Greetings, Friends, 

On behalf of the team in Faculty Affairs & Development and the Stearns Center for Teaching and Learning, I want to welcome you back to George Mason University for the new academic year. We hope you have been able to find spaces for relaxation, connection, reflection, and rejuvenation over the summer -- and maybe still have a few of those spaces left to explore! 

Our website has all the great information you’re used to: You might return to the Classroom Guide for information about and teaching strategies for your physical classrooms, check our resources or Events Calendar, or brush up on your strategies for teaching online. 

Our team also looks forward to seeing or hearing from you: Perhaps at our August Adjunct Faculty Success Workshops, at our September 24-25 Innovations in Teaching and Learning Conference, or as part of our support for faculty teaching with AI, STEM educators, SoTL researchers, writing instructors, graduate TAs, or anyone else curious about how to level up their teaching while having great conversations with colleagues. 

Along with our partners (including the Office of the Provost, Faculty Affairs and Development, Writing Across the Curriculum, Mason Impact/Undergraduate Education/CECiL, Graduate Education, GradLife, University Libraries, and Information Technology Services) we wish you an excellent conclusion to your summer and an energizing start to your Fall 2026 semester! 

E Shelley Reid, Ph.D. 

Executive Director

Connect with colleagues at George Mason's Annual Innovations in Teaching and Learning Conference! Teaching Talk Sessions meet online Thursday, September 24, with Interactive Sessions in person Friday, September 25 at the Johnson Center on the Fairfax campus. This year's theme, Relevant Teaching, explores how we articulate classroom value amid AI, Gen Z learners, and evolving educational landscapes. Presenters will share strategies on project-based learning, technology integration, and more! Free registration is required by September 18. Questions? Contact stearns@gmu.edu.

Turn your teaching questions into meaningful scholarship with the year-long Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Faculty Cohort. Designed for faculty new to classroom-based inquiry, the program offers mentorship, peer feedback, and structured support from project design through dissemination. Priority deadline September 1. Participants may apply for exclusive Stearns Center funding opportunities.

Faculty, staff, postdocs, and graduate students are invited to join our multi-institutional research teams to study GenAI in teaching and learning. Come to an information session on September 2 or 3 to learn more about the research projects and collaboration opportunities.

Students, faculty members, or administrators may nominate a faculty member for any 2027 Teaching Excellence Award (no self-nominations). Learn about these awards on our website. New this year, ALL nominations are due Monday, September 28, 2026: Full-time faculty award, adjunct faculty award, and online teaching award nominations.

Join us for a three-day, five-workshop series from August 11-13 designed to help you make intentional decisions about AI in your courses. Through interactive, hands-on sessions, you’ll explore strategies for integrating AI, designing resilient assessments, and communicating expectations while aligning your approach with your teaching values. Do all five workshops and earn the Teaching with AI Level 1 Credential, or choose a workshop that fits your needs and schedule! 

Are you new to teaching a WI course or want a refresher on some of the basics? This workshop on Friday, August 14 from 11am-12:30pm will focus on writing-intensive course design and help faculty prepare for the semester ahead. Join WAC staff to learn more about the new learning outcomes and begin drafting your WI course materials.

Are you interested in earning a Continuing Professional Development credential in STEM Education? Register for all four events running this fall! Topics include getting students to actually do the reading, motivating students in a post pandemic world, and using reflective practices to help yourself and your students in the learning process.

Season 5 kicked off yesterday with Episode 38: Creating Human-Centered Classrooms featuring guests Xiaoyu Gao and Eric Auld of the English department in CHSS! Our guests share evidence-based strategies for humanizing your teaching and building authentic student connections. Listeners will discover actionable and sustainable approaches for creating more engaging and supportive learning environments across any modality.

Next, look forward to August 19 when we will publish our episode with Ana Farnham and Kristin Johnsen-Neshati from CVPA!

✅ Follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts to stay tuned for <25-minute episodes where you can discover small change strategies you might try now in your classrooms! 

Photo Credit: Ron Aira/Creative Services/
George Mason University

We’re pleased to share that we are now ready to begin accepting position descriptions for the OSCAR Research Assistant program for the 26-27 AY. The GMU Federal Work Study office is currently awarding eligible students, so this is a great time to begin submitting positions. If the student is eligible, you can expect their start date to be the first day of Fall 2026 classes. 

Get ready for Fall with upcoming online Canvas training! Explore topics including New Quizzes, Peer Review, Grading,  Turnitin, Poll Everywhere, Microsoft tools in Canvas, and more. Whether you're new to Canvas or refining your course design, there's something for everyone!

Mason Online is offering several workshops this Fall for George Mason faculty to level-up their online teaching tools! Contact Mason Online at online@gmu.edu for registration assistance and questions. 

Do you find yourself at the end of the semester wondering where time went and feeling like you were not able to accomplish what you needed? Register for this interactive workshop to help you align your time with your career goals for this academic year. This workshop is on Friday, September 11 from 1:30-3:00pm on Zoom.

Join the Graduate Division for its biannual faculty mentorship professional development training in Fall 2026 (Monday, September 21 and Tuesday, September 22, 2026 from 12-4 pm). The Entering Mentoring training was developed by the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER) and is led by CIMER-trained George Mason faculty and staff. Register to secure a spot in the training or reach out to Dr. Alyssa Bivins for more information (abivins2@gmu.edu).

George Mason University Libraries have obtained a subscription to Inside Higher Ed, which recently changed from a free resource to requiring a subscription. You can access the subscription directly in the catalog or through the libraries’ A-Z Database List by searching for "Inside Higher Ed." If you are off campus, you will need to sign in using your credentials.