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August Newsletter
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(If you have trouble reading this newsletter click here to view on web.)
I am honored to be writing the introduction for this first newsletter of the academic year, just a few weeks after I began my new position as the Director of the Faculty Hub. Since my arrival on campus, it’s become clear that the progress and accomplishments of the Faculty Hub under the leadership of Linda Boland with her dedicated and talented team of faculty developers—Kylie Korsnack, Andrew Bell, and Libby Gruner—and our coordinator—Jane Bise—have been nothing short of remarkable. Just as remarkable is the fact that the Faculty Hub was created through the efforts and engagement of University of Richmond faculty and the support of the University’s leadership.
The 2019 Teaching and Scholarship Initiative (TSI) committee report offered a vision for the Faculty Hub as “a focal point for campus-wide efforts to support student learning and scholarly and creative work through faculty development.” The visual metaphor put forward in the TSI report, that of a focal point, implies that the Faculty Hub is a place to look to for support, which it very much is. But it’s also a real place, a real point on the campus map. The Faculty Hub is your space, and we hope you'll come here to take part in our programming, have a consultation with our staff about your scholarship or teaching, and utilize our workstations and teleconferencing spaces. The Faculty Hub is also a great place to gather with colleagues, hold committee meetings, find a quiet corner for writing or grading, or pick up a book from our lending library.
As the Faculty Hub builds on its strong foundation for faculty development on campus, we are committed to ensuring that we continue to support you effectively. I am most excited to get to know you, the faculty at University of Richmond, and to understand how the Faculty Hub can contribute to improving your professional life. I invite you to stop by the third floor of Boatwright Library at your convenience or to make an appointment to chat in person about anything that’s on your mind. We welcome your suggestions and involvement in our programs, and we’d love to find opportunities for you to come and share your expertise with your colleagues.
This newsletter provides a sneak peek of our fall programs. We're starting the year with some offerings to support you as you return to campus, notably with upcoming Morning Blend sessions on aligning your time with your priorities. We’ve also bolstered our writing support this semester to help keep you on track with your goals. In addition, we’ll have two faculty cohorts that might be of interest—first a semester-long Inclusive Pedagogy Cohort, and next, the Digital Pedagogy Cohort, whose focus will be on experimenting on how to leverage an LMS (learning management system, i.e., Blackboard) in your classes.
For many of us, the beginning of the academic year, more than January 1 or the first day of spring, can represent a time for new beginnings. This year, in particular, the return to campus will be a time of coming together, reconnecting with colleagues and the campus community, and encountering a new generation of students—with all the promise and challenge that will bring. That being said, it’s important to acknowledge that the past few years have altered our annual rhythm dramatically and have brought change, stress, grief, and loss. Many of us are experiencing those mixed emotions as we prepare for this new academic year, and I hope that we will all tread lightly and gently as we return to campus with a renewed sense of the importance of connection and community support.
Kitty Maynard
Director of the Teaching and Scholarship Hub
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| Upcoming Faculty Hub Events |
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| Below is a list of selected upcoming events. For a full list of Faculty Hub events, check out our website. |
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| Thursday, August 11 to Friday, August 12, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. each day. In-person at the Faculty Hub |
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| Course Design Institute |
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| The Faculty Hub will be facilitating an in-person Course Design Institute (CDI) from Thursday, August 11 to Friday, August 12 from 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. each day at the Faculty Hub. If you would like to benefit from the feedback and collaboration that comes from finalizing your fall syllabi and course plans in community with colleagues, please join us! |
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The institute will be co-facilitated by Kylie Korsnack (Educational Developer), Andrew Bell (Technology Consultant), and Kitty Maynard (Director of the Faculty Hub).
Learn more and register for the CDI here. |
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| Monday, August 15, 1 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. In-person at the Faculty Hub |
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| Faculty Hub Inclusive Syllabus Workshop |
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Join the Faculty Hub for an interactive workshop on inclusive syllabus design. In this session, participants will learn how to craft a course syllabus that makes space for all students, promotes student engagement and agency, and provides students with the tools they need to succeed.
Throughout the session, we will identify strengths and areas for improvement in our own and others' course syllabi, critically reflect on the beliefs and assumptions that we communicate through our syllabus design, and collaborate with colleagues to revise a syllabus to more clearly and intentionally support equity and belonging. We hope participants will leave this session with a variety of strategies for creating a course syllabus that lays the foundation for an inclusive classroom.
Participants should bring a draft syllabus with them to the session. They will be invited (but not required) to share their syllabus with colleagues for feedback. Coffee, tea, and snacks will be available to participants.
