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Facilitators: Stephanie Bernhard, English; Melissa Bugdal, English

This FLC is designed to connect faculty members performing research and designing syllabi on environmental topics across schools and disciplines in a reading, workshop, and presentation group that will allow each of us to expand our knowledge of the burgeoning field of environmental humanities (which is of increasing interest to SU students and is gaining traction at universities around the world) while also deepening and improving our already existing work in that field.

Facilitators: Catherene Connery, Diallo Sessoms, Lisa Howard

Contemporary scholars currently identify food insecurity as a major American crisis (Gunderson & Zilliak, 2018). The consequences of food insecurity portend multiple, severe, and negative impacts across all aspects of our collective society, leading to significant loss of human resources and cultural potential. Further examination of the relationship between food insecurity and education reveals pressing, problematic, and profound outcomes. Indeed, as a leading institution of higher learning, food insecurity now plays an invisible, yet compelling, dynamic in the quality of instructional programs, funding base, and future leadership of ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥. However, thanks to the initiative of a handful of engaged students and faculty during the 2017-2018 academic year, SU now stands poised to play an active role in addressing food insecurity on behalf of prekindergarten–graduate students on the Eastern Shore.
Taking inspiration from the efforts of Drs. Pope and Surak’s Public Affairs & Civic Engagement’s (PACE) presidential scholars, Drs. Sessoms and Connery’s SU Education Club Big 3B: Breakfast, Books, & Backpacks project, our partners at the Maryland Food Bank, and the Wicomico Public School District, the Food for Thought (FFT) faculty learning community seeks to organize a topic-based FLC dedicated to the following objectives:

1) Examine the scope, impact, and consequences of food insecurity for pre-kindergarten through
graduate students on the Eastern Shore of Maryland (PreK–21).
2) Coordinate public awareness regarding food insecurity relevant to the needs of our local, intergenerational, and intersecting communities through social media, events, and scholarly activity.
3) Explore the viability and sustainability of longitudinal projects that address food insecurity including ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥’s “Food for the Flock” food pantry and “Food for the Fledglings” food backpack programs.
4) Assist in the coordination and implementation of long-term, cross-campus, interdisciplinary projects that address food insecurity to benefit local elementary, secondary, undergraduate, and graduate students.
5) Serve as an advisory panel to network student clubs, classes, programs, and other food insecurity initiatives on the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ campus and larger community including SU’s Education Club, Presidential Scholars, Education Living Learning Community, Beaver Run Elementary School, East ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ Elementary School, Wicomico Middle School, and other institutions.

Facilitators: Yujia Song, Philosophy; Vinita Agarwal, Communication Arts

Any faculty interested in creating a Medical/Health Humanities Minor is welcome to join a group of faculty in English, Philosophy, Communication, Psychology, Social Work, Nursing Arts, History and Music. Invitation is open to other faculty in related humanities and social science programs. Focus is to bring together any bring together an interdisciplinary collaboration of faculty members interested in the teaching and scholarship of health, healthcare, and medicine from diverse perspectives and to provide pedagogical and a scholarly venue for discussion.

Facilitators: Chrys Egan, Communication Arts; Kara Raab, UARA; Melissa Granger, Associate VP of Academic Affairs

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) is a topic-based community that unites SU faculty, staff, administrators, and graduate students toward the common goal of enhancing academic assessment to document and analyze student learning outcomes and program evaluation. An assessment FLC is needed to engage more stakeholders in the assessment process rather than place the sole responsibility on one office. Faculty, staff, students, and administrators are all responsible for understanding and utilizing the best practices of academic success. In addition, the FLC can explore and advocate for participation in LEAP (Liberal Education and America’s Promise) and VALUE (Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education).

Facilitator: Yuki Okubo

The objective of this FLC is to increase research and writing productivity among full-time faculty members. By using National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity (NCFDD) individual membership, 7 faculty will engage in monthly face-to-face meetings, daily writing, and other professional development activities provided by NCFDD. We believe that such focus on professional development for faculty will not only help in recruitment of competitive faculty applicants in the future, but also contribute to faculty retention due to feeling supported and nurtured on their professional goals. We will keep track of writing and research goals for each semester as well as weekly log which includes amount of time spent on writing and research tasks and types of tasks and writing activities.

Facilitator: Mary Gunther, Biological Sciences

Faculty interested in partnering with the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ Zoo to develop formal relationships and to determine programs with equal appeal to both ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ and the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ Zoo.

Facilitators: Lisa Joyner, Respiratory Therapy; Rachel Steele, Psychology

Continue to foster the interdisciplinary collaboration in health and human services and discuss opportunities to collaborate in student learning, course development, and research in the new College structure. Coordinate the 2nd Annual IPE Conference.

Facilitators: Kathleen Arban, Social Work, Southern Maryland Satellite Location

Identify a set of best practices for teaching students in satellite distance education settings and to create avenues for interdisciplinary collaboration in developing and honing instructional strategies specific to this format. The ultimate goal is to share the results of the collaboration with other programs within ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ that might be interested in adopting this method of instructional delivery.

Facilitator: Samuel Geleta, Biological Sciences

The overall goal is to provide a local support structure that will help international faculty members with a smooth assimilation into the existing community and to develop a sense of belonging.

Facilitator: Douglas DeWitt, Education Leadership

To develop a deliberate and conscience effort to develop leadership capacity across the campus. The FLC has two primary objectives: [1] develop the leadership knowledge, skills, and capacity of the members and [2] begin to brainstorm and create a plan for leadership development opportunities for staff, faculty, students, and the community.

Facilitator: Larence Becker, Psychology

Now that the Cognitive Science Minor and the introductory course are on the books, our next goal is to promote these to the student body and faculty. The Cognitive Science FLC will meet to decide how this can best be accomplished, be it by using written materials (posters, articles, etc.), holding information sessions, or having conference style presentations to spark interest in specific topic areas. This effort may also lead to holding a PACE-style campus-wide event in which we hold a public discussion of a relevant topic such as, what are the rights of robots bestowed with varying levels of intelligence or consciousness?

Facilitators: Mary Angela Baker, CELL; Chrys Egan, Communication Arts

Continuation of a cohort-based FLC which will continue to unite academic women in various positions at ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ and professional community women with ties to SU toward the common goal of enhancing mentoring and networking experiences for themselves and others.

Facilitators: Becky Anthony, Social Work; Erin Stutelberg, Secondary and Physical Education

This topic-based FLC will help faculty discuss and learn how to effectively teach topics of diversity and implement pedagogical choices that respect and affirm diversity on campus. For the purpose of this FLC, “diversity” is utilized as a broad term including: race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ability, religion, language, etc.