​Leadership vs. other obligations
The article “Chairs as Scholars” provides some great advice for chairs (and most everyone else!) on carving out time needed to do the long term important activities. It is by Walter H. Gmelch and recently appeared in The Department Chair: A Resource for Academic Administrators, October 1, 2019, Vol. 30, No. 2. Copyright © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

 
Have an excellent week!

​In response to numerous faculty requests, CAPS is hosting a session on suicide risk, warning signs, and prevention:
Friday, November 1, 2 – 4 p.m
Denton ACT 301 | Dallas IHSD 3510 | Houston IHSH 3322
For more info please contact CAPS at 940-898-3801.

 
Have an excellent week!

Delivering an Engaging Presentation
When you are accepted to present at a conference, face-to-face or online, your presentation will likely be viewed (synchronously or asynchronously) by hundreds of higher education professionals. Whether your session is 15 minutes or a full day, preparation is the single most important part of making a successful presentation.
Educause put together a fine Presenter Concierge site, giving helpful tips that apply to any scholarly/professional presentation, no matter where it occurs. Take a look and learn about best practices for timing, visuals, interaction, inclusion, and other facets of presenting well and effectively.

​Accessability Cheatsheets – Series

​CFE, TLT, DSS and other campus units are charged with developing a plan to help faculty and  instructors make their instructional resources more accessible and inclusive. The CFE newsletter will start by distributing a number of one-page accessibility resources, or “cheat-sheets,” that have been developed to assist anyone who is creating accessible content. These free resources were created to get less-technical individuals started on the right track.
 
Please take a look at the attached document, the first in a series of several cheat-sheets, and save it in a folder for future reference. Transitioning to more accessible resources will become easy when done in incremental steps! We are here to assist.

  
Mark your calendars:
Houston Colleagues:  The next CFE visit will be on Monday, Oct. 21
 
 ***
Have an excellent week!
​

​​Video of the Week – Gathering Feedback from Peers
Asking students directly to share their feedback on their experiences of teaching and learning is a common way of gathering useful data on an instructor’s teaching, on the student’s learning, and on the course climate. There are a number of techniques that instructors can use, including anonymous surveys, mid-semester reviews, or end-of-class open-ended questions to get info from students. But you can also collect feedback from your colleagues as Stephen Brookfield points out – make it a quid pro quo!

CFE Faculty Fellows Program
Don’t forget – Application deadline is Friday, Oct. 11 -- During the Spring 2020 semester, up to two faculty members will be provided the opportunity to serve as Faculty Fellows (FF) in the TWU Center for Faculty Excellence. This opportunity is aimed at faculty members who demonstrate a genuine interest and some prior experience with faculty development, and who have a desire to take on a leadership role within the remit of the Center for Faculty Excellence (CFE). More info about the objectives and stipulations of the CFE Faculty Fellows Program can be found at https://twu.edu/cfe/cfe-fellow-program/

OoT ---> ITS
Effective Oct. 1, the Office of Technology restructured and adopted a new name – IT Solutions (ITS). ITS’ reorganization was designed to better meet the increasingly complex technology needs of the institution and align the department with the university’s new technology strategic priorities, which were developed with direct input from students, faculty and staff.
 
The new ITS organization will feature four teams:

• Customer Experience & Engagement – helps ITS engage as strategic partners with the university community, with new functions like relationship, product, and project management, as well as outreach, engagement and the Service Desk.
• Educational & Research Technologies – designs and supports learning environments, as well as institution-wide and discipline-specific instructional or research technologies (excluding Canvas and other instructional technology supported by TLT).
• Enterprise Applications & Integrations – oversees our enterprise application ecosystem, including integrations, data and reporting, and mobile and web applications.
• Enabling Technologies – provides the foundational infrastructure and services needed to support all technology at TWU, as well as support for end user computing.
  
  

There will be an open Campus Forum tomorrow, Wednesday, Oct. 9, to provide details and answer questions
2:30 pm – 3:30 pm  -- ACT 301 / IHSD 8201 / IHSH 3310
 
Where can I go to get help?
The ITS Service Desk is the “front door” to technology services at TWU. You can reach the Service Desk at:
Email:     servicedesk@twu.edu               Chat:       techchat.twu.edu
Phone:    (940) 898-3971                          Online:   twu.edu/technology

This reorganization was accomplished within the confines of the current budget – no new funds are being allocated. Feel free to reach out to Raechelle Clemmons (rclemmons@twu.edu, 940-898-3980), or to Cori Trevino (ctrevino@twu.edu, 940-898-3273), if you would like a more in-depth update about the reorganization at your next departmental or divisional meeting.

