In his report to members of the Professional and Scientific Council on Sept. 1, senior vice president and provost Jonathan Wickert highlighted recent posts to his academic affairs blog.
In a blog post about fostering inclusive classrooms, Wickert announced upcoming "Inclusive Classroom Workshops," which will be offered eight times in 2016-17. He said the initiatives were developed by an inclusive classroom task force, led by the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching.
"It's really directed at professional development of faculty and being able to have a learning environment in the classroom that is open, inclusive and welcoming -- in terms of the syllabus, material, notes, discussion, how you handle disagreements, the language you use and the examples you use. I think this is setting a wonderful example of how we should be teaching in our classrooms," he said.
A report on diversity and inclusion in academic affairs was the subject of another blog post. The report, which Wickert said will be compiled annually, includes initiatives and efforts submitted by academic deans and vice presidents and directors in the academic affairs division.
"We put this together to have a conversation and set a baseline and help communicate what we're doing," Wickert said. "This is not to say we're complete. We know there is more that we can do and that there is more we have to do."
Other business
- Council president Clayton Johnson announced that a summary of the council's FY17 strategic initiatives and priorities, developed during a priority planning session in the council's July meeting, is available online
- Katy Leichsenring (admissions) was approved to fill a vacant council seat, representing student affairs
- The theme for the Feb. 28 P&S Council professional development conference is "Cultivate your Adventure: From Initiating to Innovating"
