The Academic Affairs office is hosting the 2022 Winter Faculty Development Week, taking place VIRTUALLY on Zoom in January, prior to the start of the Spring Semester.
The “Week” is longer than a Week!
- January 4th – 7th features scholarship support sessions and a writing retreat. These sessions will be online via Zoom web conference, but if you are on campus, breakfast and box lunches will be available in the Old Main Faculty Lounge.
- January 10th – 13th features sessions focused on pedagogy, including practical methods and resources for improving your courses. These sessions will be online via Zoom web conference. Breakfast and Lunch will be grab-and-go in the Faculty Lounge (depending on the weather). If you are not going to be on campus, please email Amy Beiter to cancel your meal orders.
- Zoom links will be emailed to you and a reminder/itinerary email will be sent the day of. The day of email will include Zoom links for the entire day– feel free to join if you have not signed up yet!
Tuesday, January 4th, 2022
Supporting Scholarship: A Conversation
9:00 – 11:45 AM
This session features a panel of faculty who will share their experience and expertise in scholarship. The panel will offer insights and discuss shared resources that can support faculty research, writing, and creative work.
Dr. Mary Becker, Assistant Professor, Finance.
Dr. Secil Ertorer, Associate Professor, Sociology.
Dr. Marya Grande, Professor, Special Education and Childhood Education.
Dr. Christy Hoffman, Associate Professor, Animal Behavior, Ecology and Conservation, and Anthrozoology.
Dr. Karl Kozlowski, Professor, Health and Wellness, Sports and Exercise Health Care, Coaching.
Janet McNally, Associate Professor, English, Creative Writing.
Moderated by Dr. Jennifer Lodi-Smith, Professor of Psychology and Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs.
Engaged Scholarship
1:00 – 3:45 PM
Dr. Jennifer Lodi-Smith, Professor of Psychology and Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs
This session will review the Engaged Scholarship Initiative and provide time for active reflection on the ways in which your scholarship connects with engaged scholarship priority areas.
Wednesday, January 5th and Thursday, January 6th: On Campus Writing Retreat
All Day
Enjoy the support of colleagues and protected time to focus on your scholarship. We will set goals together and share lunch, but the majority of the time will be free for you to work on your scholarship as you please. Stay the whole day or join your colleagues for part of the day! The only rule is no syllabus work!
Monday, January 10th, 2022
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Vital Conversations
9:00 – 10:15 AM
Fatima Rodriguez-Johnson, Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion
Associate Dean Fatima Rodriguez-Johnson will lead a discussion of the multi-front Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts on the Canisius campus. Several recent DEI initiatives have enabled faculty, staff and students to reflect and act on efforts to ensure justice and build community. Canisius faculty can connect their courses and extracurricular mentorships to DEI to better serve their students, scholarly disciplines, communities local and global, and the Canisius commitment to justice.
Building Inclusivity: Awareness and Intention in Classroom and Community
10:30 – 11:45 AM
Dr. Erin Robinson, Professor, Sociology
As a Jesuit institution Canisius College is committed to inclusion: all people belong on our campus, where their identities are welcome, their experience is valued, and their perspectives find a forum. But this commitment must be maintained every day through our classroom and community interactions and our continual investigation into justice matters. In this session we will explore ways to build robust classroom and professional cultures of inclusion.
Autism Spectrum Disorder Awareness: Characteristics and Recommendations for the College Classroom
1:00 – 2:15 PM
Dr. Jonathan Rodgers, Assistant Professor, Psychology Department
Working with students on the Autism Spectrum can be a daunting experience for some educators, especially at first. We will have a conversation about ASD; characteristics, strengths and challenges, and potential recommendations for success. We’ll talk together about helpful strategies for setting appropriate boundaries for social skills and classroom behaviors.
Grading for Equity Panel
2:30 – 3:45 PM
Dr. Jeffrey McConnell, Professor and Chair, Computer Science
Dr. Karl Kozlowski, Professor, Health and Wellness, Sports and Exercise Health Care, Coaching.
Dr. Nathan Fox, Assistant Professor, Quantitative Sciences
Professors Jeff McConnell, Karl Kozlowski, and Nathan Fox discuss new developments in grading, aimed at a more accurate assessment of student learning. This motivates students to learn, rather than reinforcing traditional, unwritten curriculum that creates special challenges for certain students.
Tuesday, January 11th, 2022
Ignorance Is No Longer an Excuse: Understanding the Indigenous and American History You Were Never Told… On Purpose
10:00 – 11:30 AM
Michelle Schenandoah, JD, LL.M., MS, a traditional member of the Oneida Nation Wolf Clan of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy
Neal Powless, BS, MS, a member of the Onondaga Nation Eel Clan of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy
Neal Powless has taught courses and presented across the country for nearly 20 years about Indigenous culture and value systems. He is currently the Ombudsman for Syracuse University. Michelle Schenandoah is the founder of Rematriation magazine, an Indigenous women’s online media platform. She is focused on leadership development and the reclaiming of Indigenous women’s traditional roles among their nations. Neal and Michelle will provide a history and context of Indigenous peoples, address the impact of systematic oppression, and offer curricular strategies. Together, they are seeking to bridge Native American ideals and culture with organizations and individuals all over the world.
