One of our goals as a Center is to engage SU faculty in conversation around the deeper questions of academic practice, based on national and international research into higher education. Events are open to ALL SU faculty.
Wednesdays: Oct 5, Oct 19, and Nov 2 | 11:00–12:00 | Via Zoom | Zoom link provided upon registration
Facilitated by Katherine Raichle
The Center for Faculty Development offers an affinity group for faculty parents whose children are school-aged or younger. The purpose of this group is to provide a space to discuss and explore the unique challenges faced by faculty who have children in their care. Over the past couple years we have faced unprecedented demands and uncertainty during the COVID-19 pandemic. The return to in-person work this prior year and in-person school/pre-school/daycare for our children has surfaced sources of consolation and desolation. Let’s convene and share our experiences and how to balance the demands of parenting while maintaining our roles in the academy.
The psychological benefits of convening groups of people around common identities and experiences are well known. Research on affinity groups has shown that they enhance agency and optimism, while also providing access to beneficial information and support.
At its most basic level, we hope that this group offers a space where you can feel less isolated in your experiences. We hope to foster a community of support amongst faculty parents, where they can celebrate successes and offer suggestions about how to navigate challenges.
*Note: if you are interested in this group but cannot make the time scheduled, please email faculty-development@seattleu.edu and let us know. We would like to support all faculty parents during this challenging time and will work with you to find ways to offer support.
» Registration is now closed.
Teaching in the Jesuit Tradition
Facilitated by Jenny Loertscher (Chemistry / Center for Jesuit Education) and rotating guest facilitators
Co-sponsored by the Center for Jesuit Education (CJE)
Teaching in the Jesuit Tradition (TJT) is a community-driven series aimed at building connections and exchanging ideas related to teaching and learning at a 21st century Jesuit university. All are welcome; faculty in their first few years at Seattle University are especially encouraged to attend.
There will be six sessions held over the 2022–23 academic year. You are welcome to attend as many sessions as you choose. Those who attend will be given access to the Canvas teaching repository and will be invited to contribute materials as well.
If you have any questions, would like to contribute teaching materials, or have ideas for topics for additional sessions, please contact Jenny Loertscher (loertscher@seattleu.edu).
Teaching in the Jesuit Tradition as Adjunct and Part-time Faculty
Thu, Oct 6 | 12:00–1:30 | In person | Student Center 130 | Lunch and refreshments will be provided
Co-facilitated by Jenny Loertscher, Jeff Philpott (University Core / Communication), Stephanie Lewis (University Core), and Jen Tilghman-Havens (Center for Jesuit Education)
During this session we will explore what teaching and learning can look like at a contemporary Jesuit institution and how we can use aspects of the Jesuit educational tradition to enrich our teaching and students’ learning.
We hope that you will both receive pedagogical tools that you can use this quarter, as well as share effective teaching strategies with your colleagues.
This session is specially designed for colleagues who are teaching this academic year and have not attended the New Faculty Institute. All are welcome; VITAL faculty (visiting faculty, instructors, teaching assistants, adjuncts, and lecturers) are especially encouraged to attend.
» Registration is now closed.
The Human Element: Overcoming the resistance that awaits new ideas
Tuesdays: Oct 11, Oct 25, and Nov 8 | 1:30–2:45 | In person | HUNT 160 | Coffee and tea will be provided
Facilitated by David Green
Do you have a new idea or innovation you’d like to introduce at SU? Are you wondering how to bring your colleagues on board?
Common practice says that the best way to convince people to take up a new idea is to heighten the appeal of the idea itself. But what about the discomfort and hesitations that hold us back from changing?
In their book The Human Element: Overcoming the Resistance That Awaits New Ideas, authors Loren Nordgren and David Schonthal call the former approach “fuel-based” and label the latter “frictions.” They explore four important frictions (inertia, effort, emotion, and reactance) and introduce readers to corresponding strategies that will help their ideas shine.
In this three-session Learning Community, facilitated by David Green (Center for Faculty Development), we'll work our way through the chapters of the book, discussing where it resonates or aggravates, where it’s immediately applicable or requires some adjustment, and we’ll consider how it might aid our own attempts to bring colleagues on board with new ideas.
Over the three sessions, you'll learn:
If you’re involved in any change initiatives on campus – whether around curricular change, systemic change, or shared governance change – then the ideas in this book could help you feel more effective and enthusiastic in your work, as well as enabling your ideas to be championed more widely. This book is also well-suited to all faculty who are full of great ideas.
The Human Element is 210 pages long, and reading will be split across the three sessions to be manageable for participants.
This learning community meets in Hunthausen 160 on:
» Registration is now closed.
