New Beginnings
In higher education, these are the times that try people's souls..... As we all confront a challenging present, both at EMU and across the nation, and an uncertain future, we also simultaneously experience the excitement and promise of this new school year. Soon enough, students will be returning to campus, giving us all the opportunity to do what we love and do so well—to make a positive difference in the lives of our students.
So let's get started! The Faculty Development Center and the Office of Campus & Community Writing invite you to join us for our 5th annual New Beginnings Teaching Conference, to be held Thursday, August 21, from 8:30 AM - 1:30 PM, in the Student Center. Every year, we come together at this conference to hear new ideas, recharge our batteries, meet new people, reconnect with our friends, and prepare for a new academic year. And, we also get to share a tasty breakfast and lunch.
This year's theme focuses on "Radical Hope," inspired by the book of the same name by Kevin Gannon. Gannon will join us virtually for our 20 Ideas in 20 Minutes session and will add his own commentary at the end. Gannon will also join us on campus September 15-17 (details will follow about his visit).
About Radical Hope
In a world in which higher education finds itself under siege and faces significant threats and challenges, Radical Hope offers a vision of teaching as an emancipatory practice that spreads hope. Teaching, Gannon argues, can transform the world for our students; it can also help us to reshape institutional culture. Gannon’s perspectives allow us to envision a better future for higher education, and for Eastern Michigan University, with teaching at the core.
About the Author
Kevin Gannon serves as the Director of the Center for the Advancement of Faculty Excellence (CAFE) and Professor of History at Queens University of Charlotte.
We are looking forward to welcoming Kevin Gannon to our campus, and to the insightful conversations that we will have with our featured speaker. To learn more about Kevin Gannon, visit his website here. To learn more about his book, Radical Hope, click here.
Registration to attend New Beginnings is now open!
If you are considering attending, please fill out this registration form. Your registration helps us plan the day, and make sure we have enough food!
New Beginnings 2024 Resources Expand dropdownPowerPoint Slides & Materials from the 2023 New Beginnings Conference
With the theme of "Building Connections," we encouraged attendees and participants to write ideas they acquired throughout the conference on sticky notes. To view some of the new ideas that came from the conference, visit this link.
To view the conference program, click here.
We also implemented a “20 Ideas in 20 Minutes.” 20 innovative educators did a “lightning round” where they each make one PowerPoint slide and speak for one minute about their idea. To view this powerpoint, visit this link.
Some of the presenters who participated in the 2024 New Beginnings Conference graciously allowed us to publish their PowerPoint slides to our website. To view any of the slides, please click on the title of the presentation below.
- We are Humans First: Connecting in the Classroom and Beyond and a summary card by Jessica Swan
- Can You Hear Me Now? Connection Challenges by Juniper Bamrick
- New Beginnings for Instructional Design at EMU by Michael McVey and Matt Schumann
- Career Everywhere at EMU: Creating Equitable and Inclusive Access to Careers and Faculty Toolkit by April Calkovsky, John Carlson and Crystal Walrath
- Collaborative Teaching & Learning at EMU by Sarah Ginsberg, Leslie Blome, John Koolage and Deborah Heyl-Clegg
Transatlantic Connections: Fostering Interprofessional Collaboration through Virtual Case Studies between US and Irish Universities by Jillian Graves et al.
New Beginnings 2023 Resources Expand dropdownPowerPoint Slides & Materials from the 2023 New Beginnings Conference
With the theme of "Try One Thing," we encouraged attendees and participants to write ideas they acquired throughout the conference on sticky notes. To view some of the new ideas that came from the conference, visit this link.
We also implemented a “20 Ideas in 20 Minutes.” 20 innovative educators did a “lightning round” where they each make one PowerPoint slide and speak for one minute about their idea. To view this powerpoint, visit this link.
Some of the presenters who participated in the 2023 New Beginnings Conference graciously allowed us to publish their PowerPoint slides to our website. To view any of the slides, please click on the title of the presentation below.
- Panelist Conversations: Bringing Real Life Experiences in to the Classroom for Difficult to Teach Topics by Lindsay Kalinowski and Richard Jewell
- Battle Against the Flawed Intelligences by Matt J. Schumann
- Making the Most of the First Day of Class by Jeffrey L. Bernstein
- Making a PK-12 Teaching Methods Course More Student-Centered and Interactive by Michael Foster
- Tips for Working with Students Whose First Language is Not English by Cynthia Macknish and Ildi Porter-Szucs