A message from the Center for Leadership, Teaching, and Learning

Skidmore College
Center for Leadership, Teaching and Learning (CLTL)

The summer is the busiest of times for faculty research and professional development. In June, some faculty took advantage of grant funding from the New York State Education Department supporting completion of a six-week asynchronous course on Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Kudos to the following who took advantage of this professional development opportunity: Sarah Day-O’Connell, Caitlin Jorgensen, Tammy Owens, Aniko Szucs, Maggie Greaves Ozgur, Jeremy Day-O’Connell, and Xander Prince.

 

Caitlin Jorgensen wrote of the experience: “UDL has transformed my teaching and my work in the Writing Center. Instead of retrofitting my curriculum for each student who discloses a disability, I can offer a variety of modes of learning so everyone can learn and grow.” Xander Prince commented on the applicability of UDL, writing that these “principles have greatly informed every element of my pedagogical approach, from how I compose and present my syllabus, to how I structure assignments and class activities. It is an evolving worldview and vision for the future premised on creating environments for learning that are accessible to the greatest number of individuals.” 

 

This opportunity with the SUNY Center for Professional Development will be available again next June. Be on the lookout for that announcement next spring and move quickly, because space is limited. 

 

The fall semester is right around the corner. (So is apple picking and the Tank and the Bangas concert at Zankel!) Here are some exciting upcoming opportunities you’ll want to plan for: 

  • Save the date for Troubleshooting Tricky Student Issues, a luncheon and consultation with Counseling Center staff: Robert Cardom, director and licensed psychologist, and Angela Banks, associate director of counseling and inclusion. This event will be held on Thursday, Oct. 12, from noon to 1:30 p.m. More information will be forthcoming.
  • You are likely thinking about how AI will impact teaching in higher education, specifically whether you should add a statement on AI to formally address concerns with students. Over the summer, our colleagues in LEDS provided instructions for the detection of AI in submitted work, along with a helpful discussion of other pedagogical considerations, including suggestions for syllabus language. Perhaps you would like to learn more about AI as it intersects with your professional duties. If so, check out the call for compensated participation in an AI Think Tank this fall. And be sure to save the date for Friday, Oct. 17, from 2:30 to 4 p.m. when Jennifer Rose (University of Manchester, UK) will offer a virtual interactive workshop using AI to generate resources and instructional practices to engage students in self-assessments.
  • As you build syllabi, consider how a screening and guided discussion of the documentary “Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution” might augment your course content. Save the date in your calendar for Wednesday, Oct. 25, from 6 to 9 p.m. More information will be forthcoming.

Announcements

New Faculty Orientation

Orientation for new faculty will be held on Thursday and Friday, Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, in the Tang Teaching Museum’s Payne Room. The orientation agenda is available to view. Shortly thereafter, the New Faculty Learning Community will be up and running. A list of fall activities will be circulated among new faculty, posted to the CLTL website, and emailed to chairs and program directors at the start of the semester.

 

National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD)

Skidmore is an institutional member of the NCFDD, through which you have free access to many excellent professional development tools. This webinar on the value of having a plan for each semester is helpful. A 14-Day Writing Challenge is coming up in October. You may access this and more with a free individual membership account by visiting this website, selecting our institution, and creating and activating a new membership.

 

The Weller Room and Lending Library (LIB 212)

This space devoted to CLTL events is also available for (quiet) workspace each weekday morning from 9 a.m. to noon. Folks participating in the Scholarly/Creative Endeavors (SCE) work groups are especially encouraged to use this space before meeting for lunch. The space is stocked with coffee, tea, condiments, cleaning supplies, and paper products. All faculty have swipe access to the space; if you are participating in SCE work groups and you do not have access, you may contact Darlene LeBaron to activate your ID. If you wish to reserve the space for events that advance the CLTL mission, you may submit a request online. The Weller Room also has a Lending Library with relevant texts on critical pedagogical studies, navigating higher education, DEIJAB in the classroom, and universal design for learning pedagogies. To use the lending library: 

  1. Select the book you want from our wonderful selection.
  2. Fill out the form here.
  3. Enjoy your read and return to Weller Room (LIB 212) when finished!

 

Funding for new Black Studies courses  

Important reminder: due to the generous support of the Mellon Foundation – for a three-year grant: “Africana Studies and the Humanities at Skidmore: Transnational Explorations in Social Justice” – we can offer stipends of $1,000 to faculty who successfully considerably revise or create a new course cross-listed with the Black Studies Program (BST). To learn more, visit the CLTL announcements page.

