SUNY Potsdam

The Summer 2011 issue of the Association of American Colleges and Universities News includes a feature article highlighting the campus first-year programs and the Title III Strengthening Institutions Grant. The article focuses on the innovative programs and practices related to undergraduate education at the institution.

Coffee Sessions

  The Title III Project Director will host a series of informal “coffee club” sessions with eligible tenured and tenure-track faculty throughout the Fall 2011 and Spring 2012 academic year. Coffee club sessions are an opportunity for faculty to ask questions or review guidelines for internal grant application procedures and funding levels in curriculum design, professional development, faculty/student conference travel, department or individual curriculum design and the learning communities initiative. Faculty interested in discussing preliminary application proposal ideas or exploring potential instructional approaches in one or more of the internal campus grant programs should contact Gerald L. Ratliff or call ext. 2107 to schedule an individual or small group meeting over a complimentary cup of coffee at Becky’s Café!

Information Sessions

  A number of Title III campus information sessions have been scheduled during the 2011-2012 academic year for interested faculty who plan to submit an application for one or more of the internal grant programs. All campus information sessions will be hosted in the Women’s and Gender Studies Conference Room (107 Morey Hall) from 2 - 3 p.m. on the following dates:

 
• 2011:  September 23 and November 4
 
• 2012:  February 24 and March 30

Speaker Series

  “Paradigms and Prototypes: [Re]Defining the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning”

The Guest Speaker Series is funded as part of the college’s five-year, $1.6 million dollar Title III Strengthening Institutions Grant Award from the U.S. Department of Education to promote undergraduate research across-the-curriculum. A number of nationally known educators and scholars are invited to campus each year to share their expertise in curriculum development and instructional pedagogy with faculty who wish to explore current or innovative undergraduate research instructional principles and practices.

All workshop sessions are hosted in the Learning and Teaching Excellence Center located in the Crumb Library (Room 107) from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Each guest speaker is also available for individual or small group meetings with interested faculty. To schedule an individual or small group session please contact Gerald L. Ratliff or call ext. 2107 for additional information.

Guest Speakers

Fall 2011

 
• September 23, 2011—Juan Carlos Huerta (Texas A & M University-Corpus Christi)  “Leveraging Learning Communities for Integrative Undergraduate Research”

 
• October 20, 2011—Terri L. Lenox (Westminster College) “Building Scaffolds for Successful Capstone Experiences”

 
• November 18, 2011—Dwight Dimaculangan (Winthrop University) “Modeling Undergraduate Research Across-the-Curriculum”

Spring 2012

 
• February 17, 2012—Pamela E. Barnett (Temple University) “Breaking It Down, Building It Up:  Scaffolding for Student Success”

 
• February 24, 2012—William Newell (Miami University of Ohio) “The Vision of Interdisciplinary”

 
• March 30, 2012—Stewart Ross (Minnesota State University-Mankato) “Integrated Course Design for Significant Learning Experiences”

Author Series

The Guest Author Series is designed to foster an institutional culture of inquiry-based student learning and research-rich pedagogy that promotes interdisciplinary connections across-the-curriculum. The invited authors are nationally known educators and scholars whose current research, scholarship, and creative activity offers forward-thinking and innovative approaches to traditional classroom, laboratory, or studio instruction.

A limited number of copies of each book in the series is now available to faculty interested in attending either the Fall 2011 or Spring 2012 public forum. Please contact Gerald L. Ratliff or call ext. 2107 if you would like to receive an advance, complimentary copy of a specific author’s book.

Guest author sessions will be hosted in the Learning and Teaching Excellence Center located in the Crumb Library (Room 107) at the times indicated below. The authors are also available for individual or small group meetings with interested faculty. For additional information please contact the Title III Project Director.

Fall 2011

 
• September 30, 2011— Michael D. Spiegler (Providence College)
  “Publish and Prosper: The ‘Why’ and ‘How’ to Do Scholarship At A Teaching Institution” (An Interactive Workshop)
  Learning and Teaching Excellence Center
  2-4 p.m.

 
• November 1, 2011—Lisa R. Lattuca (University of Michigan)
  Creating Interdisciplinarity: Interdisciplinary Research and Teaching Among College and University Faculty
  Learning and Teaching Excellence Center
  4-6 p.m.
  Moderator:  Stacy Rosenberg

Spring 2012

 
• April 20, 2012—Julie Thompson Klein (Wayne State University)
  Creating Interdisciplinary Campus Cultures: A Model for Strength and Sustainability
  Learning and Teaching Excellence Center
  4-6 p.m.
  Moderator:  Heather Sullivan-Catlin

