Annual Events

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CONNECT Conference
The 2024 CONNECT Conference will take place on Friday, February 9th. Join us to learn about what your colleagues are doing, to share your own insights on this work we share, and to think deeply about how we can be better at what we do when we do it together. We are especially excited to have Peter Felten join us to talk about the importance of relationships in higher education. Please consider attending, and consider submitting a proposal to share your ideas with others. We look forward to CONNECTing with you at the conference! 
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New Beginnings Conference
To better prepare for the fall semester, we partnered with the Office of Campus and Community Writing to host the New Beginnings Conference. Our goal was to encourage participants to "Try One Thing" in their teaching as classes begin. We joined together to engage with colleagues, learn new things, and get the fall 2023 semester off to a great start.

The 2023 conference was held on Thursday, August 24, 2023. Please check back for updates on the 2024 conference as they become available.
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New Hire Orientation
Through this program, we intended to give our new EMU faculty a warm and sincere welcome to the university by providing them with the necessary tools to build their career as a scholar, to support their students in the classroom, and to become an engaged citizen in our community.

To learn more about the sessions that were offered at the New Faculty Orientation,
please view our morning and afternoon programs.
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Faculty Scholarly and Creative Activity Showcase
We invited all tenured, tenure-track, emeritus, and lecturers to display posters, journal articles, books, artwork, and videos or compact discs (CD) of performing art, etc., that highlight scholarly activities that were disseminated/completed during the 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 calendar years. The 2023 Faculty Showcase took place on Thursday, March 23. Check back for details about the 2024 Showcase when they become available.
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Thank-An-Eagle Program

We love recognizing the outstanding people of the EMU community! The Faculty Development Center hosts a university-wide event called Thank-An-Eagle, where EMU students have a chance to thank an instructor, staff member, coach, GA or mentor who has helped them during their time here at EMU.

The 2023 Thank-An-Eagle event was held on Monday, April 17th, at 3:30 PM. Check back for details regarding the 2024 event as they become available. 

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Flipping the Script Conference
Join us for our first annual Flipping the Script Conference, hosted by the Faculty Development Center, which 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 for all of us to straddle both worlds, and to grow through that opportunity. The conference itself will take place on Friday, December 1st, 2023. 

Upcoming Workshops

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Internal Research Awards Workshops
During the fall 2023 semester, Alexis Braun Marks, University Archivist, and Natalie Dove, Associate Professor and Interim Department Head of Psychology, will host three sessions for those interested in applying for an internal research award. The purpose of these workshops is to both inform attendees on the application process itself and provide feedback on any materials provided. 
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Research Writers' Collaborative
The Writers’ Collaborative is an annual 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. This program will meet throughout the fall 2023 semester on Wednesdays from 1-3 PM. Sessions will take place virtually on Zoom.
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Playing Around with Generative AI
Join Professors Raed El-Jarrah and Christine Clark for a hands-on session to explore generative AI and reach your own conclusions about its affordances and constraints. What can it do? What can it not do? How can you work with it to enhance what you do in the classroom? This will take place Tuesday, December 5, 2023 at 2:30 PM at 109B Halle or Zoom. We will repeat this program early next semester for those who are unable to make it to this session..
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Developing Gen-Ed Course Proposals
Join Gen-Ed Director, John Koolage and will also feature faculty who have successfully navigated this process. Participants will learn about the expectations and requirements for Gen Ed proposals and workshop ideas for creating new courses or revising existing ones.  This will take place Thursday, November 30, 2023 from 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM in 109B Halle. Register here.

Previous Events

  • Preparing Meaningful Syllabi Workshop Expand dropdown

    Jeffrey Bernstein (Professor of Political Science and Director of the Faculty Development Center) and Hannah Bollin (Doctoral Fellow for Educational Studies) collaborated to bring together a syllabus workshop to kick off the fall 2023 semester. During this event, we offered participants new ideas and language for your syllabi, both to ensure the requirements are met and to inspire, encourage, and better support our students.

  • Textbook Affordability Workshop Expand dropdown

    This three-part Textbook Affordability workshop series, hosted by the Faculty Development Center and facilitated by Kate Pittsley-Sousa, Julia Nims, and Sara Memmott, hopes to encourage, assist, and develop skills in EMU instructors related to the adoption of free or more affordable course materials.

    Learn more about this workshop.

  • Supporting Student Mental Health Workshop Expand dropdown

    Faculty are not trained therapists, and we should not act as if we are. But there are things we can do, and should do, to support our students in their time of need. The FDC and CAPS staff came together in this session to talk about student mental health issues, and about what faculty can do to support students. We discussed data, investigated scenarios, and shared ways we can address this challenging, but vitally important, part of our job.

    Learn more about this workshop.

  • ChatGPT: New Semester, New Challenges Expand dropdown

    Ann Blakeslee and Beth Sabo from the Writing Across the Curriculum program and the University Writing Center and Jeff Bernstein from the Faculty Development Center hosted two ChatGPT sessions during the summer of 2023. These sessions took place before the fall 2023 semester begins and offered instructors resources to take with them into the start of the year, including syllabus statements, classroom policies, and assignments. 

    Learn more about these sessions.

  • Setting the Tone: Creating a Culture of Mattering and Belonging in Your Class Expand dropdown

    This session brought together campus leaders in inclusive education to share practical guidance on how you can create a positive classroom environment, helping students to feel as if they belong in your class, and that their success matters to you.  What can you do - on a syllabus, on the first day, in the first few weeks - to create this sense among your students?  How do you use the beginning of the semester to set the right tone?  

    Learn More about this Session.

  • Inclusive Mentorship Workshop Expand dropdown

    This program, facilitated by Dr. Dyann Logwood (Assistant Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies) and Dr. Sadaf Ali (Professor of Digital Media and Journalism), intended to explore the intersections of race, class, and gender in order to better help BIPOC students navigate their unique challenges and build a sense of community among students and faculty outside of conventional spaces.

    Learn More.

  • Summer Book Discussion: Small Teaching Expand dropdown

    Jeffrey Bernstein and Ann Blakeslee held a three-part discussion series surrounding the book Small Teaching, 2nd ed., by James M. Lang. In this book, Lang delves into strategies of small change that can be used to enhance student learning experiences. Readers learned how to help students excel at retrieving knowledge from memory and make meaningful connections to course content, and how to build community and motivation in your classroom.

    Learn More.