Workspace: Crafting an Inclusive Syllabus
1:00 – 3:30 PM
Work together with your fellow faculty to develop syllabi that provide students every opportunity to succeed in your course.
Appetizer Reception – Cancelled
The Appetizer Reception has been cancelled.
Wednesday, January 12th, 2022
Title IX/Clery/VAWA: “I Have So Many Questions”
9:00 – 10:15 AM
Deborah Owens, Title IX Coordinator and Associate Dean of Students
You probably hear these subjects being talked about all the time, or perhaps you don’t. What are these? Why are they important? Do I play a role as a faculty member? This session will provide background about all 3 of these laws, why they are so important, especially in Higher Education and we will review the responsibilities of faculty under these laws and Canisius policy. The session will conclude with a Q&A discussion around the topics. All concerns and/or questions will be welcome and answered.
Resources for Teaching Information Literacy in the Disciplines
10:30 – 11:45 AM
Dr. Patricia Coward, Library Assessment and Instruction Coordinator, Bouwhuis Library
Once students have completed their foundations courses, where we presume they have been introduced to the basics of research, it is important that those skills be built on in their remaining years at the College. In this interactive session we will explore some approaches and assignments that will expand and develop the critical thinking skills that are hallmark of Information Literacy.
Academic Integrity at Canisius: Past, Present, and Future
1:00 – 2:15 PM
Dr. Philip Reed, Professor and Chair, Philosophy
This session will examine our Code of Academic Integrity and plans for its overhaul. We will discuss some data on recent cases at Canisius, our procedure for adjudicating cases, and mechanisms for promoting Academic Honesty across campus.
Creating And/Or Editing Griffaudit Plans
2:30-3:45 PM
Dr. Jeffrey Lindauer, Associate Professor of Kinesiology and Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs
This session is designed for academic advisors who want to learn more about creating and/or editing plans for their advisees. The “plans” feature is a new addition to the Griffaudit where advisors assist students in creating an academic program of study. These interactive plans may be revised by advisors. Students can even use the plans to register for courses. During the session, participants will have the opportunity to create new plans for an advisee or edit an existing advisee plan.
Thursday, January 13th, 2022
Using Case Studies in the Classroom
9:00 – 10:15 AM
Dr. Malini Suchak, Associate Professor, Animal Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation
Case studies are an effective way to foster critical thinking by introducing connections between class materials and the broader world. In this workshop, participants will learn what a case study entails and considerations for implementing case studies in the classroom. Participants will also have the opportunity to start to develop a case study based on their own course materials.
Stay Golden, Griffins: Supports for Student Success
10:30 – 11:45 AM
Dr. Mark Harrington, Assistant Vice President for Student Development and Academic Success & HESAA Program Director
Jennifer Herrmann, Associate Dean of Student Success
Tracy Callaghan, Associate Director of Academic Achievement/Co-Director of First-Year Experience
Eileen Abbatoy, Senior Associate Director of Career Development
Sierra Bonerb, Associate Director for Support Services
Join us for a brief overview of the Griff Center for Student Success. The team will discuss the various services and supports available to assist students in their academic pursuits and career goals. Additionally, the team will discuss the student success teams, first-year experience, the process of submitting academic and behavioral concerns, and the cura personalis team.
Jesuit History: A Short Simulation Exercise
1:00 – 2:15 PM
Dr. Jonathan Lawrence, Associate Professor, Religious Studies and Theology
“Reacting to the Past” is a simulation-based pedagogy that engages students in role-playing simulations connected to historical events (https://reacting.barnard.edu). It was developed by historians but there are now simulations available in many disciplines and topics.
Dr. Jonathan Lawrence has been using some of these games since Fall 2020 and spent the summer writing a game about the Jesuits. In the workshop, we will play a short version of the Jesuit game that can be used in your classes, discuss aspects of implementing these games, and highlight some of the different games that are available.
Debrief for FYE Faculty
2:30 – 3:45 PM
Dr. Jennifer Desiderio, Associate Professor of English and Co-Director of First-Year Experience
Tracy Callaghan, Associate Director of Academic Achievement/Co-Director of First-Year Experience
First-Year Experience (FYE) instructors will come together again to discuss the Fall 2021 semester’s FYE initiative, and help tune our FYE courses for the future. This is a great opportunity for instructors to share what did or did not work in their FYE sections, suggestions for improving the FYE experience for students, and ideas for making the course more efficient for instructors.