New Folk Dancing Group at TWU
Come and join the fun on Saturdays, 4:00-5:30 pm, at the TWU Fitness and Recreation Center, Studio 2. We are open to all ages 4-80, and to all levels of dancing. No prior experience is required! The attendance is free for students and is about $1.00-$2.00 for faculty and staff, depending on the number of participants. 
The folk dancing activity includes dances from all over the world: France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Japan, Poland, Russia, Serbia, South Africa, Sweden, etc. The dances are led by Dr. Laura Hanson, a folk dancer and folk dance teacher for over 40 years.  
Come and get some workout with music and a smile!
For more information please contact Dr. Laura Hanson (Biology): LHanson@twu.edu

Mark your calendars:
Dallas Colleagues:  Dr. Jörg will be in Dallas on Monday, Oct. 14
Houston Colleagues:  The next CFE visit will be on Monday, Oct. 21 ​

 
Have an excellent week!

​Video of the Week
The newest installment in our series of teaching insights and testimonials was recorded by Tina Gummienny, Associate Professor in Biology.  She’ll let you know in what ways the CFE was able to support her in her academic endeavors.

Joy of Reading - Reprise
Last week’s Read-a-thon featured excellent readers and attracted a very attentive, diverse, and engaged audience! We were encouraged to plan a similar event for the Spring, and we hope you can join us then, either as a reader, or just to lean back, sip some coffee, and listen for a while…
Many thanks (again) to my colleague Jennifer Morton-Riggs, who worked very hard to make it all happen, to all our readers, and to all the wonderful library people who helped out setting up the TWU Blagg-Huey Library Living Room and contributed in a myriad of other ways.

 
Have an excellent week!

Exciting things are happening right at the beginning of the new school year:  we just kicked off our third ACUE cohort and --with the help of Carmen Macharaschwili, ACUE’s Director of Academic Programs (center front) -- we got them started on their exciting journey towards the coveted “Certificate in Effective College Instruction.” Our participants are again representatives from all three campuses and colleges, and everybody enjoyed the atmosphere and the opportunity to connect with TWU colleagues from across the disciplines. ​

​Webinar:  Authentic Assessment of Learning
Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education (VALUE) empowers faculty and other higher education professionals to engage in the authentic assessment of student learning by providing the tools needed to use students’ work to gauge and demonstrate their success. This webinar will present an overview of the VALUE approach and showcase the various options for employing it, from local assessments using the VALUE rubrics to the external validation available through the multinational, multi-institutional scoring initiative.
(Tip: If you cannot participate at the allotted time, you can still register and ACUE will send you a link to the recording later.)
Date: September 25, 2019        Time: 1:00–2:00 p.m. CST        Cost: FREE

Free Culture!
Michelangelo’s David and La Pieta: 
Why these Masterpieces Deserve a Closer Look
A lecture in the Classical Art series initiated by Dr. John Calabrese
TWU Professor Emeritus of Art History
TWU Blagg-Huey Library Rm. 101 (Joyce Thompson Memorial Lecture Hall)
Wednesday, September 25, 2019 -- Time: 6:00 pm -7:00 pm
​​
---> Refreshments will be served.  Sponsored by the Bernstein Intercultural Institute of Research

​Faculty Ally Training
The TWU Ally Program is an elective and interactive workshop held each semester as part of a nation-wide effort to provide support to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, asexual/agender (LGBTQIA) students, faculty, and staff. The purpose of this program is to increase knowledge, personal and community awareness, and the number of physical and emotionally safe spaces for LGBTQIA individuals on the TWU campus. We hope to do so by educating our TWU community and by providing opportunities to practice strategies for supporting LGBTQIA students, faculty, and staff.

The annual Ally Training, sponsored by TWU Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) will take place on Friday, October 4th, 2019 from 9:45 a.m. to 3 p.m.  at the Student Union, Room 207. Registration is Now Open! Space is limited and the deadline to register is September 27th, 2019! Prospective participants can register by stopping by TWU Counseling and Psychological Services in West Jones Hall or calling CAPS at 940-898-3801.

Joy of Reading:  Please come by and listen for a while…
…but it is also not too late make your voice heard.
Sign up asap if you’d like to be a reader, we have a few extra spots!
 
