Welcome to the Faculty Development Center (FDC)
The Faculty Development Center provides a centralized place to support the teaching of all EMU faculty, lecturers, teaching GAs, and student success staff. The FDC promotes excellence in teaching, learning, and scholarly activities in accordance with the core values of respect, inclusiveness, care, and commitment. The Center grounds itself in awareness and support for cultural diversity and community-building.
Resources and Services
Teaching Spotlights
Read about our newest teaching spotlight and those from this past year. If you know an EMU instructor that you'd like to be recognized, consider nominating an outstanding faculty member!
Latest Newsletter
Take some time to read our weekly newsletter Happenings at the Faculty Development Center. Each issue features exciting FDC programming and events, blog posts, and much more.
Teaching Blog
We are excited to host the Teaching Blog as a platform for faculty to share their opinions and outlooks on teaching. Keep an eye out for upcoming entries and check out some of our posts from last year!
Upcoming Events
Stay up-to-date on all the upcoming programs and events that the FDC provides in support of excellence in teaching, learning, and scholarly activities here at Eastern Michigan University.
Happenings at the Faculty Development Center
Textbook Affordability Workshop
This program, hosted by the Faculty Development Center and facilitated by Kate Pittsley-Sousa and Julia Nims, is aimed at encouraging, assisting, and developing skills in EMU instructors related to the adoption of free or more affordable course materials.
Fall 2024 GACET Lunch Presentation Series
The GameAbove College of Engineering and Technology and the Faculty Development Center are looking forward to hosting a lunch presentation series throughout the fall 2024 semester to help support faculty in the College in their teaching endeavors. There will be four sessions; each on a different topic.
Book Discussion Series
The Faculty Development Center and the Office of Campus & Community Writing invite you to join us for a book discussion focusing on Kevin M. Gannon’s recent book, Radical Hope: A Teaching Manifesto. We hope this book discussion will allow us to imagine what this better future might look like and to consider productive steps we might take to enact it. We invite you to join us to both imagine and to enact an agenda of radical hope for EMU.
Internal Research Awards Workshops
Join Alexis Braun Marks and Natalie Dove for a series of workshops on the application process and strategies for writing a proposal. These sessions will give you an opportunity to hear about how awards are judged, common pitfalls to avoid, and ways to make your application as appealing as possible to the audience that will be evaluating it.
Research Writers' Collaborative
The Research Writers’ Collaborative is an opportunity for EMU faculty to support each other while achieving realistic writing goals (i.e. developing a conference paper, drafting an article, revising a book chapter, etc.). Giving and getting helpful feedback is also included in this program.
Flipping the Script: A Student-Led Teaching and Learning Conference
This conference, hosted by the Faculty Development Center, will “Flip the Script” to empower the learners to become the teachers, and the teachers to become the learners. It offers all of us an opportunity to straddle both worlds, and to grow through that opportunity. We invite all EMU students to participate in this conference to share what YOU know about teaching and learning with other members of the EMU community. We also invite faculty to share this information with students who might be interesting in being part of Flipping the Script. Applications to do a presentation are due October 7th, 2024 by 5PM.
Enhance Your Academic Research with AI!: Workshop on ChatGPT4, ChatGPT3, and MS Copilot
Unlock the potential of AI in your research with our exclusive workshop, "Utilizing Generative AI Tools in Academic Research: ChatGPT4, ChatGPT3, and MS Copilot." This hands-on session, facilitated by Muhammad Ahmed, Professor of Engineering, is designed for higher education faculty across all disciplines, and aims to enhance their research capabilities using advanced AI technologies.
Faculty Scholarly and Creative Activity Showcase
The Bruce K. Nelson Faculty Development Center, the Office of Research Development and Administration (ORDA), and Graduate Studies and Research are excited to host the 2024 Faculty Scholarly and Creative Activity Showcase to celebrate scholarship and creative activities recently completed, or currently being pursued, by EMU faculty. This year, we are pleased to host student attendees interested in learning more about faculty work.
eFellows Classroom Technology Grant
The eFellows program supports faculty and full-time lecturers in obtaining the resources needed to successfully pilot innovative technology-based projects that enhance student-focused instruction in courses and curriculum. The overall outcome of this program is to improve and enhance student learning and the scholarship of teaching through the integration of appropriate technology. The application for eFellows grants for the 2024-25 academic year is now open. Applications are due by Monday, November 25, 2024.
TaLT Topics: Gen AI in Teaching
In these sessions, which we are calling TaLT Topics, students, faculty, and staff will engage in meaningful conversations about topics that affect our classrooms and campus and that are important to our shared, collaborative community. Our first TaLT Topic is Generative AI in teaching. In this dialogue, we will develop ideas, articulate principles, and discuss best practices for how Gen AI can be best used in teaching and learning.
Mini-Grants to Support Student Wellness
Student wellness remains an important factor in the educational experience and satisfaction on our campus. Even the smallest things can help make a big difference. To this end, the Faculty Development Center and the Dean of Students Office are looking for applicants who want to support student wellness in their classroom through their teaching work. Recipients of this funding will receive up to $250 to introduce practices into their classroom during the winter 2025 term to support student wellness with a goal of sharing these innovations campus-wide. Students who participate will receive a $100 honorarium for their time and efforts.
Community Building Events: National Dessert Day
Once a month,the FDCand the Office of Campus & Community Writing will be holding events to bring our EMU community together in fun ways. These events will give us all time to come together for food, company, and laughs! We hope to see you there! Join us for our next celebration: National Dessert Day!
Inclusion in the Classroom, Lab, and Beyond
Please join the "Engaging in Inclusive Teaching Practices amid Challenges Times" learning community for an in-person, interactive workshop on "Leveraging Aspire's Inclusive Professional Framework to Develop Core Skills to Support Inclusion in the Classroom, Lab, and Beyond." In this workshop, participants will learn about a holistic professional development framework and how it applies to your professional life.
Spotlights
Sherry Wilkinson
Sherry Wilkinson
"I owe so much to Sherry. There would not be a program without her. This is so well-deserved!!"
Nominate a Spotlight
Partnership Spotlights highlights student-faculty partnerships on campus. If you are interested in being featured in a Partnership Spotlight or know of a student-faculty pairing worth highlighting, please complete the short form below. To view previous Partnership Spotlights, click here.
Teaching Spotlights highlights lecturers and faculty from a variety of departments. If you know of an instructor that is worth highlights, please complete the short form below. To view previous Teaching Spotlights, please click here.