Please register for the Inclusive Syllabus Workshop here. |
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| Thursday, August 18, 8:45-11:30am Zoom |
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| Prepping Your FYS: Strategies for Writing and Revising Your FYS Syllabus |
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Are you currently prepping an FYS course for this fall? Would you like to connect with other FYS instructors, brainstorm ideas for writing-focused classroom activities, and get feedback on your syllabus from colleagues? We invite you to join us for a virtual workshop specifically designed for FYS instructors, "Prepping Your FYS: Strategies for Writing and Revising Your FYS Syllabus."
This workshop will be split into two sessions with a short break in-between – you are welcome to attend one or both sessions:
- 8:45 - 10:30am: Incorporating writing-to-learn activities into your FYS with special guest, Dr. Michael Reder (Director, Joy Shechtman Mankoff Center for Teaching & Learning at Connecticut College)
- 10:30-10:45am: Break
- 10:45-11:30am: FYS Mini-syllabus workshop with Dr. Kylie Korsnack (Educational Developer, Faculty Hub)
Register for one or both parts of the FYS workshop here |
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| Friday, August 19, 10 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. In-person at the Faculty Hub or on Zoom |
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| Faculty Hub Conversation: Inclusive Assignment Design |
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Join the Faculty Hub for a conversation on inclusive assignment design. In this session, we’ll provide a quick overview of principles associated with inclusive assignment design, including an introduction to the transparent assignment framework (Winkelmes, 2013). Then, we’ll open up a conversation about principles and practices for inclusive assignment design. Join us for this opportunity to share ideas, ask questions, and gather feedback from colleagues as you design or redesign the assignments for your upcoming courses.
*Note: Participants can choose to join this session virtually (via Zoom) or in-person at the Faculty Hub. Coffee, tea, and snacks will be available for in-person participants. Those joining virtually will be sent a Zoom link prior to the session.
Please register for the Conversation here. |
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| Morning of Wednesday, August 23 |
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| The Faculty Hub Welcome Back Breakfast |
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| On Wednesday, August 23, you're invited to our Welcome Back Breakfast for a bit of back-to-school sustenance. We'll have goodies from Sub Rosa Bakery and fancy coffee to keep you going during the first week of classes. Feel free to drop by the Faculty Hub anytime between 8:30 and 11:00 a.m. (and if you can, join us for Morning Blend from 9:30-10:00). This is a great chance to reconnect with or meet your colleagues as well as the Faculty Hub team--Andrew Bell, Kylie Korsnack, Jane Bise, and incoming director Kitty Maynard. |
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Morning Blend is the Faculty Hub’s “coffee break” style opportunity to learn something that will help faculty advance their teaching or scholarship. We offer presentations that last 15 minutes or less and provide a one-page tip sheet. We record the sessions for our archive. The program addresses timely needs that occur throughout the academic year, even as we remain mindful that time is our most precious resource! This past semester's topics can be found here.
From the Morning Blend Archive: |
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| First Day of Class |
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Tips for making the most out of your first day of class with your students.
Recording | Tip Sheet |
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| Learning Contracts |
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Tips for creating a formal agreement between a student and instructor to structure and assess a learning experience.
Recording | Tip Sheet |
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| RStudio Workbench |
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Teaching a data science course this semester? Try using RStudio Workbench on spdrweb.richmond.edu
Recording | Learn More |
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| Opportunities to Engage with Faculty Hub |
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| Call for Applications, 2022-2023 |
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| Inclusive Pedagogy Cohort |
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The Office of the Provost and the Faculty Hub invite applications to join the Inclusive Pedagogy Cohort for Fall 2022. An academic initiative since 2018, the cohort functions as a learning community, bringing together faculty and instructional staff from all five schools and many disciplines to engage in deepening individual and collective knowledge and application of inclusive pedagogies. Although typically this involves a year-long commitment to the cohort, in AY22-23, the Inclusive Pedagogy Cohort will be a one semester commitment with the option to continue working together in the spring. The initiative will be led by Kylie Korsnack, Educational Developer in the Faculty Hub and Tamar Schwartz, Professor of Law.
Applications are due on Monday, August 15 at 5 p.m. The cohort will be capped at 16 participants. Read the IP Cohort: Call for Applications for more information and details on how to apply. |
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| Call of Participants, Fall Semester 2022 |
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| Digital Pedagogy Cohort |
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A University’s learning management system (LMS) is a foundational digital pedagogy tool that helps faculty teach and students learn. The University of Richmond’s current LMS is Blackboard (blackboard.richmond.edu). For this fall semester’s Digital Pedagogy Cohort, the faculty will come together to collectively better understand the LMS and the ways that it can contribute to improving teaching and learning at the University of Richmond. This semester’s cohort will be a partnership across the Faculty Hub, Information Services, and the Faculty Technology Committee and will be led by Andrew Bell, Technology Consultant in the Faculty Hub.
