty and other educators on campus. The Digest will be posted on the Faculty Resources site periodically throughout the year. If you have an item that you would like to suggest for inclusion in a future issue, please send the details to Director of Faculty Development Lisa Whitenack at lwhitena@allegheny.edu. To access previous issues, use the links in the Recent Posts box or on this page.
From the Director of Faculty Development
Faculty Travel & ASC funding process changes: In case you missed the many announcements, everything financial has shifted to Oracle. This includes purchases and reimbursements for travel and ASC awards. Note that the pre-approval process for faculty travel funding and ASC awards have not changed, only the reimbursement part. I have written directions for faculty travel funding and ASC-funded travel funding, and I am in the process of also getting those up on the faculty funding website. I am also continuing to work with ITS to figure out some special cases (per diem, travel advances, etc.), so thank you in advance for your continued patience.
Faculty Development office hours: I will be in my CREATE office on Mondays from 1:30-3:00 pm and on Thursdays from 10-11:30 am. Please stop by if you need anything!
CREATE reminder: Please don’t forget that we have coffee, tea, cider, hot chocolate, and snacks available in CREATE at any time! We also just received an order of oat milk creamers for those who are dairy-free.
Allegheny Awesome: If you have a cool pedagogical thing that you’re doing and would like to share, please email me! If you’ve seen a colleague doing something awesome in the classroom or while advising that people should know about, please let me know! If you’ve discovered the key to staying productive in your scholarship while juggling all of the things, send me an email! From there, I will follow up with folks and work with them to write a paragraph or two for a future Faculty Development Digest.
Updates from the Library
Celebrating Allegheny authors: Pelletier Library and CREATE are planning the first annual Allegheny Authors Celebration for this spring (date TBA) to celebrate and honor faculty and staff who have published their work in 2025. We want to make sure that we’re not missing anyone, so if you published your work in 2025, please fill out this form. If you have questions, please reach out to Dean of the Library Tressa Snyder (tsnyder@allegheny.edu).
Upcoming Data Bites: Friday, Feb. 20, 12:20-1:20 pm in the CREATE Lab: Accessibility/Universal Design for Learning. Join Betsy Garloch, Instructional Design & Scholarly Communications Librarian, for a session on ways to increase accessibility, engagement, and comprehension in digital content and assignments. Lunch is provided. Fill out this form to RSVP.
Research Desk Reminders: Research Librarians are experts with citations. Please remember that in addition to assisting with all things research, Pelletier librarians are excellent resources for citation help, assisting with understanding different styles (MLA, APA, Chicago, and others), formatting bibliographies, identifying the right citation for specific sources, using citation management tools like RefWorks, and avoiding plagiarism. We can help you correctly cite books, articles, websites, and other sources. Please refer students to the Research Desk in Pelletier Library for this assistance, or appointments can be made here.
Spring 2026 Research Desk Hours: The Research Desk (located at the front entrance of Pelletier Library) is staffed 3:00 pm – 9:00 pm Monday – Thursday, with additional hours throughout the day. In addition to dropping in during posted hours, you may schedule a research appointment with a librarian here.
Research Librarians & Class Visits: Research librarians are available to collaborate with and support faculty in designing class sessions to help students develop the information literacy and/or research skills they need for their courses. Use the “Request a Library Session” button on our Research Instruction Classes page to schedule a class.
From the Center for Career and Professional Development
CCPD newsletter: The Center for Career & Professional Development reminds you to peruse their most recent email update to faculty & staff about student opportunities — if any of the opportunities there seem right for a student you know, recommend it to the student and help them connect with the CCPD!
From the Office of Student and Community Development
Save the date: The Office of Student and Community Development, with support from the Stackpole Hall Foundation, is pleased to announce that Dr. Thema Bryant will speak on campus on April 23, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. in the Tillotson Room of the Tippie Alumni Center. Dr. Bryant is a former President of the American Psychological Association and a recognized leader in advancing the field of psychology and advocating for mental health equity. Dr. Bryant’s work may be of interest to classes across a wide range of disciplines. There is a limited opportunity for her to speak with or engage in a class session. While this visit occurs near the end of the semester, faculty interested in collaborating are encouraged to contact Dom Turner, Associate Dean of Student and Community Development, for more details at dturner@allegheny.edu or ext. 2723. More information about Dr. Bryant’s work can be found here
Faculty Training & Help with Oracle:
ITS is holding regular training and office hours for Oracle in Murray 117 through the end of February. Please visit us Tuesdays & Fridays 9 am – 12 pm or Wednesdays & Thursdays 1-4 pm. You can also submit tickets through the Web Help Desk. They’d really like to help you! If you have further questions, please contact Katrina Yueng (kyeung@allegheny.edu)
Readings, Slides, and Guides
Teaching in turbulent times: Given what’s happening in the U.S. and the rest of the world right now, here are several resources that you might find helpful for your teaching: The POD Network clearinghouse of several resources, Teaching During Turbulent Times (Northwestern), Teaching in Turbulent Times Toolkit (University of Oregon, Office of the Provost), Teaching in Turbulent Times (UVA, Teaching Hub), and the GLCA resource page for navigating difficult discussions.