In the Spotlight

 
• The Title III Strengthening Institutions Grant is sponsoring an institutional team of faculty and professional staff colleagues to attend the 2011 Atlantic Center for Learning Communities (ACLC) Conference on “Learning Communities and the First-Year Student,” hosted by Wagner College on October 19-21. Conference participation is part of the “Transforming the Academy: Integrating Undergraduate Research in Learning Communities” initiative that is an integral component of Year 4 and Year 5 in the U.S. Department of Education federal grant award. The team will be led by Oscar Sarmiento, campus Director of the Learning Communities Program, and includes Robert Hinckley (Politics), Victoria Levitt (Writing), Shelly Tramposh (Music), Liliana Trevizan (Modern Languages), Louise Tyo (Director of First Year Transitions), and Karen Springsteen (Writing).    
• Title III Learning Communities Worshop: Cultivating Faculty Collaborations 
  Saturday, February 18th
  10 a.m. - Noon
  Thatcher Hall / 2nd Floor                      
  
  The Title III Strengthening Institutions Grant cordially invites campus faculty to a brunch and participatory workshop as part of the”Transforming the Academy: Integrating Undergraduate Research in Learning Communities” grant initiative. The workshop, facilitated by Oscar Sarmiento, will explore practical strategies to develop FIGs and/or upper division learning communities that introduce basic principles of undergraduate research or provide research-based teaching and learning experiences for students. Faculty interested in attending the workshop should contact Gerald L. Ratliff, Title III Project Director, for an application form. The deadline for submitting applications is Friday, February 10th. A limited number of seats are available for the workshop and early applications are encouraged. Faculty interested in exploring FIGs or LCs for either Fall 2012 or Spring 2013 are encouraged to submit an application. Faculty selected to participate in the workshop will receive a stipend and are also eligible to apply for instructional materials during the semester in which the FIG or LC is scheduled.     
  
• The Learning and Teaching Excellence Center (LTEC) and the Title III Strengthening Institutions Grant are co-sponsoring an institutional team of faculty to attend the 2012 Society of Teaching and Learning (SOTL) National Conference hosted by Georgia Southern University on March 7-9, 2012 in Statesboro, Georgia. The conference focus is on evidence-based strategies to enhance student learning outcomes and features a keynote address by Pat Hutchings of The Carnegie Foundation. Colleagues attending the conference include Cheryl Miller (Mathematics), Robin Collen (Dance), Joe Timmerman (Business Administration), Kristen Van Hooreweghe (Politics), Debra Campbell (Music) and Gordon Plague (Biology). Gerald Lee Ratliff, Title III Project Director, is also attending the conference as an invited guest speaker and will conduct an interactive workshop session titled "Integrative Studies: [Re] Defining the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning".
  

Conference Chatter

 
• The 2012 National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR), which focuses on faculty mentored undergraduate student research, scholarship, and creative activity, will host its 26th annual conference at Weber State University on March 29-March 31, 2012. Student presenters may share the results of their research through traditional posters, oral presentations, performances or works of art. Submission guidelines for the conference will be available September 30, 2011. For additional information, including registration and housing, please visit the Weber State University website at http://www.weber.edu/ncur2012.  

Conversations & Colloquies

• Summer 2012 Curriculum Development Workshop
  The Title III Strengthening Institutions Grant program is hosting a Summer 2012 Curriculum Development Workshop August 9-10 for eligible tenure and tenure-track faculty. The workshop will explore instructional strategies and classroom assignments that promote student activities or assignments related to undergraduate research. Applicants may choose to focus on a preliminary plan to (a) revise an existing course or (b) design a new course that introduces an instructional methodology related to undergraduate research. Faculty selected to participate will receive a $3000 stipend to attend the two-day workshop and work with a nationally known guest consultant. The workshop will feature an examination of Bruce Ballenger’s popular text The Curious Researcher: A Guide to Writing Research Papers and complimentary copies will be provided to each participant.
  
  Application forms for the Summer 2012 Workshop are now available from Julie Ellingsen, Title III Administrative Assistant, in the Title III Grant Office (105 Morey Hall) or at ellingmj@potsdam.edu. The workshop format will include an interactive half-day presentation on The Curious Researcher and a series of individual meetings with participants to review curricular proposals. Completed workshop applications should be submitted on or before Monday, June 4th to Gerald L. Ratliff, Title III Project Director, in the office of Academic Affairs (712 Raymond Hall). Late applications will not be considered. Please do not hesitate to contact the Project Director at ext. 2107 should you have any questions during the application process.
  
  Jo. B. Paoletti, former Director of the American Cultures Program at the University of Maryland at College Park, is the invited guest consultant for the summer workshop. She is a founding member of The International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (ISSOTL) and is a nationally recognized scholar in curriculum design and instructional methodology related to undergraduate research and new directions in humanities teaching and learning. 

At a Glance

View the list of recipients of a Title III Strengthening Institutions Grant award in individual or department curriculum design, professional development, and faculty/student collaborative conference travel to support undergraduate research initiatives.