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The Center for Faculty Development offers a number of programs and events which may be specifically useful for late-career faculty.
If, as a mid- or late-career faculty member, you become a program director or department chair (and have other faculty reporting to you), then another program that might be useful to you is the Chairs' Community of Practice (CoP).
This informal forum for chairs and directors from across the university is an opportunity to share ideas, expertise, practices and perhaps even challenges. Over a collegial glass of wine, you'll have a rare change to talk to your peer group with the aim of making chairing a more enjoyable experience.
To find out more about the Chairs' CoP meetings scheduled for this year, visit the Chairs' CoP website.
Wednesdays: Jan 13, Jan 27, and Feb 10 | 2:30–3:30 | Zoom link provided upon registration
Facilitated by Katherine Raichle
The Center for Faculty Development is launching an affinity group for faculty parents of school-age children. 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. The challenge of parenting while maintaining a rigorous schedule of teaching, research, and/or service to the university is not new. However, the benefits of finding a community of support around parenting has never been more urgent. We face unprecedented demands of caregiving and schooling while balancing the work of our academic lives during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The psychological benefits of convening groups of people around common identities and experiences are well known. Research on affinity groups, in particular, 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 experience. We hope to foster a community of support amongst faculty parents, where they can share experiences, offer suggestions, and explore how to navigate these extremely challenging times.
» Register
A sense of belonging: Building relationship-rich class experiences
Mon, Jan 25 or Tue, Jan 26 | 12:30–1:50 | Zoom link provided upon registration
Co-sponsored by the Assistant Provost for Student Academic Engagement and the Center for Digital Learning and Innovation (CDLI)
Facilitated by David Green
The higher education research tells us that a sense of belonging is key to a successful student learning experience. Yet many students begin their college careers uncertain of whether they truly belong, with feelings of imposterism, isolation, and even shame undermining their chance to thrive. These feelings are found to be more pronounced for underrepresented and first-generation students. Among Seattle U students, a lack of belonging and community is often cited as a reason for students to drop out or transfer to another institution, so we know this is an area that deserves our attention.
In their new book, Relationship-Rich Education (2020), Felten and Lambert identify four principles that drive student success – all of them revolving around human connection and a sense of belonging. During this workshop, we’ll explore these ideas as they pertain to course-related interactions – time in class, office hours, and peer–to–peer engagement. We’ll then focus on a research-based model for designing class activities that frontload relationship-building and trust before moving students to the ultimate goals of knowledge construction and reflection that are central to an enriching learning experience. You’ll leave the session with a roadmap for tweaking your courses to boost your students’ sense of belonging and connection.
Attendees who would like to check back in on this topic can do so in an hour-long discussion and debrief.
Tue, Feb 16 | 12:30–1:30 | Zoom link provided following initial workshop
» Register
Co-sponsored by the Center for Jesuit Education
As a participant in this module of the Ignatian Pedagogy Series, you will
It's important that participants attend all three sessions in the series and complete two short written assignments between sessions
Up to twenty-four places are available, and participants will receive a $100 stipend from the Center for Jesuit Education on completion of the module and the 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 series are Jen Schulz (Interdisciplinary Liberal Studies) and Jenny Loertscher (Chemistry).
Twenty-four spaces are available on a first-come, first-served basis. It's essential that you can attend all three sessions of the series. To apply, please complete the application form on Survey Monkey. You will receive an email confirming your participation in the module in early January.
Please be sure to block off the three sessions in your calendar when you apply so that you are definitely available.
If you have any questions about the Ignatian Pedagogy Series, please email faculty-development@seattleu.edu or David Green (greend@seattleu.edu).
» Apply
Radical hope: A teaching manifesto
Higher education nationally is fraught with challenges: its value is frequently questioned, its financial stability is in jeopardy, its inequities have become more apparent in the pandemic, and it is far from immune to the myriad racial and social injustices in society. For many faculty, our current work situation brings deep desolations. Against this disquieting landscape of higher ed, Kevin M. Gannon's book, Radical Hope, offers both a path forward for educators and reasons for hope in our time.
