Kendall Center NewsletterOctober 1, 2022

What's new in the Kendall Center

The new Kendall Center DIrector is Pamela Conners. The Kendall Center is happy to welcome Maddalena Marinari as the new Faculty Associate of Research, Scholarship and Creativity (RSC). Continuing Faculty Associates include Patricia English and Dan Moos as the Excellence in Teaching Faculty Associates, David Stamps as the New Faculty Programming Faculty Associate, Esther Wang as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Faculty Associate, and Martin Lang remains the Community Engaged Learning Faculty Associate. 

Faculty Development Day Workshops

Were you unable to attend Faculty Development Day? You can access the presentaions on Advising New Curriculum and My Gustavus, Creating Inclusion and Community in the Classroom, and Incorporating Voter Engagement in the Classroom. 

Innovative Teaching Awards

The John S. Kendall Center for Engaged Learning and the Provost’s Office would like to recognize faculty who are engaged in innovative teaching (e.g., new uses of instructional technology, new ways to engage students in the learning process, new approaches to student collaboration, or new methods for improving student learning outcomes) and to encourage the dissemination of effective practices by sharing promising innovations with faculty more broadly. Therefore, we offer 2 Innovative Teaching Awards -- one that recognizes innovations at the Course or Curricular level ($1000 prize) and a second that recognizes innovative Assignments ($500 prize). Completed nominations should not exceed 2 pages and should be emailed to innovate@gustavus.edu.  Please visit the Kendall Center website or the flyer for more information.

2 Day Faculty Writing Retreat at Mt Olivet

The Kendall Center is sponsoring a Writing Retreat for faculty on Friday October 14 and 15, 2022 at Mount Olivet Conference and Retreat Center in Farmington, MN. This is a great opportunity to focus on your writing. The retreat is open to all faculty. The Kendall Center covers the cost of the retreat which is for a single room. Please RSVP to Cathy Blaukat to sign up.

Faculty Writing Retreats at Gustavus and ASI 

The Kendall Center is hosting monthly Writing Retreats at Gustavus and at American Swedish Institute (ASI). October Writing Retreats will be held on Saturday, October 8 at American Swedish Institute, Mpls ($15 toward lunch)and on Sunday, October 9 at Gustavus (Konferensrum) . Faculty can participate in a full day 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. devoted to writing. We’ll provide lunch. Please visit the Kendall Center website for upcoming dates and info. Please email Cathy Blaukat (cblaukat@gac.edu) to sign up.

Teachers Talking: Empowering Student Voters 

Please join us on Tuesday, October 11 at 2:30 p.m. for Teachers Talking. Topic: Empowering Student Voters. This discussion will give you resources to integrate voter engagement–and civic engagement more broadly–into any classroom. We’ll review the benefits of civic engagement for students and society, strategies for discussing voting in a non-partisan manner, and effective methods of encouraging informed voting on issues important to students. Program is from 2:30 am to 3:30pm. Snacks/beverages provided (Marketplace coupons), then meet in the President’s Dining Room (PDR).

Faculty Shop Talk - Sam Kessler

Sam Kessler (Assistant Professor, Religion) will present at Faculty Shop Talk on Wednesday, October 12. His talk "Snapshots of a Modern Jewish Theology: Medieval Continuities and Historical Dissonances"” will be presented at 4:30 p.m. in the President’s Dining Room (PDR) . Feel free to arrive any time after 4:15 p.m. The abstract for this and future talks may be viewed on the Kendall Center website.

New Faculty Orientation Session: Grading: Policies and Rubrics

Join us on Thursday, October 13 at 12:30 p.m. for a New Faculty Orientation Session. Topic: Course Evaluations. A discussion of effective methods for evaluating your courses and getting information that can be used to improve teaching and learning. We focus on end of the semester summative as well as mid-semester formative evaluations. *Please bring a computer/tablet for this session. Facilitator: Lisa Dembouski, Associate Professor of Education. Grab your lunch coupon from David Stamps and then head over to the St Peter Room, 12:30 to 1:20 p.m.

New Faculty Orientation Session: Making the Most of Term Appointments – Workshop CV and Interviews

Join us on Thursday, October 13 (NTT only) at 4:30 p.m. for a New Faculty Orientation Session. Topic: Making the Most of Term Appointments: Workshop CV and Interviews. You just started, but may be in the process of applying for a tenure track job. How do you position yourself as a top candidate? Bring an example of your CV and we will workshop it. What do Departments look for when hiring? How do you prepare and deliver for an interview? Facilitator: Sarah Wolter, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies. Grab your marketplace coupon from David Stamps and then head over to the St Peter Room.

Faculty Shop Talk - Laura Burrack

Laura Burrack (Associate Professor, Biology) will present at Faculty Shop Talk on Friday, October 14. Her talk "How do fungal pathogens evolve resistance to antifungal drugs?" will be presented at 4:30 p.m. in the Interpretive Center . Feel free to arrive any time after 4:15 p.m. The abstract for this and future talks may be viewed on the Kendall Center website.

Teachers Talking: Presidential Student-Faculty Collaboration grant projects

 Please join us on Tuesday, October 27 at 2:30 p.m. for Teachers Talking. Topic: Presidential Student-Faculty Collaboration grant projects. Program is from 2:30 am to 3:30pm. Snacks/beverages provided (Marketplace coupons), then meet in the St Peter Room.

Creative Writing Retreats in October

Locate your sources, charge your batteries, and sharpen your pencils! The Kendall Center will host a series of monthly writing retreats aimed toward new faculty, but all faculty are welcome. Interested faculty can sign up for a full day – 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. - devoted to writing in the Konfersrum on October 30th. We’ll provide lunch, you provide the inspiration. Please email Cathy Blaukat (cblaukat@gac.edu) to sign up and get a coupon for free lunch at Marketplace.

Faculty Shop Talk - Sean Easton

Sean Easton (Professor and Chair in Classical Studies and Professor in Peace Studies) will present at Faculty Shop Talk on Friday, October 28. His talk "Heckling the Heroes: Blaming, Rebuking (and More!) in Greek and Roman Epic" will be presented at 4:30 p.m. in the Interpretive Center . Feel free to arrive any time after 4:15 p.m. The abstract for this and future talks may be viewed on the Kendall Center website.

Trivia Night!

Faculty had a great time at the September faculty Trivia Night! 1st place were The Vegan Wings (picture below) : Lai Sze Tso, Seán Easton, Imre Tuba, Margaretha Kramer, and Jos Hajos.
2nd place was Aiming for a Bronze: Janie Frandsen, Pam Kittelson, John Bailey, and Sarah Lahasky. 3rd place was Almost Newbies: Laura Hildreth, Ella Burnham, Martha Ndakalako, Kate
Aguilar, and Hagar Attia.