Register for the Fall Digital Pedagogy Cohort |
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| Call for Applications |
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| Digital Pedagogy Grants |
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Want to use a new digital pedagogy tool / software but need funding? Digital Pedagogy Grants are designed to enable exploration and evaluation of digital pedagogy tools and practices that have the potential to enhance teaching and learning.
DP grants support the purchase/licensing of software or digital services. In AY22-23, due to a one-time grant* from the VFIC, faculty have the additional opportunity to request support for small equipment item(s).
Check out the Digital Pedagogy Grant website if you’d like to learn more about the program and previous Digital Pedagogy Grant recipients. If you have any questions email Andrew Bell. Applications are now being accepted - apply here. |
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| Call for Participants |
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| Early Career Faculty Seminar |
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Early career faculty members are invited to join the Faculty Hub's Early Career Faculty Seminar (ECFS) for meetings throughout the Fall 2022 semester. The seminar provides early career faculty with structured opportunities to build community with colleagues through shared dialogue around topics related to teaching and career development.
ECFS is open to both tenure track and non-tenure track faculty who are within their first three years of teaching at UR. We encourage faculty to join whenever their schedule allows (no need to commit to every meeting to participate).
We are offering two options to participate: Thursdays from 10-11 a.m. or Thursday from 3-4 p.m. Please register on our website to let us know that you hope to join us at some point this semester:
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| Faculty Writing Support, Fall 2022 |
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| Writing Retreats |
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Would it be helpful if you could block off and protect a large chunk of time to dedicate to writing? Do you want to write in community with colleagues in a loosely structured and supportive writing environment? Join the Faculty Hub for a day-long writing retreat. Writing retreats provide participants with an opportunity to briefly check in and share their writing goals with colleagues before breaking off to work individually. Faculty may choose to attend the retreat virtually or in-person at the Faculty Hub. In-person participation will be capped at ten.
This semester, we will hold retreats on the following dates from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. You’re welcome to come for all or part of a retreat. Lunch is included for those who register for in-person participation. Register below:
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| Write on Site (both in-person and virtual options) |
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| Consider taking part in the Faculty Hub Write on Site sessions which offer a chance to write in community with others. Beginning the week of August 29 and continuing throughout the fall semester, we will hold both virtual and in-person writing sessions. In-person sessions are Thursdays from 9:00-10:30 a.m.; virtual sessions are Fridays from 1:00-2:30 p.m. Drop in when you are able and stay for as long as you like—we will be here to help you keep focused. If you are interested in participating virtually, please contact Jane Bise (jbise@richmond.edu) for log-in information; if you would like to join us in-person, just come by, sign in, make a coffee, and find a comfortable spot! |
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| Save the Date for the 14-Day Writing Challenge |
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October 17-30, 2022
Each semester, the NCFDD (The National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity) hosts the 14-Day Writing Challenge. The challenge is a great way to jumpstart your writing and establish good writing habits; its approach can be especially helpful for writing during the semester when finding the time to write becomes increasingly challenging. This fall, we will offer you a chance to participate in the event alongside your colleagues here at University of Richmond. For two weeks, you can join colleagues across campus (and the nation!) to observe a daily writing practice, committing to writing at least 30 minutes a day, recording your progress, and supporting other writers. The Faculty Hub will host a writing retreat on Thursday, October 20 as part of the campus observation of the event, and we will provide you with quiet writing space and moral support through the challenge. You can sign up for the national event once you create an account with the NCFDD with your UR Net ID. Stay tuned for more information about the Faculty Hub offerings related to the event. |
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| External Faculty Development Opportunities |
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NCFDD: Resources for Faculty Writers
The University of Richmond’s institutional membership to the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD) offers extensive free resources to support you throughout your faculty career—including webinars and recordings to help keep you on track with your writing goals. You can sign up for these events once you’ve created a free account with the NCFDD with your UR Net ID.
Some sessions of interest include:
- Maximizing Productivity and Sparking Synergies among Teaching, Research, and Service at Small Liberal Arts Colleges (Live online webinar) Tuesday, October 25, 2:00-3:00 p.m.
- Making the Case: Preparing Your Dossier for Promotion to Full Professor (multiweek course) Wednesdays, July 27/August 3/August 10/August 17, 2:00-3:00 p.m.
You might also look at the free videos and webinars associated with NCFDD’s Core Curriculum. They focus on time management, writing productivity, and ways to address mental and material roadblocks you might encounter. |
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