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Welcome to our October 2022 Faculty Success Newsletter!
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An agave plant in the Art courtyard
Confession: I don’t come from a family that ever went camping, hiking, or spent much time at all in nature. And the last time I sat in a biology class, Roxette and Boyz II Men were topping the music charts. As a result, I am super impressed by anyone who can actually identify specific plants and wildlife (“There’s a California Towhee!”).
Imagine my amazement, then, after spending an hour touring campus with our wildlife biologist colleague Dr. Jessica Castillo Vardaro a couple of weeks ago. We were meeting to develop a campus nature walk and reflection activity for students who will be participating in a leadership retreat at the end of this month.
Jessica guided me to some of her favorite spots on campus, sharing fascinating facts about the oak trees, coastal redwoods, sycamores, and more of the trees that we have on campus. These are trees that I have walked past several times a day for more than fourteen years but never paid much attention to because I was too busy trying to reach office hours on time while simultaneously mentally composing an intro for a grant application and replaying the way I’d responded to a challenging class interaction . . . basically, the jumble of competing thoughts that keep us from appreciating our gorgeous urban campus.
I came away from this simple nature walk with a much deeper appreciation for the environment we share. Jessica encouraged me to touch the spongy bark of the cork oak that stands in front of Clark Hall. Outside of Washington Square Hall, she led me to a salvia bush, placed a few sprigs in my hands, and instructed me to gently rub them—and the earthy aroma of sage filled my nostrils. Near Boccardo Business Center, she identified pepper trees by crushing the red berries sprinkled on the ground. And on the Paseo de San Carlos, she encouraged me to nibble on a tart pineapple guava (which I did, shushing the city girl inside me who gulped, “Shouldn’t we wash it first?”).
If you can, take time this fall to stroll around campus or park yourself on a bench. Take in some sun, easier now that the weather is transitioning, and look around in all directions, especially up at the highest reaches of the trees. What minor dramas may be playing out there, among the squirrels and birds? What are the sounds you hear? Go up to a tree, feel the texture of its bark. What are the natural elements of our campus that you can newly discover?
And if you are someone like me who needs help to know the difference between agave and aloe, check out an app like iNaturalist to crowdsource identifications and learn more about the natural beauty of our campus. It is never too late to cultivate more meaningful connection to our sense of place at SJSU.
Magdalena Barrera,
Vice Provost for Faculty Success
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Spring 2023 Learning-Aligned Employment Program:
Hire an Undergraduate Researcher to Support Your RSCA!
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The Office of Research is supporting a new, exciting opportunity for San José State University faculty to fund undergraduate student researchers through the state of California-sponsored Learning-Aligned Employment Program (LAEP).
For the Spring 2023 semester, faculty members can apply to hire a student to work on research or creative activity-related projects for 20 hours per week for 16 weeks. Through LAEP, students will be compensated $20 an hour — $6,400 for the Spring semester. This opportunity will allow eligible students to gain hands-on research experience while being compensated for their work.
Interested faculty must
ap
ply
for this program through the Office of Research. Applications will be accepted through InfoReady until October 28, 2022. Please direct any related questions to the Office of Research at [email protected].
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Updates from the Center for Faculty
Development and eCampus
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"As a professor who teaches intro physics, I was dreading my first glimpse into the Course Equity Portal. But I found the CEP to be empowering, because it allows us to understand our students better, which is the first step to serving them better. And that’s what the CSU is all about."
-- Monika Kress, Professor, Physics & Astronomy, San José State University
We’re excited to announce that you can now explore instructor-specific course equity patterns via the CSU’s Course Equity Portal. The Course Equity Portal (CEP) is a tool that faculty can use to examine equity gaps (differences in grades of D, F, WU, and NC between students who are from historically underserved racial/ethnic groups (Black, Latinx, American Indian, Alaska Native) and their peers, those who receive Pell grants or not, those who are first-generation students or not, or by gender) in the courses you teach. Knowing about and looking at such gaps helps us to understand and perhaps address them in our courses, making our courses more equitable. (Note: Your individual portal is viewable only by you.)