Wednesday, Sept. 25 - 10 am to 1 pm – Light refreshments will be available.
Location: TWU Blagg-Huey Library (Living Room)
Contact: Jennifer Morton-Riggs (940) 898-3731
 
-- Please share this info about the Reading Event with your classes, so that they will stop by to listen!! --

CFE Faculty Fellows Program
The Center for Faculty Excellence Fellows Program is designed to give individual faculty members the opportunity to serve in a leadership role in a professional development area of their own choosing.
 
During the Spring 2020 semester, up to two faculty members will be provided the opportunity to serve as Faculty Fellows (FF) in the TWU Center for Faculty Excellence. This opportunity is aimed at faculty members who demonstrate a genuine interest and some prior experience with faculty development, and who have a desire to take on a leadership role within the remit of the Center for Faculty Excellence (CFE). More info about the objectives and stipulations of the CFE Faculty Fellows Program can be found at https://twu.edu/cfe/cfe-fellow-program/

Dallas Colleagues:  Dr. Jörg will be on your campus next Monday, September 23.
*****
Have an excellent week!

Video of the Week
The newest installment in our series of teaching insights and testimonials was recorded by Rosemary Candelario, Associate Professor of Dance.  She’ll let you know in what ways the CFE was beneficial for her and what would be the one lesson she wants to impart to her students.

​Workshop: Writing SLOs for Course Proposals  
On  Friday, September 13, the Office of Academic Assessment will be offering another student learning outcomes (SLOs) workshop session. The workshop sessions will prepare faculty for how to create well-written student learning outcomes (SLOs) statements. The sessions will be specifically tailored to faculty submitting new or modified course proposals to the TWU Curriculum Committee.
In advance of the workshop, all attendees should review the Guidelines document attached to this newsletter, prepare a draft of course SLOs, and bring the SLOs draft to the workshop.

• Friday, September 13 from 9:30-11:00 in SH 308, IHSD 8720, and IHSH 6305

If you have any questions, please contact Terry Senne at tsenne@twu.edu or (940) 898-3029.

​TARGET  (Teaching and Research Grant for Equipment)
The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP) in collaboration with the Center for Faculty Excellence (CFE) invites applications for the 2019-2020 TARGET (Equipment) Program.

Applications are due Tuesday, October 22, 2019. Click here for the TARGET Program Guidelines and Application Form.  Please contact Donna Scott Tilley in the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (81-3401) or Jörg Waltje at the Center for Faculty Excellence (81-3426) if you have any questions concerning the TARGET program.

​Houston Colleagues:  Dr. Jörg will be on your campus next Monday, September 16.
 *****
Have an excellent week!

The Teaching Professor has moved into an online format.
​Instead of a monthly newsletter it now offers thought-provoking and actionable advice on a wealth of critical topics in higher education on a weekly basis. Cost to you:  nothing! You can access the new Teaching Professor at via the TWU Group Account link.

​Faculty Development Leaves
Applications for Faculty Development Leaves for academic year 2020-2021 are now open. The timeline for applications is highlighted below. The number of awards is contingent upon available funding. Please note that this is the only period in which faculty development leaves for 2020-2021 will be considered.
Proposals will be reviewed by the Faculty Development Leave Committee (membership list attached). Below (and attached) is a description of the leaves as well as an application timeline. The application is attached, and the link to it is also below. Please feel to contact the Office of the Executive Vice Provost for assistance (oevp@twu.edu; 81-3500).
 
The Faculty Development Leave application form and further info can be found at http://www.twu.edu/osap/faculty-staff-resources.asp. Please note that faculty must have completed 7 full years of service at TWU prior to taking a Faculty Development Leave.

 
Have an excellent week!

Faculty Dashboard ​
While you are on the CFE website:  check out the link to the new Faculty Dashboard, your one stop source for all those links that come in very handy for your various faculty tasks (but are nowhere to be found when you really need them…)

The Faculty Gazette
Another fine service -- brought to you by the newly formed Faculty Support Group, a collaboration of  the Center for Faculty Excellence (CFE), the Office of Teaching and Learning with Technology (TLT), TWU Libraries, the Office of Technology (OoT), the Center for Research Design and Analysis (CRDA), the Center for Student Research (CSR), and the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP).
This bi-weekly publication will make you aware of upcoming workshops, deadlines, and other things that will hopefully make your life and planning a little easier.  Missed the first one?  Check out (and bookmark) the archives:  Faculty Gazette.

Houston and Dallas Colleagues:
Mark your calendars!
The CFE will be on your campus this semester on the following dates:
 
Houston:  Sept 16,  Oct 21, Nov 11
Dallas:  Sept 23, Oct 14, Nov 18
 ​