I have mostly taken a break from reading this past month. Unwittingly, though, I did listen to two books that reinforced each other in powerful ways. Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson, originally published in 2020, is still incredibly timely and appropriately challenging. The book addresses the systems, structures and mindsets that have shaped our current context while not always visible or acknowledged. I consider it an essential read. The second book, Upstream: The Quest to Solve Problems Before They Happen by Dan Heath addresses strategies to affect systemic and structural change. While these books aren’t explicitly about higher education or teaching, the content, connections, and examples have direct applications to our work and to all of our disciplines.  

Clear-eyed thinking about AI. Articles, websites, and reports about AI (generative and otherwise) just keep coming. My wish right now for all of us is to keep asking questions. Lots of questions. What will serve us well moving forward is taking in different sources of information, considering and critically analyzing multiple perspectives, and raising our awareness of the many contextual factors around AI (e.g., technical, financial, environmental, ethical, equitable, cognitive). We will have a lot more to come on these topics as part of a broader digital literacy initiative, but for now let me share four recent reads that offer examples of various critical lenses. The fuller our understanding of the complexities of the topic, the better able we will be to serve our students:

A focus on purpose. While researching a student success project, I have been digging into the literature about sense of purpose. I offer for your consideration a review, A higher goal during higher education: The power of purpose in life during university that adds depth to what may be intuitive for practitioners, “Having a purpose has been shown to have a variety of benefits for college students, whether it is garnering the perseverance to help withstand the various stressors college students must endure or the potential it has for promoting well-being.”

I have also been sitting with a rather provocative publication from AAC&U, What Liberal Education Looks Like: What It Is, Who It’s For, and Where It Happens. It is worth a read for your own reflection and reminder of our purpose; it may also serve as an interesting piece to talk about with students. Or with members of our wider community.

Over the years, as part of our Inclusive Excellence initiative, we have promoted the application of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles to the design and delivery of courses. UDL has come up in a number of recent conversations, so I thought it was a good time to remind folks of the extensive UDL resources listed in our Getting Started With Inclusive Teaching guide. What I particularly appreciate about the UDL approach is its robust research base and potential to help us better meet the diverse needs of learners in ways that benefit all students.

The art of gathering. Despite much initial resistance, I got a lot out of the book with this same title. Now that August is nearly here, I look forward to more gatherings and opportunities to learn with and from colleagues across the university. The start of a new academic year never ceases to fill me with excitement and anticipation. New Faculty Orientation is always an energetic/ whirlwind/rewarding time with colleagues old and new. I am also looking forward to the 31st Annual Fall Conference on Teaching and Learning on August 14th, celebrating faculty innovations in teaching and engaging together around the timely topic, a relationship-rich education. Coming together with others has never been more significant as we navigate a world that looks nothing like it did just a short time ago. Whether a brief exchange over the coffee pot, collaborating on a course or research project, or attending a meeting, I hope that your gatherings over the coming weeks are meaningful and energizing.

Borrowing from a list of GenZ email signoffs…

Stay awesome–

-Christine Rener

A 2014 Gallup-Purdue survey of 30,000 college graduates found that those who had a strong, meaningful relationship with a faculty member were twice as likely to report high levels of well-being compared to their peers. Yet only 14% of those students reported having such a relationship (Mintz, 2023). Your expertise, your teaching practices, your understanding, and your guidance keep students engaged and on the path to graduation and a lifetime of empowered learning.

With this in mind, we’re focusing on a topic that drives student success: meaningful relationships. With the help of our Keynote Speakers, we will focus on educational experiences that center human connection and relationships. Our Annual Fall Conference on Teaching and Learning is a chance to explore this topic, discuss with your colleagues across campus, and learn from each other.

Join us for the 31st Annual Conference on Teaching and Learning, featuring two expert keynotes: Dr. Peter Felten on Relationship-Rich Education and GVSU Provost, Dr. Jennifer Drake, on Narratives of Today's First-Year Students. Visit our Fall Conference website for more details.

Questions? Contact Maggie Goss or the Pew FTLC.

FALL and YEAR-LONG LEARNING COMMUNITIES – Propose an LC Today!
Attend any fun conferences on Teaching and Learning? Have a good discussion with a colleague? Want to talk and learn more?

Fall and Year-Long Learning Communities (LCs) are small, faculty-led groups that gather around a shared topic for a semester or two. These communities create space for collaboration, new kinds of learning, and the opportunity to meet people across campus.

If you’ve got an idea—or just the start of one—we invite you to propose a Fall 2025 or Fall 2025/Winter 2026 Year-Long LC. Submit a Letter of Intent using our online form. And if you're wondering what’s possible, browse our Past LCs webpage for inspiration from years past.

This fall, carve out time to focus on your writing goals in a structured and supportive environment. On select Wednesdays, we’re hosting 1.5-hour writing sessions on Zoom, offering the flexibility to join in person or remotely. Each session includes:

Join us on select Wednesdays, 10:00–11:30 AM on September 10, September 24, October 8, October 22, November 5, November 19, and December 3. Whether you're working on articles, SOTL, book chapters, professional documents, syllabi, or other writing projects, these sessions provide accountability and momentum to help you make progress. We’ll provide a quiet, distraction-free space to keep you focused. Just bring your materials and a clear goal for the session.

Register for the Fall Writing Challenge here. We look forward to writing with you!

New Faculty Orientation – August 6, 7, and 13 (full schedule on our website)

We are excited to welcome new faculty this coming Fall (2025)! 
Orientation will focus on engaging new faculty in a collaborative learning experience focused squarely on student success, community building, and exploration of campus resources for both faculty and students.

Learn more by visiting our New Faculty Orientation webpage. Content on this page will be updated regularly throughout the summer as more program details become available. New faculty should register for Orientation online via our New Faculty Orientation Registration Form.

Learn the Library Half-day Conference — Register Here

When: Monday, August 11, 2025: 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. 
Where: Mary Idema Pew Library, Valley Campus, Allendale.

This half-day conference seeks to engage with faculty at all levels, particularly adjuncts, visitors, and new arrivals, with the many services and resources the University Libraries has to offer.