German has a word for everything, including what I clearly needed to hear.

Before I was born, when my dad was an Army officer, my parents were stationed in Neu-Ulm, Germany. I grew up hearing stories of their travels and poring through their scrapbooks, ever enchanted by Neuschwanstein Castle. A point of pride in our living room was a 7x9' Schrank, a beautiful wooden cabinet that held my mother's books and collectibles. I dreamed of one day speaking German and traveling everywhere they had. You can imagine my excitement when I discovered that German was among the foreign languages offered at my high school—an option immediately squashed by my mom, who insisted that I learn to speak Spanish.

Nevertheless, my interest in German has remained. Luckily, Friederike Bruehoefener, Assistant Vice Provost for Faculty Excellence, has kindly been sharing some German words and phrases to tide me over until I take a formal class. You may have heard of Schadenfreude, a term for taking pleasure in someone else's failure. Well, Friederike introduced me to its cousin: Fremdschämen, feeling uncomfortable when someone does something cringey. I am now prepared to cheer, “Du schaffst das!" when a friend needs encouragement, or "Du störst!" if they are being disruptive.

Not too long ago, the word of the week was Abnabelungsprozess. It refers to the process of letting go (quite literally, the cutting of the umbilical cord and the process of children growing independent of their parents). It came up as we were discussing this summer's new faculty orientation. When I was managing CFETI in summer 2024, I overhauled the orientation curriculum and loved it so much that I wrote a book chapter about it. Last summer, when Friederike joined SJSU, I vowed, "After this year, it's all yours, change it up however you want!" Well, let's just say that was easier said than done. Friederike created new sessions and made updates that challenged my ability to truly let go. At one point, I said, "Okay, if I am overthinking this, just tell me!" She walked over to the whiteboard and wrote "Abnabelungsprozess." As she explained how to pronounce it and what it meant, I found myself laughing and realizing I needed to get over my attachment to what was and let the program evolve.

Our work life brings us many opportunities to engage in and/or encourage a form of Abnabelungsprozess. Sometimes it looks like stepping back from a committee you helped build, trusting that it will thrive in someone else's hands. Sometimes it means releasing your grip on how a course, a project, or a process should look by giving a colleague, a student, or a team member room to put their own fingerprints on it. It might even be something quieter: choosing not to follow up on every email thread, resisting the urge to sit in on every meeting, or accepting that a document or slide deck doesn't have to be formatted exactly the way you would have done it. Letting go doesn't mean you no longer care, but rather that you care enough to trust.

As we head into the final stretch of Spring 2026, I invite you to sit with this question: Where in your work or other area of life are you holding on too tightly? Maybe it's a project, a role, a routine, or even an idea of how things should go. What might open up for you, for your colleagues, or for your students if you practiced a little Abnabelungsprozess? Whatever your answer, I hope you find that loosening your grip, even just a little, creates space for something unexpected and wonderful. Let’s see what may unfold when we trust ourselves, trust each other, and trust the process.

Sincerely,
Magdalena L. Barrera
Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs

Teaching with AI Faculty Showcase 

A campus showcase and conversation on teaching and learning with AI

April 30 | 12- 3 p.m. | AI Center for Civic and Social Good, King Library

Join us for a campus-wide showcase of how SJSU faculty are integrating AI into teaching and engaging students in innovative, ethical ways that support student learning and success.

Featuring Opening Remarks from SJSU President Dr. Cynthia Teniente-Matson

Connect with colleagues, exchange ideas, and explore how AI is shaping teaching and learning across SJSU. Whether you are actively integrating AI or just beginning to explore, you are welcome.

Register

To present: Submit a short description of your example (and, if available, a sample assignment or artifact) by April 22.

To attend (both presenter and participants): Please complete the Showcase event registration form by April 22.

Faculty across the CSU are invited to apply for the 2026 Online Faculty Professional Learning Institute that focuses on evidence-based strategies for teaching and interacting that draw on the strengths of first-generation college students (FGCS). The institute models inclusive, accessible, and intentional teaching in digitally enhanced and fully online environments. Please consult this smartsheet to learn more and to submit your application by the end of the day on Tuesday, April 28th.

Join ren Williams (CFETI Faculty in Residence & Senior Lecturer, Communication Studies) and Nancy Park (Lecturer, Communication Studies) on April 28 (10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.) for a hands-on, in-person workshop focused on developing confidence and an engaging presence in the classroom. Participants will learn and practice techniques and strategies they can deploy in any classroom setting. Complete this form to register for the workshop.

Join CFETI on Monday, May 18 2026 (11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.), for a hybrid workshop focused on creating a realistic RSCA plan and discussing the highs (and lows) of the RSCA process. You will come away with new tips and strategies for your RSCA agenda, as well as tools to create a summer RSCA plan that allows for rest and relaxation.

Interested? There are two ways you can participate: 

In-Person: Join us in-person for a watch party, stay for lunch, and discuss your plans with a group of faculty.

Remote: Tune in via zoom to listen and schedule an optional 1:1 consultation to discuss your RSCA plans. 

Complete this form by Monday, May 11 to register for this event.

Finals week can be isolating, but you don't have to tackle that mountain of assessments alone. To support you during the grading crunch, the Center for Faculty Excellence and Teaching Innovation is hosting a Grading with Goodies and Buddies series of events in Clark Hall 316 on May 13, 14, and 19 from 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

This dedicated co-working space is designed to help you power through your finals with minimal distractions and maximum community support. Our Instructional Designers will be on-site and ready to assist with any grading hurdles, from troubleshooting Canvas Gradebook issues to refining your rubrics for more efficient feedback.

