Faculty Resources

Mindfulness Minute

As you are reading this newsletter, briefly take a break to look around where you are. Can you find one beautiful thing? Focus your attention upon it, breathing deeply and allowing your body to settle as you just enjoy its presence. Anytime, you can return your attention to this object as a way of orienting yourself to beauty and pleasure. (And, if you can’t find anything at this moment, allow this to be a gentle nudge to place objects of beauty — plants, art, small stones, photographs — in places where you work, to allow you access to this orienting practice at any time.)

Teaching Feedback and Reflection

RSE Week. The Reports of Student Experience (RSEs) will be open to students next week (December 4-8). To encourage students to complete the RSE, please set aside time in class and share with your class how their feedback is useful to you as you reflect on and revise your courses.

RSE Access. Students will receive an email when the survey opens on Monday and they can access the survey from that email or from the RSEs link that should be in every Canvas course. If you’ve previously hidden the RSEs link, please make it visible by: 1) selecting Settings in the left-hand menu in Canvas; 2) in the Navigation tab, dragging RSEs from the bottom list into the top list; and 3) clicking Save at the bottom of the page.

Syllabus Annotation Activity. Looking for additional ways to collect feedback from your students? Bring copies of your syllabus to class on the the last day and ask your students to annotate them. Emily Farris, Associate Professor of Political Science at Texas Christian University suggests the following prompts for students: What did they like/dislike? What was impactful? What would they change? If they could add a week, what would they include or want more of? This activity can also be done electronically using the commenting function in Google docs or a platform such as Perusall. See this enthusiastic post from Matt Reed for his view on the benefits of this activity.

Bonus Tech Tip. For the above activity, you can create a copy of your Google doc for each student as follows:
– Share your document with “Anyone with the link” or “Public.”
– Copy the URL for your document and use it to create a link to your students. For example, you might provide the link within a Canvas assignment or on a Canvas page.
– Update the link, replacing the word “edit” in the URL and anything after it with the word “copy.”
When anyone clicks on the link, they will now be prompted to create a copy of the document that will automatically be saved in their Google drive.

Upcoming Events

Do Faculty of Color Really Matter for the Liberal Arts? The GLCA/GLAA Consortium for Teaching and Learning will be hosting this virtual presentation by Professor Irene López (Psychology, Kenyon College) and Associate Professor Simon Garcia (Chemistry, Kenyon College) on Tuesday, December 5, at 12pm. López and Garcia will present on their findings of barriers and issues faced by faculty of color in academia and, in particular, the importance of faculty of color for students, the curriculum, and the institution. They have also launched a website, the Faculty of Color Network, specifically designed to support faculty members of color and will showcase this initiative during the presentation. Register here to attend this event; registered attendees will receive a link to attend via email the day before the event. The first part of the session will be recorded.

In the Library

Each month we will highlight a resource in Pelletier.

URSCA Updates

Summer Research and Scholarship. Information about 2024 summer research opportunities is now available on the Summer Research Program website. Interested students can apply for up to 8 weeks of funding to participate in research, scholarship, and creative activities on campus and in the Meadville community during Summer 2024. To apply, students should submit a completed proposal (available here as a Word document) and submit it via the link on the website by Friday, March 29, 2024; the link will be live early in the spring semester.

Faculty Stipends. Faculty who mentor students participating in the Student-Faculty Research Program through the Office of URSCA will receive a stipend of $100/week (for up to 8-weeks of support) for their mentorship. The $100/week stipend is not paid per student (i.e., faculty mentoring 2 students will only be eligible for $100/week) and this stipend is available only to faculty whose students participate in this specific program.

Contact Matt Venesky (mvenesky@allegheny.edu), Director of URSCA, if you have any questions.

Global Education Updates

Global Learning Seminars in 2025. Faculty are invited to propose a Global Learning Seminar for 2025. GL Seminars are led by two Allegheny faculty and take students to a domestic or international off campus destination. GL Seminars are offered as standalone 2-3 week summer courses or as part of a Spring 2025 course with travel embedded into Spring Break. Proposals are due by January 17, 2025. Are you interested in leading a GL Seminar but don’t know where to start? RSVP at this link to attend a presentation about the 2025 proposal process on Dec. 4 at noon. For further information, review the 2025 Global Learning (GL) Seminars: Proposal & Program Policies.

Major Specific Study Away Advising Sheets for Students, Faculty, and Staff. Last summer, Allegheny faculty members collaborated with the Global Education Office (with support from the GLCA Global Crossroads Innovation Grant) to create major-specific advice for students considering studying away for a semester. These are now housed on a new My Major & Study Away landing page on the Global Education website. Do you have questions about which semester it’s best for any given major to study away? Or have you wondered which of our sponsored program options are best suited for a particular student looking to take upper-level major coursework while away? What about the mandatory courses students in a given major need to complete before they’re approved by their department to study away? These advising guides answer all these questions and then some. We hope they will be a valuable resource for the Allegheny community when supporting our students in their study away adventures.

Teaching Conference

Ohio PKAL Conference. The eighth annual Ohio Project Kaleidoscope (OH-PKAL) conference, Navigating Current Challenges & Opportunities in STEM Higher Education, will be held at Otterbein University on Saturday, April 6, 2024. The keynote speaker is Dr. Lynne Parker, Associate Vice Chancellor of The University of Tennessee at Knoxville and expert in Artificial Intelligence. OH-PKAL is a network of STEM faculty and graduate students promoting and enhancing evidence-based, learner-centered STEM undergraduate education. Check out the call for proposals to learn more about the conference’s themes and to submit a proposal for a poster, presentation, or workshop; the deadline for submissions is Tuesday, December 19. If you’re interested in carpooling with other faculty, contact Director of Faculty Development Rachel Weir.

Professional Development Opportunities

Research Seminar on Affirming and Inclusive Engaged Learning for Neurodivergent Students. The Center for Engaged Learning at Elon University invites interested scholars and practitioners, regardless of discipline, to apply to join a multi-institutional cohort of researchers who will investigate systems, supports, pathways, and pipelines for neurodivergent students to facilitate access to and participation in high-quality engaged learning experiences. Selected applicants will meet on Elon University’s campus one week every June for the next three years. The deadline to apply is January 16, 2024; more information is available here. Alexis Hart (ahart@allegheny.edu) has been participating in the current research seminar and would be happy to talk with interested faculty.

2024-2025 Workshop for Early Career Faculty. The Nielsen Center for the Liberal Arts at Eckerd College invites early-career faculty at liberal arts colleges to join a supportive learning community and national network. Nielsen Fellows participate in a seminar-style workshop throughout a year-long program that includes three in-person gatherings at Eckerd College on Florida’s Gulf Coast. The deadline to apply is December 22, 2023; more information is available here.