Kendall Center NewsletterDecember 1, 2023

Individuals requiring accommodations for any of these Kendall Center events should contact Cathy Blaukat (cblaukat@gustavus.edu). We kindly ask that requests for accommodations be made as soon as possible.

Shop Talk - Angelique Dwyer

Angelique Dwyer, Associate Professor in MLLC and Spanish, will present a Faculty Shop Talk on Friday, December 1. Her talk "Measuring Intercultural Competence via Community Engagement" 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: Fostering Curiosity in an Antiracist Manner

Join colleagues on Friday, December 8th for Teaching Talking in the St Peter Room, session at 11:30 - 12:30 and/or 12:30 - 1:30 pm. Topic: Fostering Curiosity in an Antiracist Manner. One of the findings of K. Angelique Dwyer's intercultural competence research via community engagement (presented on Dec. 1 at Shop Talk) has shown a lack of curiosity demonstrated by our students. How can curiosity be fostered and modeled in a non-threatening, antiracist manner? As we know, conversations with each other help us to better understand one another. Join this workshop to learn about each other and collectively create a series of prompts and scenarios where (intercultural / interpersonal) curiosity can be fostered in a non-threatening, antiracist manner. Free lunch at the buffet.

Faculty Writing Retreat at American Swedish Institute (ASI) in December

The Kendall Center is hosting monthly faculty writing retreats at American Swedish Institute (ASI), in Minneapolis. The December retreat will be held on Saturday, December 9th. Faculty can participate in a full day 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. devoted to writing. We’ll reimburse up to $15 toward your lunch. Visit the Kendall Center website for upcoming dates. Please email Cathy Blaukat (cblaukat@gac.edu) to sign up.

J-Term Programming - John Dewey Kitchen Institute

Have you ever thought about using food and cooking as experiential inquiry? Would you be interested in exploring a theoretical approach to doing so? Are you a teacher, instructor, or faculty member looking for a unique workshop that will explore this approach to teaching? Join us on January 4 and 5 from 9 am to 5 pm for a two day inquiry with the creators of The John Dewey Kitchen Institute (JDKI). This will be held in the Nobel Hall teaching kitchen. With Dr. Cynthia Belliveau (University of Vermont) & Dr. Lisa Heldke (Philosophy). Please email Cathy Blaukat (cblaukat@gac.edu) to register or follow this link .

January opportunity for faculty interested in community-engaged learning 

Are you teaching a community-engaged course, planning such a course or just curious about community-engaged courses? Consider registering for the January Cohort of IAMNCC's Engaged Faculty Institute (EFI)! The EFI is a two-week cohort-based online course that combines synchronous and asynchronous activities to guide and support community-engaged teaching and course design. The EFI Online runs from January 4-19 and features five modules with individual learning activities and course design exercises completed over the two-week period. More details (including the registration form) can be found on the registration page.

J-Term Workshop - Inclusive Teaching: Fairly Evaluating Our Peers’ Teaching

Join us on January 18, 2024 from 10:30am-1:30pm in the Heritage Room for a J-Term workshop, "Inclusive Teaching: Fairly Evaluating Our Peers’ Teaching." This workshop introduces a 3-voice model (self, students, peers) to argue for enhancing our observation and evaluation for tenure and promotion. Pre-work: Watch an Equity-Minded Approach to Writing Effective External Review Letters for Tenure & Promotion webinar from NCFDD. Facilitators: Julie Bartley and Scott Bur. Pre-register by email to cblaukat@gustavus.edu by December 8. Lunch is included.

 J-Term Reading Group - Homer's Iliad

Yurie Hong and Matt Panciera from the GLCS department will be leading a January book group to discuss Homer's Iliad in a new translation by Emily Wilson. The Iliad is the story of the Trojan war in its 10th year. It is an epic tale of human courage and folly in war with many memorable appearances by the Olympian gods. We will meet in the Kendall Center on Thursdays, starting January 11 and ending on February 1, from 2:30-4. A copy of Wilson's translation and refreshments will be provided. Please sign up on this Google form. We are anticipating that we can accommodate up to 8 participants. Sign up here.

J-Term Book Discussion - Helen Sword's book, Air & Light & Time & Space

Maddalena Marinari, Kendall Center Associate for Research, Scholarship, and Creativity, will be leading a book discussion on Helen Sword's book, Air & Light & Time & Space. Sword is one of the leading authors on scholarly productivity. Rather than focusing on one approach to scholarly productivity, the book guides readers through several different approaches and strategies that academics can tailor to their writing personalities, preferences, and lifestyles. The group will be meeting virtually from 1:00 to 2:00 on January 8, 15, 22, and 29. During each meeting, group members will discuss one of the sections of the book and try to implement her recommendations. The group is capped at 12 so please sign up here by Friday, December 1, if you are interested. The book will be provided to you.

Full List of all J-term Programming offered

The Kendall Center for Engaged Learning is pleased to offer these various sessions, workshops, and reading groups during J-term. Please visit the webpage for the full list. Books and refreshments will be provided to participants. Please email Cathy Blaukat (cblaukat@gustavus.edu) to register of follow the sign up link for specific sessions.

2 Day Faculty Writing Retreat at Mt Olivet

The Kendall Center is sponsoring a Writing Retreat for faculty on Wednesday, January 17 and Thursday, January 18 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 and space is limited and will be allocated on a first come, first serve basis. Your single room and meals are provided by the Kendall Center. Please RSVP to Cathy Blaukat (cblaukat@gustavus.edu) by FRIDAY, December 22.

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). Please visit the Kendall Center website to submit or for more information. Nominations must be received by 5 pm on Friday, January 12, 2024.

Grant Opportunities

In consultation with the Faculty Development Committee in 2022-2023, we have revised our mini-grant opportunities. The following small grants (up to $500) have a rolling deadline.
Teaching Development Grant supports faculty members’ pedagogical development. Scholarship Development Grant supports the development of faculty’s research,
scholarship, and creative work. Community Engaged Learning Grant supports course-based community collaborations. Visit our website for more information about all grant opportunities as well as eligibility, grant guidelines, and forms for the mini-grants.

NCFDD Webinar: Supporting Academic Parents: Recommended Policies and Practices

Register with your free NCFDD account to participate in the “Guest Expert Webinar: Supporting Academic Parents: Recommended Policies and Practices” on Tuesday, December 12 from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm. This webinar takes a two-pronged approach to assist both (1) individual faculty members who are parents and (2) academic institutions in better supporting academic parents. This webinar will also provide evidence-based recommendations to help individual parents successfully navigate their academic careers and the tenure process, while also presenting information that institutions and administrators can utilize to catalyze broader institutional change. Sign upi here.

Faculty Writing Space at Gustavus

Do you need a day of writing? Maybe a half day or even a couple hours? The Kendall Center Conference Room in Anderson Hall, Room 303, is available throughout the year devoted to writing, come and go as needed. The room is stocked with snacks, water, tea, coffee, and hot chocolate. Help yourself. Just swipe your Gustavus ID card at the KCEL door and you are ready to write. If you have a group that would like to meet regularly, shoot Cathy Blaukat an email to reserve the room. This is a quiet space for faculty to come and write as they wish.

Kendall Center Event Google Calendar

Subscribe to the Kendall Center Google Calendar to keep track of all our programming throughout the year. We are no longer printing a calendar.