Goodies will include:

Brain Fuel: Fresh coffee, assorted teas, and seasonal treats.

Savory Snacks: To keep your energy high through the final stretch.

Expert Support: On-demand help from our instructional design team.

Stop by for an hour or stay for the morning. Let’s cross the finish line together!

Remediating Canvas pages for accessibility can be tedious, especially when the HTML is messy behind the scenes. To make that work a little easier, we created a custom ChatGPT tool called Remediate Canvas HTML.

The workflow is simple: copy the HTML from a troublesome Canvas page, paste it into the chatbot, and then paste the cleaned-up HTML back into Canvas. The tool is designed to help improve structure, remove unnecessary code clutter, and flag anything that still needs human judgment. Anyone at SJSU with the link can use it: Remediate Canvas HTML

We hope this gives you a boost in tackling accessibility remediation in Canvas. No need to become an HTML expert in the process. Let us know how it goes for you!

TidyUp and UDOIT are available in the left navigation menu in Canvas! They are only visible to instructors, not to students. 

Use TidyUp to remove unused and duplicate files and Canvas content. The result will be less clutter in your Files and Pages tabs and less accessibility issues to fix! The Reduce Your File Remediation Workload with UDOIT and TidyUP 1 min video demonstrates how easy this is! Then use UDOIT to remediate any accessibility issues.

For more detailed videos and guidance, check out the UDOIT and TidyUp pages!

PDFs are the most challenging type of document to remediate, so it is recommended to use other formats, such as permalinks to library articles, Microsoft Word or PowerPoint documents. If none of those options are available, you can use the PDF Document Accessibility Application  to remediate your PDFs. 

Please note, not all issues will be fixed and manual checks using Adobe Acrobat or Microsoft Word are required. Reach out to cfeti@sjsu.edu with any questions and check out the Accessible Technology Initiative Hub for more guidance (SJSU login required).

The summer CSU OCS training courses are open for registration.  The program provides professional development training opportunities for FREE to prepare faculty, lecturers, and staff to design quality online and hybrid courses and use Artificial Intelligence in innovative ways. All the courses are 3 weeks in length and in an asynchronous format.

 Courses to design and deliver online and hybrid courses include:

Introduction to Teaching Online (Register)

Advanced Course in Teaching Online (Register)

Improving Your Online Course (Register)

Applying the Quality Matters Rubric (Register)

Courses to use Artificial Intelligence in innovative ways include:

AI Tools for Teaching & Learning for Faculty/Lecturers (Register)

AI Tools for Higher Ed. Professionals/Staff (Register)

April

28: Mini Review: college level evaluation sent to candidates

May

8: Post-Tenure Review: Dean’s comments shared with PTR faculty

11: Last Day of Instruction

12: Study/Conference Day (no classes)

13-19: Final exams

20-22: Commencement

22: Grades due from faculty

25: Campus closed

29: RTP: Provost decisions released to candidates

April

22: Podcasting Options with and without AI (10-11 a.m.)

22: Getting Students to Read and Annotate (2-3 p.m.)

23: Lecturer Programming: Let's Talk Teaching (10:30 - 11:45 a.m.)

23: Getting Started with Canvas (1-2 p.m.)

23: SJSU Official Syllabus Workshop (2:30-3:30 p.m.)

27: Transparency in the Writing Process: Meet Clarity (11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.)

28: Presence as Pedagogy (10 a.m. - 12 p.m.)

30: ArcGIS Intro (10 a.m. - 11 a.m.)

30: Teaching with AI Faculty Showcase (12-3 p.m.)

May

5: Creative Canvas Home Pages (3:30-4:30 p.m.)

6: Transparency in the Writing Process: Meet Clarity (10-11 a.m.)

6: Polling for Student Engagement: Poll Everywhere, iClicker and Zoom, (11 a.m. - 12 p.m.)

7: SJSU Official Syllabus Workshop (9:45-10:45 a.m.)

8: Podcasting Options with and without AI (10-11 a.m.)

15: Getting Students to Read and Annotate (10-11 a.m.)

26: SJSU Official Syllabus Workshop (10-11 a.m.)

28: Qualtrics Advanced (9-10 a.m.)

It’s Time to Clean Your Books: “Of all my possessions, the only ones I really, truly love are my books. They are like friends — no, they’re family. And I have been neglecting them.”

Forget ‘Work-Life Balance’: “The concept of work-life balance is not serving you, and it may be quietly harming you.”

Why You Forget What You Read (And How to Fix It): “A practical guide to using evidence-based learning strategies to read, retain, and apply insights from any nonfiction book.”

Do you have a story, highlight, reading, or tip that you would like to share in this newsletter? 

Please reach out anytime to faculty-success@sjsu.edu 

Contact Us

Magdalena L. Barrera, Ph.D.
Senior Vice Provost and Accreditation Liaison Officer
Office for Faculty Success
faculty-success@sjsu.edu | 408-924-2405

Friederike Bruehoefener, Ph.D.
Assistant Vice Provost for Faculty Excellence
Center for Faculty Excellence and Teaching Innovation
cfeti@sjsu.edu | 408-924-2600

Jennifer Redd, Ph.D.
Senior Director, Teaching Innovation
408-924-2734

Yingjie Liu, Ph.D.
Director of Digital Learning Strategies
408-924-2433

Note: this message is being sent to all faculty and only staff of the Division of Academic Affairs who are receiving this communication outside the regular SpartanMessenger cadence. You may receive emails from the Office of the Provost to support university-wide messaging priorities or on matters concerning only those within Academic Affairs. Any and all other non-urgent and routine email communications from colleges and divisions to employees must still be submitted to SpartanMessenger.