From the publisher: "Radical Hope is an ambitious response to this state of affairs, at once political and practical - the work of an activist, teacher, and public intellectual grappling with some of the most pressing topics at the intersection of higher education and social justice. Kevin Gannon asks that the contemporary university's manifold problems be approached as opportunities for critical engagement, arguing that, when done effectively, teaching is by definition emancipatory and hopeful.
"Considering individual pedagogical practice, the students who are the primary audience and beneficiaries of teaching, and the institutions and systems within which teaching occurs, Radical Hope surveys the field, tackling everything from impostor syndrome to cell phones in class to allegations of a campus 'free speech crisis.' Throughout, Gannon translates ideals into tangible strategies and practices (including key takeaways at the conclusion of each chapter), with the goal of reclaiming teachers' essential role in the discourse of higher education."
In this three-session Learning Community, facilitated by Katherine Raichle, you'll read through the book with colleagues and explore how this material applies to your work as an educator.
Over the three sessions, you'll learn how to:
This community is for any faculty member who seeks to change their teaching practices and curricula in the face of the numerous challenges at the heart of higher ed.
Radical Hope is 152 pages long, and the reading will be split across the three sessions to be manageable for participants.
The three dates in Winter Quarter are:
Please register by noon on Wednesday, January 20.
» Register
Supporting students with anxiety and depression
Mon, Feb 1 | 11:00–12:00 | Zoom link provided upon registration
Co-sponsored by Disability Services and Counseling and Psychological Services
Moderated by David Green
Data on student mental health presents a sobering picture: A study of 48,000 US college students found that 63% of students had experienced anxiety in the previous 12 months, while 42% had felt so depressed they found it hard to function. Over the same period, 50% had found academics difficult to handle and 58% reported higher than average levels of stress.
Especially concerning for educators is that this study was published two years before the pandemic (American College Health Association, 2018). Our students were already anxious and depressed before the introduction of restrictions to protect the population from COVID-19 - restrictions that simultaneously removed or reshaped many of the support structures students relied on for their mental health.
Faculty are not employed as mental health professionals. Our role is not to diagnose or offer therapy. Yet there are things we can be doing to support our students and to connect them to relevant university services so that they are encouraged and aided as we struggle through this extraordinary period together.
In this Q&A session, you'll have the opportunity to talk with and learn from Kim Thompson of Disability Services (DS) and Aimée Coonerty-Femiano of Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS). Find out how you can best help your students, what they can expect when working with DS and CAPS, and how you can engage with these two key offices to create a network of student support that enables our students to succeed.
» Register
Unlocking my writing resistance
Mon, Feb 1 | 2:00–3:20 | Zoom link provided upon registration
Facilitated by Holly Slay Ferraro
I never have had sustained time to write, long periods or a week away to do anything - I never had that. So I would always write under conditions that probably are unbearable when people think of how one writes.
–Toni Morrison
Many of us can see ourselves in Morrison's words - except we haven't found a way to be productive despite our condition. So, we say to ourselves (and anyone else who will listen):
Like Morrison, most of us do not have sustained periods to write. The good news is that research shows we can make significant progress on our scholarship in as little as 15 minutes per day (Boice, 1997). And, scholarly writing can be quite influential (there are scholars from every discipline who appear in newspapers, on television, and on podcasts).
So, if time and the impact of scholarship aren't blocking our writing, what is? In this workshop, we will explore our writing resistance and create strategies for getting our writing on track.
» Register
Teaching community-engaged courses
Co-sponsored by the Center for Community Engagement
Facilitated by Dr. Kristi Lee (College of Education) and Elizabeth Seymour (Center for Community Engagement)
Faculty who would like to include a community-engagement/service-learning component in a course are invited to participate in a series of three one-hour workshops and a consultation.
This program will provide you with:
Participants will also receive a $150 stipend for attending all three sessions.
This opportunity is open to all faculty.
Two sections of this series will be run in Winter Quarter, in order to accommodate different teaching schedules. You can choose to attend sessions on Wednesdays or Thursdays. The dates are as follows:
Wednesday section
Thursday section
To apply for this workshop series, please complete this [application form is now closed] on Survey Monkey by Thursday, January 21 at 12:00pm.