Wednesdays: Oct 12, Oct 26, and Nov 9 | 9:30–10:45 (Nov 9 session from 2:00–3:15) | Via Zoom | Zoom link provided upon registration
Co-sponsored by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI)
Facilitated by Colette Hoption
The Center for Faculty Development and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion are excited to announce the continuation of an affinity group for tenure-track faculty of color. The purpose of convening the group is to provide a space for the collective exploration of the impact of race, power, and privilege on the academic life of colleagues immersed in teaching, scholarship, and service at pre-tenure stages of their careers.
There are three primary reasons. First, the Task Force on Diversity and Inclusive Excellence report recommends boosting our capacity to retain talented minoritized faculty and facilitate professional development opportunities. Second, research on affinity groups indicates they enhance participants’ agency and optimism, while providing access to beneficial information and support. Third, from our own conversations with members of the Seattle University community, we know that faculty of color need a space where they can discuss their unique experiences in a supportive environment with peers who are similarly situated.
This professional development opportunity aims to empower tenure-track faculty of color to build community, share experiences, and pursue their academic life with more confidence and agency. We hope that this caucus process gives participants the space to determine “what solidarity could look like for...as people of color committed to the work of social, racial, and gender justice” (Kad Smith, Compass Point) at Seattle University.
» Registration is now closed.
Co-sponsored by the Center for Jesuit Education (CJE) and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI)
As a participant in this module of the Ignatian Pedagogy Series, you will
It’s important that participants attend all four sessions in the series and complete short written reflection assignments between sessions.
Coffee, tea, and snacks will be provided for each session, with support from the Endowed Mission Fund.
Up to twenty places are available, and participants will receive a $100 stipend from the Center for Jesuit Education on completion of the module and related reflection assignments.
The entire series is co-directed by David Green of the Center for Faculty Development and Jen Tilghman-Havens of the Center for Jesuit Education. Joining them in this module are Andrea Verdan (Center for Faculty Development/Chemistry) and Katherine Raichle (Center for Faculty Development/Psychology).
Twenty spaces are available on a first-come, first-served basis. It’s essential that you can attend all four sessions of the series, so be sure to block off all four times on your calendar before you receive confirmation of your place. Register using the regular link for this quarter’s events from the Center for Faculty Development [link now closed] (also included below).
If you have any questions about the Ignatian Pedagogy Series, please email faculty-development@seattleu.edu or David Green (greend@seattleu.edu) or Jen Tilghman-Havens (tilghman@seattleu.edu).
» Registration is now closed.
Leadership styles self-assessment
Mon, Oct 17 | 11:00–12:30 | In person | Oberto Commons (SINE 200) | Coffee, tea, and snacks will be provided
Facilitated by Colette Hoption
Leadership is a common topic for scholars to study but applying theories and frameworks to our academic context can be challenging. For example, in organizational studies, leaders are often selected based on their past work experience but in academe, department chairs may be chosen based on a rotational schedule.
As a result, techniques in one context might not be as effective in another; and even within the same context, one can find multiple ways to lead. Sifting through the literature independently can be a trying journey, and discerning what works for each of us requires dedicated time and intentional reflection. This workshop is designed to help you navigate those challenges.
In this session, key elements of leadership literature will be presented in organized chunks, with space for you to discuss the various perspectives with colleagues. You'll use some self-assessment tools to evaluate your present-day leadership style, and through hands-on activities, develop a vision for your future leadership.
» Registration is now closed.
Teaching in the Jesuit Tradition
Facilitated by Jenny Loertscher (Chemistry / Center for Jesuit Education) and rotating guest facilitators
Co-sponsored by the Center for Jesuit Education
Teaching in the Jesuit Tradition (TJT) is a community-driven series aimed at building connections and exchanging ideas related to teaching and learning at a 21st century Jesuit university. All are welcome; faculty in their first few years at Seattle University are especially encouraged to attend.
There will be six sessions held over the 2022–23 academic year. You are welcome to attend as many sessions as you choose. Those who attend will be given access to the Canvas teaching repository and will be invited to contribute materials as well.
If you have any questions, would like to contribute teaching materials, or have ideas for topics for additional sessions, please contact Jenny Loertscher (loertscher@seattleu.edu).
Teaching in the Jesuit Tradition: Pedagogies of Social Justice
Mon, Nov 7 | 12:30–1:30 | In person | Casey Commons (CASY 530) | Lunch and refreshments will be provided
Co-facilitated by Jenny Loertscher and Kerry Soo Von Esch (College of Education)
Join us for an interactive session exploring what teaching for social justice might look like in your teaching and discipline. Engage in conversation with colleagues as we examine frameworks for social justice-centered teaching and discuss our own successes and challenges with creating more equitable and rich learning experiences for our students.
» Registration is now closed.