 

LGBTQIA+ web resources

Last spring, the CLTL team worked with Phoenix Goldenberg (’25), president of Skidmore Pride Alliance, to develop instructional materials for students, staff, and faculty on how to be an ally to LGBTQIA+ folks. Goldenberg took the lead and interviewed students and faculty across departments and programs to design materials (e.g., questionnaires for the classroom, a list of appropriate terminology, and best practices for making LGBTQIA+ folks feel a sense of belonging on campus). As you prepare for the fall semester, check out this page, including the fun video (featuring our students), and scroll down to review the content provided.

Get Engaged!

Scholarly and Creative Endeavors (SCE) work groups resume this semester. Fall sessions will run from Sept. 11 through Dec. 8, except for the week of Thanksgiving break.

  • Tuesdays, noon to 1 p.m., facilitated by Eileen Sperry – Have lunch with folks in Murray-Aikins Dining Hall
  • Wednesdays, 12:15 to 1:15 p.m., facilitated by Erin Giffin – Have lunch with folks over Zoom (a link and passcode will be circulated via email)  
  • Thursdays, noon to 1 p.m., facilitated by Lia Ball – Have lunch with folks in Murray-Aikins Dining Hall

 

Teaching Support Network 

The Teaching Support Network pairs faculty for one semester to engage in activities focused on pedagogical development. This could be peer observations, exchanging course syllabi, reading and discussing pedagogical scholarship, sharing strategies for handling challenges in the classroom, assisting with course development, and so on. The CLTL director will match faculty and invite all participating faculty to gather for a kick-off meeting on Friday, Sept. 22, from 2 to 3 p.m. in the Weller Room of the library. During the semester, participants should make time to meet with their co-mentor two to three times. The CLTL will provide lunch tickets to subsidize one of those meetings. A final wrap-up session will be held at the conclusion of the semester. If you are interested in participating in the coming semester, please complete this form on the CLTL website by Friday, Sept. 8. 

 

Mellon-funded Racial Justice Learning Communities

Two learning communities (LC) will run this fall in conjunction with the “Africana Studies and the Humanities at Skidmore: Transnational Explorations in Social Justice” grant from the Mellon Foundation. One LC will focus on Black pedagogies in higher education and the other will examine intersections of race, ethnicity, culture, class, sexual orientation, and gender identity, focusing on the voices and lived experiences of BIPOC individuals. Please review the options available on the CLTL Learning Communities page and, if interested, contact the respective facilitators directly by Friday, Sept. 8. Each LC begins the week of Sept. 18 and will have commitments of approximately two hours weekly during the semester. Faculty/staff who participate in a learning community will be compensated $750. 

 

AI Think Tank

The CLTL and Learning Experience Design & Digital Scholarship Support (LEDS) are teaming up to facilitate a semester-long AI Think Tank devoted to exploring more about generative AI within their respective disciplines/fields/services. Interested parties will parlay those findings into campus programming in the spring focused on educating other faculty and staff about best practices for working with AI relative to their scope of practice. All faculty and staff are eligible, and participants will receive $600 in compensation. To learn more about this opportunity, visit the CLTL Learning Communities page. 

Fall Programming

Chairs/Program Directors (C/PDs) Fall Book Club: How to Chair a Department 

  • When and where: Friday, Sept. 15, from 2:30 to 4 p.m. in Scribner Library’s Weller Room (LIB 212)
  • Description: This book by Kevin Dettmar, professor of English at Pomona College with 15 years of leadership experience, provides practical advice for folks in academic leadership, specifically as chairs and program directors in higher education (Johns Hopkins UP, 2022). Join other C/PDs for afternoon treats and a discussion of how to apply the principles and strategies advised by Dettmar. All C/PDs should have received a copy of the book already. If not, please contact Janet Casey to receive your copy.

Fall Book Club: The New College Classroom 

  • When and where: Friday, Sept. 29, from 12:30 to 2 p.m. in the Murray-Aikins Dining Hall Test Kitchen
  • Description: This book by Cathy Davidson, distinguished professor at the CUNY Graduate Center, and Christina Katopodis, postdoctoral research associate and associate director of transformative learning in the humanities, uses the latest research in learning science to discuss easily implemented strategies for active learning across disciplines (Harvard UP, 2022). Faculty and staff who are interested in participating in a discussion about this book may email Beck Krefting to receive a copy prior to the event. There is space for up to 12 participants — first come, first served. You may only request a copy if you can commit to attending. Lunch tickets will be distributed in the Atrium.

To Ponder...

Skidmore College

 

 815 North Broadway

 Saratoga Springs, NY 12866

 518-580-5000