Announcements and News

National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity (NCFDD) 
Don’t forget that Skidmore is an institutional member of the NCFDD, which provides free access to many excellent professional development tools. Consider attending the Mentoring Up for Faculty webinar on Tuesday, March 25, or, for those with academic leadership roles, the Department Chair Success: Navigating Leadership Challenges webinar on Tuesday, April 29. 

The Weller Room and Lending Library (LIB 212) 
This space devoted to CLTL events is also available as a (quiet) workspace each weekday morning from 9 a.m. to noon. Folks participating in the Scholarly/Creative Endeavors (SCE) work groups are especially encouraged to use this space before meeting for lunch, which is stocked with coffee, tea, condiments, cleaning supplies, and paper products. All faculty have swipe access to the space; those without access who are participating in SCE work groups may contact Illissa Barney to activate your ID. If you wish to reserve the space for events that advance the CLTL mission, you may submit a request online. The Weller Room also has a Lending Library with texts on critical pedagogical studies, navigating higher education, DEIJAB in the classroom, and UDL. You may sign out books for up to one semester. Enjoy your read and return it to the Weller Room (LIB 212) when finished. 

Supporting effective learning environments:  Resources for faculty
Over the past two years, members of the Working Group for Inclusive Teaching (supported by a grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute) worked to broadly understand the campus’s values around teaching and learning. The seven guiding principles for effective learning environments have been endorsed by CEPP and include: (1) Transparent and intentional design, (2) exploring concepts and practices across theoretical, cultural, and/or social differences, (3) fostering belonging, (4) ongoing pedagogical and professional growth and development by faculty and staff, (5) acknowledging and working to alleviate the impact of structural inequities on learning, and (6) promoting equitable access to learning. They have developed an extensive annotated bibliography to support faculty who would like new ways to incorporate guiding principles in their teaching. 

Student support services 
In addition to the in-person services provided by the Counseling Center — Skidmore provides teletherapy services offered through BetterMynd. Students have up to 12 sessions of teletherapy per academic year. In addition, students will be able to access up to three group skill-building workshops per year. The Student Assessment and Intervention Group (SAIG) remains a resource to share non-emergency concerns about your students (e.g., attendance). You may find the SAIG form here. 

Funding for new Black Studies courses 
We are pleased to announce that due to the generous support of the Mellon Foundation — for a three-year grant: Africana Studies and the Humanities at Skidmore: Transnational Explorations in Social Justice — we are able to offer stipends of $1,000 to faculty who successfully create courses cross-listed with the Black Studies Program (BST). Note that in order to be compensated, you need to submit a Guidelines Form to the BST Advisory Board by Nov. 1, 2024, as well as a proposal to Curriculum Committee (CC) by Dec. 15, 2024. Stipends cannot be distributed for courses already counting toward the Black studies minor; however, they could include existing courses with significant revisions. For additional support in developing a course for BST, consider joining one of the Racial Justice Learning Communities offered each semester and piloting the course for the Racial Justice Teaching Challenge. For additional information, please contact the co-PIs, Professor and Director of Black Studies Winston Grady-Willis and Professor of American Studies and CLTL Director Beck Krefting. 

LGBTQIA+ web resources 
Check out instructional materials for students, staff, and faculty on how to be an ally to LGBTQIA+ folks (e.g., questionnaires for the classroom, a list of appropriate terminology, best practices for making LGBTQIA+ folks feel a sense of belonging on campus, web resources, and a fun video featuring our students).