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
Data Bites is back! Faculty and staff are invited to join us for the first Data Bites of the year on Thursday, Sept. 24 from 12:15-1:30pm in the CREATE lab. We’ll be covering “Academic Alerts 101”. Have you ever wondered if you’re submitting academic alerts correctly and, more so, what they’re used for? The Class Deans will spend some time reviewing the academic alert process and how alerts are used in their work with students. Snacks will be provided.
Advising Handbook: Please don’t forget that there is an Advising Handbook that gets updated each year!
Fall 2026 Educator Resource Institute materials: If you missed it or want to look back at the materials, you can find the full schedule here (which also contains links to the slide decks that our presenters used, as well as other resources). Whether you attended or not, please fill out this survey to give us feedback on the Fall ERI and future ERIs!
Sabbatical/Pre-Tenure Leave Reports: If you had a sabbatical or pre-tenure leave during the 2025/26 academic year, please remember to submit your leave report using the form on this page. For fall one-semester leaves, reports were due by March 31. For spring one-semester leaves and two-semester (fall/spring) leaves, reports are due by October 31. Questions can be directed to Lisa (lwhitena@allegheny.edu).
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
Resource Showcase: Project Muse: Project Muse provides full text access to over 400 scholarly, peer-reviewed journals in the humanities and social sciences. Multidisciplinary content in literature, history, gender studies, political science, psychology, economics, art, music, theater and philosophy. Click here to access.
Come and Get it: Podcasting Equipment! Did you know you can borrow from a large collection of media equipment at the Pelletier Library. This collection contains laptops, cameras, handheld recorders, projectors, and much more. As a brand new addition to this collection, we recently added two mobile podcasting kits: everything you need for a two person recording setup. This is a perfect starter kit for new projects or class assignments. Help us to help you, do you have a permanent podcast studio or equipment available on campus that students can use? Let us know and we’ll spread the word! Email details and reservation requirements to amiller3@allegheny.edu.
Merrick Archives upcoming events:
- Blue & Gold Weekend: A History of Homecoming Pop-Up Exhibit: Friday, September 18, 2:00 pm-3:00 pm, our entire Allegheny Community is welcome! Stop by the Merrick Archives Reading Room to view a pop-up exhibit on the History of Homecoming at Allegheny College. The display is part of the campus-wide Blue & Gold Weekend activities schedule.
- Out of the Vault: A History of the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department, Wednesday, September 23, 4:30 pm-5:30pm, our entire Allegheny Community is welcome! Faculty are welcome to join us in the Merrick Archives to learn about the research of Allegheny student Reagan White. Reagan spent the past summer researching the history of the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) Department. Reagan will showcase many of the documents and artifacts that shed light on the experiences and accomplishments of women and LGBTQAI+ people that, in part, provide early histories that contributed to the development of the WGSS Department. Reagan’s ongoing project includes a digital timeline that, when finished, will help commemorate the 50th Anniversary of WGSS while capturing the rich histories that are crucial to understanding what creates community at Allegheny College.
Research Desk: Refer students to the Research Desk to speak with a friendly and knowledgeable librarian. Looking for research help with your Senior Comp, citation help or other research support? Schedule a research appointment with a librarian here, or stop by the Research Desk which is staffed 3:00 pm – 9:00 pm, Monday – Thursday, with additional hours throughout the day (located at the front entrance of Pelletier Library).
From Global Education
- Students planning to study away should note that regular applications are due September 20 for the Spring 2027 semester.
- The deadline for students to submit their applications for the Gilman Scholarship is October 1st, 2026.
- The deadline for students to submit applications for the Global Learning Seminars is November 6, 2026.
Faculty opportunity: Our exchange partner, IMC Krems University of Applied Sciences welcomes guest lectures in Krems to partake in their annual International Teaching Days. Please see attachment for further details.
Readings, Slides, and Guides
Guides from CREATE: Did you know that CREATE has a website with some very useful guides? Now you do! You can find guides on teaching, research, and more on our site.
Are office hours pointless? Tim Franz and Lauren Vicker argue in their Inside Higher Ed piece that no, they’re not, but we need to change how we’re approaching them. Some of the suggestions in this article are probably things you are already doing, but it’s worth checking out.
For department chairs: Shout out to Julia for passing along this resource for chairs – Leading From the Middle from the Chronicle.
On oral exams: This article, also from the Chronicle of Higher Ed, talks about the pros and cons of oral exams, including some data.
Thinking about going up for full professor soon? Check out this article posted on NCFDD’s website. Also, don’t forget that those nominations are due October 15. See Section 5.3 of the Faculty Handbook for more information.
Upcoming Opportunities
Free virtual teaching workshops: The University of Arizona is offering a series of free teaching workshops over the next two months. You can find the full schedule and information about registering here.
Free virtual workshops about AI and teaching: Stony Brook University’s Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching invites you to its AI CELT Deep Dives, which they describe as “a new workshop series for educators ready to move beyond introductory AI conversations and make thoughtful, practical changes to their teaching.” Workshops will take place over the fall semester. You can see the full schedule and information about registering here.
CUR awards: The Council of Undergraduate Research (CUR) has a series of awards for faculty mentors across disciplines (STEM, humanities, social sciences). Due dates for the various awards are coming up but vary across disciplines. Please see their website for more information for specific awards.
Webinars from the GLCA: Every semester, the GLCA offers free webinars for your faculty development enjoyment. Here is the fall schedule:
- August: Looking for ways to get students engaged and ready to learn in minute one? Join your GLCA colleagues to learn about some energizing and successful classroom warm-up ideas. You can access the recording here.
- Sept 3: Regan Gurung (Oregon State University) A Foot in the Door to Inspiring Learning: Creating Student Centered Syllabi <recording coming soon>
- Oct 22: Lindsay Masland (Appalachian State University): A Permission Slip to Say No: Sustainable Teaching in Unsustainable Conditions