We will notify all applicants of their participation by Monday, January 25 at 5:00pm.
Please be sure to block off the three sessions in your calendar when you apply so that you are definitely available.
Any questions about the series can be directed to Kristi Lee (leekrist@seattleu.edu) or Elizabeth Seymour (eseymour@seattleu.edu).
*The application form for this series is separate from the registration form for other Center events.
» Registration is now closed
Resistance or resource? How resistance can help bring about better organizational change
Wed, Feb 3 | 2:00–3:30 | Zoom link provided upon registration
Facilitated by Holly Slay Ferraro
Higher education is undergoing what some might describe as cataclysmic change. As leaders, we see that there is a need for change and stakeholders often balk at changes we propose. Resistance causes friction and slows down changes that seem important and, perhaps, inevitable. So, what can we do about resistance? How can leaders access the power of resistance to create better solutions to organizational problems? In this workshop, we examine management research suggesting that resistance can be a resource for, rather than a drain on, change efforts. We will explore how to develop our leadership skills and invite resistance to rediscover purpose and facilitate change.
*Workshops in the Faculty Leader Series are open to faculty who are department chairs, program directors, and faculty associate/assistant deans. The registration form for this session is separate from other Center events.
Attendees who would like to check back in on this topic can do so in an hour-long discussion and debrief.
Wed, Feb 17 | 2:00–3:00 | Zoom link provided following initial workshop
» Register
Trauma-informed pedagogy: A teaching approach to enhance all your students' learning
Mon, Feb 8 or Tue, Feb 9 | 11:00–12:20 | Zoom link provided upon registration
Facilitated by Katherine Raichle
The past year has been unprecedented in its challenges and ongoing traumas. The ensuing stress has limited the bandwidth of many of our students to deeply engage in our courses. We know that the impact of trauma is detrimental to learning, thus the common observations that some students appear "checked out" or "disorganized." This past year has foregrounded the critical interface of mental wellness and learning, urgently calling on us to change our pedagogical practices.
Trauma-Informed Pedagogy is an approach to teaching that considers the needs of our students, thus enhances their learning during this most challenging time. However, benefits of this pedagogy are timeless, born from the knowledge that trauma is ubiquitous amongst our students. Moreover, these practices are well-known to enhance learning for all students.
This workshop is for anyone who would like to make subtle yet substantive changes to their pedagogical practices that will enhance trust, community, engagement, and learning for all students. All levels of teaching experience are welcomed.
In this workshop, we will:
Attendees who would like to check back in on this topic can do so in an hour-long discussion and debrief.
Mon, Feb 22 | 11:00–12:00 | Zoom link provided following initial workshop
» Register
An introduction to visualizing data using SPSS
Tue, Mar 2 | 10:30–12:00 | Zoom link provided upon registration
Hosted by the Data Science Working Group with support from the Center for Faculty Development and the Office of Sponsored Projects
Facilitated by Erica Rauff (Kinesiology), J. McLean Sloughter (Mathematics), and AJ Stewart (Mathematics)
Being able to create appropriate graphs is a key tool in data-informed research. Using the right graphs can allow you to quickly communicate interesting findings and can help you understand your data and formulate new research questions.
While many people have likely used Excel to graph their data, Excel has limited functionality for creating many standard data visualizations. SPSS is a statistical software package that has a spreadsheet interface very similar to Excel, but with far more options for data visualization and data analysis. It is available to all SU faculty, staff, and students through SU's virtual desktop (desktop.seattleu.edu).
In this workshop, we will discuss some underlying principles of what makes for good and useful data visualization. We will look at several standard types of graphs, and discuss how to decide which graphs are appropriate for a given set of data. We will also learn how to use SPSS to create these graphs.
This workshop will include demonstrations of graph creation as well as time for participants to try out SPSS for themselves. Example data sets will be provided, but if you have data from a project you're interested in working with, please bring that along and we can help you get started visualizing your data!
This will be an entry-level workshop. No prior experience in statistics or data visualization will be needed in order to participate.
» Register
Retirement planning
Click here to see a bibliography of resources pertaining to aging and retirement (compiled by Jacquelyn Miller, 2015).
