Dear Faculty, Administrators and Staff,

As we draw near to the festive season of Christmas, I am filled with gratitude for all the blessings that enrich our Catholic university community.

In the spirit of Nativity, let us celebrate the sense of community that defines our institution. Our shared commitment to academic excellence, faith and service creates a tapestry of unity that enriches the lives of all who we touch.

In the coming year, may the bonds of fellowship within our university community grow stronger, and may the teachings of Jesus Christ inspire us to be the positive change in the world.

Wishing you and your loved ones a Christmas filled with peace, joy and the warmth of shared blessings. May the love of Christ continue to guide us in all that we do.

Sincerely,

Erik

The Women and Gender Studies Program is pleased to announce that the annual Seton Hall University Conference on Women and Gender will be held on Friday, April 5, 2024. We invite presenters exploring any aspect of women and gender from all fields—including the humanities, diplomacy, social sciences, mathematics, and experimental sciences—and all professions, including but not limited to business, law, health care, education, and non-profit administration, to submit either individual paper proposals or proposals for fully formed panels. The deadline for abstracts is February 5, 2024. Learn more and submit.

Idea Hall applications are due on January 25, 2024. The Idea Hall is a mechanism for fostering creativity and meaningful partnerships across academic and non-academic divisions. Visit the Idea Hall page for more information and how to apply.

New Academies applications are also due on January 25, 2024. The Academies program offers up to three years of flexible funding to pursue interdisciplinary projects in teaching, scholarship, diversity, mission, and service, with a special focus on initiatives promoting grant submissions, graduate program development, and advancing international efforts. Visit the Academies page for more information and how to apply.

Pair your mistletoe with some ORCID!
Faculty can enhance the discovery of their scholarship over the break. ORCID is a unique, persistent identifier (PID) that you can register for so funders, publishers, scholarly societies and other researchers can quickly find and distinguish your work. View instructions on how to sign up today!

Faculty can transfer scholarship between ORCID, Digital Measures, HeinOnline, Scopus or Google Scholar with a simple text file. Reach out to your liaison librarian with any questions.

Hanover's Grants Digest for Higher Education provides a succinct overview of notable grant competitions with deadlines in the coming months that may be of interest to you. In addition to pertinent details regarding the scope and timing of each competition, this resource provides guidance on the level of support potentially available from Hanover. View the December 2023 digest.

Follow the CFD blog to find out about upcoming events and initiatives. We also welcome your suggestions for workshops, speakers, and other events.

Events

Winter Writing Retreat
January 2 - 5, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m., in Teams

Contemplative Practices Seminar, Spring 2024
Applications are being accepted

Faculty Seminar on Challenging Racism and Teaching for Inclusivity, Spring 2024 
Applications are being accepted

Announcements

Videos of past CFD events can be found here: 
http://blogs.shu.edu/centerforfacultydevelopment/

Important Information Regarding the Canvas Transition

Blackboard Access Ends Friday, December 29
To prepare for a seamless transition from Blackboard to Canvas, be sure to complete these important steps:

Blackboard Course Archives
Fall 2023 Blackboard courses will be archived beginning at 12 a.m. on Friday, December 22.  Any changes made to courses after this process begins will not be preserved in the archive. You can request to have your archived content imported into Canvas by submitting a support ticket with the course name. Please note, archives will not be available until January 2, 2024.

Space is Limited: Canvas Bootcamp
Reserve your spot at the one-day Canvas bootcamp scheduled for Thursday, January 11, from 9 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. in the TLTC Learning Studio. Breakfast and lunch will be provided. Topics covered include:

Registration Open:  New Jersey Higher Education Mental Health Summit
Staff from colleges and universities across New Jersey will come together for the first time on Wednesday, January 10, 2024 for the inaugural NJ Higher Education Mental Health Summit, hosted this year at Seton Hall University. Hundreds of professionals and front-line practitioners are expected to attend the gathering and collaborate across disciplines to combat the youth mental health crisis and develop methods to foster the psychological health and well-being of students to help them thrive, develop and achieve personal and academic success. Seton Hall faculty, staff and administrators are encouraged to attend. Registration is now open.

Nominations for Researcher, Teacher, Adjunct Faculty of the Year
The nomination process for the faculty excellence awards is underway, upholding our tradition of honoring exceptional faculty by acknowledging a Researcher of the Year, a Teacher of the Year, and an Adjunct of the Year from each school or college. Additionally, we will recognize a university-wide Teacher, Researcher, and Adjunct of the Year. Recently, we have expanded these awards to include recognition for Excellence and Innovation in Teaching 21st-Century Skills and Excellence in Service-Learning.  

Deans will designate college Researchers, Teachers, and Adjuncts of the Year and submit nominations for the Excellence and Innovation in Teaching 21st-Century Skills and Excellence in Service Learning Awards to the Assistant Provost for Academic Excellence and Assessment by January 31, 2024. We encourage Deans to solicit nominations from departments, especially in the case of adjunct faculty, setting pre-deadlines for these nominations. For more information about the requirements and eligibility for all awards, click here.

The Hospitality of Advent: Sign Up for Daily Meditations from ICSST!
Join the School of Theology for annual meditation series, this year themed The Hospitality of Advent. Explore and consider how Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth, and other great figures of the Gospels and Church tradition welcomed Jesus into their hearts. Sign up today to receive reflections authored by the ICSST community, delivered via e-mail from the first Sunday of Advent, December 3, through Christmas Eve. Learn more and subscribe.