As we get closer to the end of the year and the holiday season, I am reminded of how grateful I am to work with the incredible colleagues in AS&E and the University.

A few weeks ago, three of our faculty members were recognized with one of AS&E’s most prestigious honors for teaching.

Jack Downey, the John Henry Newman Professor of Roman Catholic Studies; Whitney Gegg-Harrison ’14 (PhD), an associate professor in the Writing, Speaking, and Argument program; and James McGrath, the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Biomedical Engineering, are this year’s recipients of the Goergen Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching for faculty in Arts, Sciences & Engineering.

And as you know, we continue to recognize the tremendous efforts of our staff with the monthly AS&E ACE Award! Here are the winners for October:

• Andrezza Begert, Office of Admissions
• Adam Griggs, Athletics & Recreation
• Meghan Myers, Wilson Commons Student Activities
• Amanda Rigolo, Computer Science
• Alexandra Samors, ODOS/CSCM/Care Director

You can find the list of 2023 winners here.

Please consider nominating AS&E staff members for this recognition. Successful nominations will highlight specific examples of tasks, projects, or activities where staff are exceeding their core functions. Staff can be nominated more than once, and winners will be chosen on the first of each month and then announced in the newsletter.

Meliora,

Jess Foster

HR Modernization: Review myURHR Demo Days recordings

Thanks to everyone in our AS&E community who participated in myURHR Demo Days. Manyfaculty and staff members got a sneak peek of the University’s new Human Resources information system coming in 2024 during Demo Days. In case you missed them, Demo Days video recordings are now available. Additionally, the Fall Readiness Survey is open as the myURHR project team wants to continue to hear from you.

Call for Nominations for the Debra Haring Excellence in Research Award

We are pleased to start accepting nominations for the Debra Haring Excellence in Research Award. This award will honor Debra Haring, a former assistant dean for grants and contracts who spent years working to support and promote the research of our faculty in AS&E before she passed away in 2022.

The award will recognize an AS&E faculty member who has done research that has had a transformational impact on the field, or who has accumulated a body of research that has changed the field in positive ways. Nominations, which can be made by using this link, must include a CV, designation of a single work or a body of work with a short description, and a two-page nomination letter.

Please direct any questions to John Tarduno at john.tarduno@rochester.edu.

Professional Development through the Teaching Center

Our colleagues at the Teaching Center have been hard at work designing a terrific lineup of professional development opportunities for faculty. Here is a look at their latest offerings:

• Transparent Assignment Design Fellowship: Transparent assignment design has been shown to improve student academic success, particularly among first-generation students. Join a cohort of your peers to learn the principles of transparent assignment design and transition non-test assignments to a more transparent format. Fellows will meet over the course of the Spring 2024 semester. To apply, please complete theonline application form.
• Student Learning Outcomes: December 8, 2023, 12 to 1 p.m. via zoom. Effective learning outcomes are actionable, measurable and speak directly to the essential learning in a course. Learn how to write student learning outcomes that are challenging, achievable, and directly measurable using backward design principles.Register here for the zoom link.

Additional Teaching Resources 

• Apply for a Course Development Grant: Consider applying for one of the grants that support instructors in the development of AS&E courses:
  • Teaching Innovation Grant (Teaching Center)
  • Community-Engaged Course Development Grant (Center for Community Engagement).

The shared annual deadline for these grants is November 30. Learn more here.

Programming from University Health Services

• Mindful Professor Training Program: The Mindful University Project is offering their Mindful Professor Training for teaching faculty and course instructors at the University this spring. This program is rooted in cutting-edge research and practices and aims to offer participants a variety of tools to access ways to return to calm, be present with themselves and others, utilize mindful leadership skills, enhance teaching effectiveness, as well as learn what actions they can take to support students’ well-being. The Mindful Professor Training lasts three months, and includes seven hour-long workshops and two one-hour mentorship coaching sessions. For more information and register, check out their website.
• Well-being for Life and Learning Training Program: The UHS Health Promotion Office is now offering its inaugural Well-being for Life and Learning training program for faculty and student support staff. This training program provides faculty and staff participants with simple strategies to create supportive environments in which students can flourish and, in turn, thrive academically. This self-paced training includes a series of required and elective workshops led by campus experts. All workshops are offered both virtually and in person throughout the semester. Once participants finish all components of the training program, they will receive a comprehensive guidebook, a sticker to place on their office door, an icon to place in their email signature, and recognition on the Well-being for Life and Learning website! To receive more information and to register, check out the Well-Being for Life and Learning website.

Education Abroad Updates

Faculty or staff interested in learning more about leading or organizing a program abroad for students can join a virtual coffee/tea hour on Thursday, December 7 from 10 to 11 a.m. Registration is required. Please reach out to Ted Pagano, associate director for the Center for Education Abroad, if you have any questions. The application cycle for summer and fall 2024 is now open.