Coming Events in the Center for Leadership, Teaching, and Learning

Collaborations once again abound in the Center for Leadership, Teaching, and Learning. Please take a minute to read what programs the Center is offering for September. Take a look as well at just a few of the upcoming events the CLTL will be hosting in October and November and at other faculty development opportunities that are being offered around campus and beyond.

November is shaping up to be a busy month in the CLTL. Please take a look at what is on offer, and check out our upcoming Open Classroom Week scheduled for February 22–26, 2016. See details below.

Funding Opportunities

Course Development Stipends

The CLTL and Eric Morser, Faculty Director of Civic Engagement, are pleased to offer three stipends in the amount of $1,500 each for the development of courses that focus on civic engagement.

If you are interested in applying for a stipend, please submit a brief (one- or two-page) proposal to bastress@skidmore.edu and emorser@skidmore.edu describing the course you plan to develop or significantly revise. Assuming the proposal is approved, you will receive $500 at that point. The remaining $1,000 will be distributed once Curriculum Committee approves the course. Finally, we ask that you offer the course no later than the 2017–academic year.

Faculty Interest Groups

Faculty interest groups (FIGs) offer informal opportunities for faculty to engage in conversations regarding scholarship, pedagogy, college citizenship, and other topics of mutual interest. They are also wonderful moments for networking and mentoring. The CLTL has funds to help groups purchase materials and/or to bring in speakers. Please contact bastress@skidmore.edu if you would like to start a FIG.

CLTL Events

Evaluating Student Multi-Media Projects/Presentations
Date: November 17, 2015
Time: 4–5 p.m.
Location: Weller Room (212 Library)

Deb Hall, Associate Professor in Art, and Adam Tinkle of MDOCS, will talk about effective methods for evaluating student visual/multi-media projects and presentations. As we near the end of the semester, this is a timely topic for faculty who have assigned final projects and presentations.

Faculty-to-Faculty Presentation
Date: November 18, 2015
Time: 4–5 p.m.
Location: Weller Room (212 Library)

The CLTL is very pleased to welcome Kate Graney, associate professor of government, as this month’s F-t-F speaker. Kate’s topic is:

Re-Orienting Europe: Europeanization in the Former Soviet Union

In 1985, as part of his “New Thinking” in foreign policy, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev declared that the Soviet Union was ready to end the Cold War and re-join Europe, which he referred to as “our common home.” What did Gorbachev think he was saying when he made the claim about the Soviet Union “belonging to Europe”? Did “Europe” agree with him that the Soviet Union shared its “common home”? What has become of Gorbachev’s claims about the Europeanness of the Soviet Union in the years since the collapse of that state? Kate’s talk, based on her manuscript tentatively entitled, Re-Orienting Europe: Europeanization in the Former Soviet Union, will investigate these questions.

Please RSVP to bastress@skidmore.edu if you would like to join Kate for her talk.

Mid Career Faculty Discussion with Susan Walzer
Date: November 19, 2015
Time: 4–5 p.m.
Location: Weller Room (212 Library)

Susan Walzer, professor of sociology, has spent many years conducting qualitative research regarding the experiences of mid-career faculty at Skidmore. Last year she offered a very successful workshop on this topic. This semester she will lead a follow-up conversation. Please join Susan for this important discussion.

New Faculty Learning Community
Date: November 20, 2015
Time: 4–5:15 p.m.
Location: Weller Room (212 Library)

An Evening with Dr. Charmaine Wijeyesinghe
Date: November 23, 2015
Time: 6–9 p.m.
Location: Bolton 280

Tim Harper, associate professor of management and business; his class MB312, Social Identity in the Workplace; and the CLTL welcome Charmaine Wijeyesinghe.

Wijeyesinghe is an independent consultant in the area of organizational development and social justice. She has studied, consulted, and written extensively about social justice education and organizational change. Wijeyesinghe is the author of several articles and book chapters on multiracial identity, the impact of racial identity on the practice of conflict resolution, and the evolution of identity models.

If you are interested in joining MB312 for this event, please contact tharper@skidmore.edu.

A Thank You

On behalf of the CLTL, I would like to thank Special Programs, and, in particular, Michelle Paquette-Deuel, associate director of academic programs and residencies and director of the Pre-College Program, for inviting the CLTL to collaborate on Elizabeth Kolbert’s visit to Skidmore. The Carr Residency provides a unique opportunity for our community, and I am grateful to the folks in Special Programs for their generosity and expertise.

Upcoming Spring Event

The Open Classroom Week
February 22–26, 2016

Because last year’s Open Classroom event was such a success, Michael Arnush, chair of classics, Bill Duffy, chief technology officer, and the CLTL  will once again be asking interested faculty to open one class during the week of February 22–26 to faculty, staff, and administrators who would like to sit in. This is an opportunity for the community to learn with our students and to think about and engage with the many exciting pedagogies going on every day on our campus. As you work on your syllabi for spring semester, please keep the Open Classroom Week in mind. And, if you already know you would like to open your classroom, email bastress@skidmore.edu with the following information:

Title of your class; the time, day, location; how many visitors you are willing to welcome.