Fall 2024 GACET Lunch Presentation Series

GACET

The GameAbove College of Engineering and Technology and the Faculty Development Center hosted a lunch presentation series throughout the fall 2024 semester to help support faculty in the College in their teaching endeavors. There were four sessions; each on a different topic. All sessions took place in the Sill Hall Conference Room. To view more information about each session, click on their respective titles below.

Faculty and lecturers who attended at least two sessions will received a $100 honorarium, and faculty and lecturers who attended all four sessions will received a $200 honorarium. A buffet lunch was also provided at each session. 

We are grateful for support from the GameAbove Faculty First Fund for this series.

  • Session #1: Accessibility Best Practices Expand dropdown

    Date: Wednesday, September 11, 2024

    Time: 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM

    Location: Sill Hall Conference Room

    Speaker: Audrey Farrugia


    Audrey Farrugia is the Interim Faculty Program Director for Communication Sciences and Disorders and the College of Education’s RAIJE (Representing Antiracism, Inclusivity, Justice, and Equity) Committee Chair. During the 2023–2024 academic year, Dr. Farrugia served as the Morris Endowed Chair and the Faculty Development Center’s Faculty Fellow for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Dr. Farrugia obtained her three degrees from Eastern Michigan University. Her research interests focus on social justice in speech-language pathology, the scholarship of teaching and learning, and early intervention. Dr. Farrugia identifies as having an invisible disability and is an active member of the community with her partner and four children.

  • Session #2: Building a Caring Classroom Expand dropdown

    Date: Tuesday, September 24, 2024

    Time: 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM

    Location: Sill Hall Conference Room

    Speaker: Ron Flowers


    Ron Flowers is a Professor in the Department of Leadership and Counseling and the Program Coordinator for the Higher Education Student Affairs program. During his forty-plus years in higher education, Dr. Flowers has served as the President of the Graduate Council, Department Head, Associate Vice President for Student Academic Support Services, and Athletic Director. His recent work has focused on building caring communities on campus to support student well-being. Dr. Flowers is the recipient of a Flinn Foundation Grant and a King-Chavez-Parks Grant to build mental health support capacity on the EMU campus. He is currently Directing the Building a Caring Community University Task Force and the College Mental Health Research Collaborative on College Student Mental Health.

  • Session #3: How Culture Influences Perception and Communication Expand dropdown

    Date: Thursday, October 24, 2024

    Time: 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM

    Location: Sill Hall Conference Room

    Speaker: Esther Gunel


    Esther Gunel is Director of the Office for International Students and Scholars. Ms. Gunel is responsible for all OISS administrative
    operations and functions. In connection with the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, Ms. Gunel serves as the Principal Designated School Official for the F1 program for students studying in the United States, and the Responsible Officer for the J1 Visa Exchange Visitor Program. On behalf of the Department of Homeland Security, the Student and Exchange Visitor Program manages nonimmigrant students in F visa classification, while the Department of State manages the Exchange Visitor Program and nonimmigrant exchange students in J visa classification.

  • Session #4: Using Your Syllabus to Welcome, Engage, and Support Your Students Expand dropdown

    Date: Monday, November 4, 2024

    Time: 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM

    Location: Sill Hall Conference Room

    Speaker: Jeffrey L. Bernstein


    Jeffrey L. Bernstein is a Professor of Political Science and the Director of the Bruce K. Nelson Faculty Development Center at Eastern Michigan University. He was a 2005-2006 Carnegie Scholar with the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in Palo Alto, California. Professor Bernstein is the co-author of Vital Statistics on American Politics (CQ Press, 2022) and co-editor and contributing author of Citizenship Across the Curriculum (Indiana University Press, 2010), Enhancing Teaching and Learning through Collaborative Structures (Jossey-Bass, 2016), and Teaching Research Methods in Political Science (Edward Elgar, 2021; solo-editor). Some of his favorite research projects have been those done with his remarkable students, who make being a professor so much fun. Professor Bernstein is particularly honored to have been named a recipient of the Ronald Collins Distinguished Faculty Award for Teaching II in 2020.


If you have any questions, please contact Elizabeth Donovan, Associate Professor and Paralegal Program Coordinator, at [email protected], or the Faculty Development Center at [email protected].