Attendance, motivation, and student choices: This Teaching in Higher Ed podcast episode is called “Rethinking student attendance policies for deeper engagement and learning”, and is about student autonomy and attendance and is related to a paper called “Choosing to learn: the importance of student autonomy in higher education.” (Cullen & Oppenheimer, 2024). This is a 47-minute listen, but you can also find a transcript available if you would rather read.
A professor’s framework for meaningful, joyful, and sustainable work: This article by Julie Sochacki has a couple of quick tips to start your semester (and year) off on the right foot, including setting boundaries, giving yourself your best chance to stay well, and reminding yourself of the joy in your work.
Collaborative notetaking: In The Chronicle of Higher Ed, Beth McMurtrie talks about using collaborative notetaking as a strategy for better classroom discussions
What to do when students struggle to work independently: This article by Beckie Supiano was published in 2024 as part of a series on teaching Gen Z, but it’s something I’ve been thinking about based on my own recent experiences. This article dives into the “whys” and offers some ideas on how to potentially shift your teaching strategies.
Upcoming Opportunities
Upcoming antideficit mindset workshop: We are offering Part 2 of the antideficit mindset workshop on Friday, Jan. 30, from 12:20-1:20 pm in the CREATE lab. We’d love to see you there if you have previously attended Part 1 at the Fall ERI! Please RSVP at this link by Friday, Jan. 23, so that we can prepare materials and order lunch for you. If you have any questions, please reach out to Tim Chapp (tchapp@allegheny.edu), Brad Hersh (bhersh@allegheny.edu), or Lisa Whitenack (lwhitena@allegheny.edu).
Teaching with AI webinar series: CREATE will be hosting a watch party for the AAC&U webinar series “Teaching with AI”. The live, four-part virtual workshop series will run on Mondays from 2-3 pm from Feb. 2 through March 2. There is no need to RSVP. We hope to see you in the CREATE lab for some of these webinars! If you have questions, please contact Director of Faculty Development Lisa Whitenack (lwhitena@allegheny.edu)
Upcoming Data Bites: In case you missed it above, let’s repeat it here – Friday, Feb. 20, 12:20-1:20 pm in the CREATE Lab: Accessibility/Universal Design for Learning. Join Betsy Garloch, Instructional Design & Scholarly Communications Librarian, for a session on ways to increase accessibility, engagement, and comprehension in digital content and assignments. Lunch is provided. Fill out this form to RSVP.
Demmler awards: In case you’ve misplaced the email, the call for Demmler proposals went out in an email on Jan. 13. You can find a pdf of the email here. Please note that proposals are due February 27, 2026.
Writing accountability groups: WAGS (for untenured faculty) will meet every Weds. from 11 am – 2 pm, as well as a handful of full Saturdays (Jan. 31, Feb. 21, Mar. 28, & Apr. 18). Please contact Chris Normile (cnormile@allegheny.edu) if you have questions about WAGS. The writing accountability group for tenured faculty will meet every Friday from 1:30-4 pm. Please contact Lisa Whitenack (lwhitena@allegheny.edu) if you have questions about the tenured group. All writing accountability groups meet in the CREATE lounge.
Free webinar on creating & maintaining boundaries in academia: NCFDD is hosting a free webinar called “How to Create and Maintain Healthier Boundaries” on Thurs. Feb. 19, 2-3 pm Eastern. You can read more about the webinar and register for it here.
Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) AI Ready Program: You should have received an email from the AI Task Force outlining this program. This year-long series introduces foundational concepts of AI through topical discussions, practical examples, and guided virtual learning tailored to different campus roles. Whether you’re in academics, administration, or student support, there’s something for everyone, and we have unlimited spaces available as a perk of our membership in the cohort. If you are interested in participating, please contact Katrina Yeung (kyeung@allegheny.edu).