Before you enter the portal, please complete the very brief pre-survey, and, once you’ve had a chance to explore, please complete the post-survey. Your insights will help the CSU Chancellor’s Office continue to improve this tool for faculty at SJSU and throughout the system.
The goal of the Course Equity Portal is to empower you to critically examine outcome data from courses you’ve taught, reflect on what this information means within the context of your courses, and learn what actions you might take to create a more inclusive and equitable learning environment for your students. These actions can be a series of small changes implemented over a period of time or can be a complete redesign of a course. The “What Actions Can I Take” section of the Course Equity Portal will help guide you to resources that can help you determine what changes you might make to give all students in your courses the opportunity to be successful. Please contact the Center for Faculty Development if you would like to confidentially discuss what you’re seeing in the Course Equity Portal or brainstorm next steps (whether for your own instruction or to engage your peers in learning communities or other programming).
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Introducing Accessibility with Ally: A Self-Directed Course!
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This asynchronous, self-paced Canvas course is designed to support faculty and staff in creating accessible and inclusive course content for in-person, online and hybrid modalities.
- Module 1 introduces Ally, a new accessibility tool in Canvas.
- Module 2 outlines common accessibility considerations in higher-education.
- Module 3 provides a solid background in accessible design concepts.
- Modules 4-8 provide step-by-step guidance on using Media, Canvas, Microsoft Office and Adobe Acrobat DC to create accessible and inclusive learning experiences.
Each module concludes with practical hands-on assessments. The course can be used as a reference or all 8 module assessments can be completed with 80% or above score to receive a badge!
Register for the Accessibility with Ally: A Self Directed Course!
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Looking to explore a new tool or review new features? We are now excited to offer a wide range of On Demand Videos. Topics range from course accessibility to course interactivity with videos on specific software applications included as well. Fill out the brief request form to receive access to topics of interest.
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Phi Kappa Phi is the nation’s oldest and most selective multidisciplinary collegiate honor society initiates approximately 25,000 members a year on more 325 campuses in the United States, its territories and the Philippines. More than 1.5 million members have joined its ranks since Phi Kappa Phi’s founding in 1897 at the University of Maine. It is a global network of the best and brightest, a community of scholars and professionals building an enduring legacy for all generations.
Phi Kappa Phi membership is earned. Admission is invitation-only and requires nomination approval by the San José State University chapter. In addition to the requirements for juniors, seniors, and graduate students to join, faculty and professional staff and alumni who achieve scholarly distinction may also be eligible. Think you meet the above criteria and have not been invited to membership? Please contact Susan McClory.
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We have a site license for a variety of ESRI software products. One application available is ArcGIS Online, which is a Geographical Information System application that is browser based. ArcGIS Online runs on most web browsers such as Google Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. Here you can develop maps with geographic information that can be easily displayed in ESRI’s Instant App, Dashboards, Web Map or a StoryMap.
A couple of additional applications that may be of interest include:
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October
21: Range Elevation: Chair and department-level recommendations due
25: RTP: Chair and department-level recommendations due
November
10: Sabbatical: Dean’s recommendation and rankings due
11: Campus closed, Veterans Day
23: Non-instructional day
24-25: Campus closed
December
2: Range Elevation: College Administrator recommendations due
6: Last Day of Instruction
7: Study/Conference Day (no classes or exams)
8: Sabbatical: University Sabbatical Leaves Committee rankings due
8-9 and 12-14: Final Exams
15-16: Fall Commencement
16: RTP: College level recommendations due
19: Grades due from Faculty and End of Fall Semester
19: RTP: Late-Add Request Period begins
26-30: Campus closed
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Do you have a story, highlight, reading, or tip that you would like to share in this newsletter?
Please reach out anytime to
[email protected]
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Contact Us
Magdalena L. Barrera, Ph.D.
Deanna Fassett, Ph.D.
Jennifer Redd, Ph.D.
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