Spring Conference on Faculty Development, Teaching Innovations & Technologies April 4-5, 2019

SUNY Faculty Development Conference:

Answering the Chancellor’s Call
SUNY New Paltz
April 4-5, 2019

Sponsored by the SUNY Faculty Development Community of Practice, this interactive conference will highlight programs and practices designed to support faculty with their teaching as well as innovative teaching and learning practices of interest to educational developers (teaching and learning center directors and staff, instructional designers, technologists, librarians, etc). College and university faculty who want to learn about creative and engaging pedagogical practices will also find this to be a worthwhile meeting. While there will be a SUNY focus, attendees from outside of SUNY are encouraged to attend.

The conference keynote speaker is Dr. Bret Eynon, a historian and Associate Provost at LaGuardia Community College (CUNY). An accomplished teacher, scholar and educational developer, Dr. Eynon is the co-author (with Randy Bass) of the 2016 AAC&U publication Open and Integrative: Designing Liberal Education for the New Digital Ecosystem. His keynote will be on “Learning, Teaching and Deep Learning: Faculty Development and the Future of Higher Education.”

Provost Tod Laursen agreed to come to give a welcome in person on Thursday!

Earlybird registration ends February 28.

** SUNY NP faculty: please register via facultycenter@newpaltz.edu by February 28.

CPD Member  – $125.00
SUNY Campus – $150.00
Non-SUNY Campus/Organization – $175.00

The conference will feature 40 presentations, workshops, roundtable discussions, panels and posters facilitated by faculty and staff on SUNY campuses, System Administration, and outside SUNY. All of the sessions will be categorized according to one of the four themes SUNY Chancellor Kristina Johnson outlined during her 2018 State of the University Address:

  • Individualized Education – figuring out ways to help students with different backgrounds and resources succeed
  • Sustainability – our shared responsibility to preserve civilization
  • Partnerships – working together inside SUNY and with external organizations to advance the mission of the University.

Innovation & Entrepreneurship

  • How is your campus inspiring faculty and staff to meet the needs of our constantly changing world?
  • What innovative ideas are you seeing on your campus around technology, creativity and innovation? (For example, has your campus experimented with virtual reality, augmented reality, 3D printing, etc.?)
  • What are the needs, roadblocks, or questions your campus might have in this area?
  • How do you provide programming to support faculty incorporation of internship/coop programs into the curriculum?
  • How does your center support faculty who are interested in using new technologies or other innovations that they have heard about, innovative tools that they want to incorporate into their teaching or scholarship, but which are not established technologies on campus?

Individualized Education

  • How is your campus meeting the needs and being inclusive of all students?
  • How is your campus addressing the intersections of race, gender, age, and self-driven learning in the classroom?
  • How are you helping make your courses and programs accessible to learners with disabilities?
  • What are some best practices or resources that your campus has employed to meet the needs of students from different backgrounds?
  • What are the needs, roadblocks or questions your campus might have in this area?

Sustainability

  • How is your campus meeting the sustainability and scalability charge?
  • What does sustainability look like? What does scalability look like?
  • What are the needs, roadblocks, or questions your campus might have in this area?
  • How do you sustain innovative teaching tools and programs given your existing resources?
  • What lessons have you learned about sustainable innovation? What is the key to sustaining innovation over the long term?
  • How has your center collaborated with faculty to develop curricula and course designs that incorporate themes and topics around sustainability?
  • How does your course content interface with the UN Sustainable Development Goals? http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals.html

Partnerships

  • How is your campus working with outside entities, industry, and organizations successfully?
  • How is your center working with outside partners to provide support for faculty development programming on campus?
  • What are the keys to successful partnerships? What are some ways to build partnerships and avoid pitfalls?
  • What are the needs, roadblocks or questions your campus might have in this area?
  • What regional faculty development partnerships across SUNY have helped you on your campus?

Questions?  Contact Dr. Chris Price, Director SUNY Center for Professional Development (Chris.Price@suny.edu)

Excursions for conference attendees and their guests:

Wednesday, April 3, Minnewaska Hike
Carpools to leave from in front of the HAB / Student Union building at 4:30 p.m. $10 / car or free with Empire State Park Pass. Easy hike around a mountain lake. 20 minutes from campus.

Friday, April 5, outing to Spring Farm in the Mohonk Preserve (free!)
Carpools leave from in front of the HAB / Student Union building at 4:15 p.m.
Options to take an easy hike, do the rock scramble, or simply drive up and enjoy the view.

If you would like to sign up for the above excursions Please send an email to facultycenter@newpaltz.edu