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Later in this Hubcap, you will see an invitation to hear from Sarah Rose Cavanagh, when she comes to speak to campus next week! In that vein the teaching tips give you a brief preview of what Cavanagh's expertise around emotions in the classroom suggests about the connections between our students' (and our own) feelings and thoughts by highlighting essays she has written for The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Because of the high demand for our cohort based 7-week program, we are happy to share this self-enrolling link for the self-paced version. We built the weekly modules based on the 7-week program but you can feel free to set your own pace as you see fit.

The Hub will be hosting in-person and virtual coffee hours to bring a community element into the program. The coffee hours are aligned to the different weekly modules but please feel free to come no matter where you are at in the program.

These gatherings are an opportunity to ask questions, discuss tasks from the self-paced Canvas course, and connect with colleagues. You are of course welcome to self-enroll and complete the course without attending the Coffee Hours. Or feel free to make an appointment with an instructional designer at a time that is convenient for you to talk over any parts of the course. 

Teaching is a vocation. When supported with resources and security, it is a constantly renewing source of excitement and richness. The last several years of disruption, uncertainty, and overburdened workloads have exhausted teachers and students alike. Monsters have reared their heads, and we have understandably shrunk from them. Faculty are burnt out—sacrificing their own mental health, phoning it in out of desperation, or leaving the profession entirely. Students are experiencing an epidemic of mental health problems, especially of anxiety.

As instructors, we can support and encourage student mental health through pedagogies of care. A pedagogy of care involves high-touch practices like frequent communication, flexibility, inclusive teaching practices, learning new technologies and techniques, and being enthusiastic and passionate. All these practices involve both a heavy investment of time and a high degree of emotional labor. How can we support our students without burning ourselves out? How can we revive our sparks?

In this interactive keynote, Sarah Rose Cavanagh will present some research and food for thought based on her book, Mind Over Monsters, about how higher education should respond to both faculty depletion and the student mental health crisis.You can read relevant essays here and here.

We are delighted to share this event, which was planned by students in a women's history capstone course here at Dearborn!

Colleagues,

Students in my women's history capstone course are planning a panel discussion with UMD faculty.  They've asked faculty from a variety of fields to come share their experiences in academica, reflect on the contributions of women in their fields, and contemplate how universities could better recognize women.

The fields represented will be African and African American Studies, History, Social Work, Psychology, and Education.  

Date: Tuesday, March 25, 2025

Time: 12:30-1:30pm

Location: CB 1030

Please, please, please encourage your students to attend.  I'm happy to have sign in sheets for your students if you'd like to offer them credit.  We'd also love for you to join us! 

Thanks so much,

Georgina

We are happy to meet with you for any teaching concerns, large or small, in any modality, whether it's a one-off meeting or longer-term planning. For issues arising in your classes, PBL, GenAI, or anything else, we're here to help!

Questions or comments about this Hub Cap? Reach out to Jessica Riviere rivierej@umich.edu

While the HubCap is designed with our faculty as the primary audience, others (campus leaders, directors, student services staff) may also find valuable insights within. Feel free to forward this newsletter on if you know someone who could benefit from this information.

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