Three Panel Discussions

 

Introduction to the Professoriate at PUIs and SLACs

During this one-hour session, fellows meet with faculty members at Goucher and Stevenson, to get a better view of the different types of work that faculty engage in relating to teaching, scholarship, and service, to advance the mission of the institution and the academic community. Faculty share more about the professoriate ecosystem at small liberal arts colleges and primarily undergraduate institutions including, but not limited to, time demands of faculty work, pedagogical strategies that have allowed them to sustain impactful teaching, and the different types of faculty tracks or lines (tenure-track, non-tenure track) at these institutions. Prior to the session, fellows will be surveyed to identify questions or topics of interest. The session begins with each invited faculty providing a 1–2-minute introduction to their faculty appointment at the university and a few comments about how their lived experience as a faculty member has changed over time. Fellows introduce themselves as well, including a few comments about their experiences at PUIs previously and/or interacting with colleagues from outside of the sciences at their home institutions. A period of questions and answers follows.

Adapting your research for PUIs and SLACs: A Primer

This one-hour session will allow fellows to reflect on their co-teaching experiences to start thinking of ways in which they can realistically adapt their research to PUIs and SLACs. Prior to the session, fellows are surveyed to identify specific areas of interest within this topic. Invited faculty introduce themselves and describe ways in which their research has evolved because of being at a PUI. Fellows introduce themselves and discuss ways in which they may or may not have interacted with undergraduate researchers in the lab at their home institutions. A discussion ensues that focuses on ways in which the fellows might be able to adapt their research to a PUI.

Overarching principles on the topic:

• Select a model organism or system that is amenable to the resources generally available at a PUI or SLAC.
• Understand opportunities and limitations given the budget and infrastructure you need in order to carry out research.
• Ascertain that resources and expectations at potential home institutions are synergistic to each other.
• Identify concrete ways to integrate undergrads in your research. Formulate an answer to the question: what does an undergrad research project look like in your lab?
• Identify strategies to set aside time for research and research student mentoring at a PUI or SLAC.
• Maintain a network of collaborators and develop collaborations with researchers at research-intensive institutions.
• Consider integrating Discipline-based Education Research (DBER) into your work.

Introduction to Administrative Leadership at PUIs and SLACs

During this one and a half-hour in person session, fellows will have an opportunity to interact with selected members of the administration, including Center Directors or Deans connected to STEM areas. One of the goals of this session will be for fellows to understand how dynamic academic structure and hierarchy can be from one institution to another and that administration staff at small institutions are readily accessible and involved in day-to-day operations of the college alongside faculty. Prior to the session, fellows are surveyed to identify topics of particular interest. The session begins with each administrator or representative providing a 1–2-minute introduction to their role at the university and a few comments about how their work intersects with that of faculty members. Fellows introduce themselves as well, including a few comments about their experiences at PUIs or their home institutions previously. A period of questions and answers follows. For the last 30 minutes of the 1.5 hour session, fellows will go on a 30-minute Goucher campus tour with a Goucher undergraduate. The tour will include the academic buildings and the Athenaeum.