February 19

The call for nominations is open for faculty nominees for the 2025 O. Max Gardner Award. This award is given annually by the UNC Board of Governors to “that member of the faculty of the University of North Carolina who, during the current scholastic year, has made the greatest contribution to the welfare of the human race.” Nominees can be of any rank, “including instructors, engaged in teaching in any unit, institution or branch of service” in the University system. Past UNC Charlotte recipients of the award include Pinku Mukherjee, Department of Biological Sciences, and Diane M. Browder, Department of Special Education.  More details about previous campus nominees can be found on the Office of Academic Affairs website. 

The deadline for this call for nominations has been extended. Please forward the names of nominees to Jen Knight by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, February 26. Include in your nomination the individual’s name, rank, and department/unit. Please provide a brief description of this individual’s specific contribution(s) or achievement(s) and why they would make a good nominee.

Help Us Paint the Big Picture of Community Engagement!

UNC Charlotte’s application for the Carnegie elective reclassification for community engagement is now underway! At this CEAC meeting, we’ll discuss a shared vocabulary and refine how we describe our roles. If you have a community engagement role on campus, join us to reflect on the ways we each contribute to the big picture. Contact Tamara Johnson for more information.

• Tuesday, February 20, 1:00 – 2:00 PM, Sycamore 306 or via Zoom

Workshop on Publishing in Community Engagement

Community-engaged research can create new audiences for your work, and this hands-on workshop will help you identify those opportunities. Participants will learn how to identify a potential journal, document their work for RPT, and make a writing plan. Contact Holly Middleton at holly.middleton@charlotte.edu for more information.

• Wednesday, February 28, 10:00 – 11:15 AM, Sycamore 306 (Register) 

Join Faculty and Staff at urbanCORE Open Door

Drop by Sycamore to celebrate community engagement at our Open Door event. We’ll provide the beer, wine, and hors d’oeuvres. Contact Holly Middleton at holly.middleton@charlotte.edu for more information.

• Tuesday, March 19, 4:00 – 6:00 PM., Sycamore Hall

Make Progress at our Half-day Writing Retreat

We welcome participants who want to make progress on a writing project of any kind–teaching, research, service, or personal. Emphasis will be on writing in community with others, trying out new strategies, and setting small achievable goals. Coffee and pastries start at 8:30. Contact Holly Middleton at holly.middleton@charlotte.edu for more information.

• Friday, April 5, 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM, Sycamore 306 (Register)

This week, instructors in 1000/2000 courses will receive a Kudo/Positive Alert Progress report similar to Early Alert reporting for notifying students who are doing well in your courses. Participation is optional. The report will close out on Monday, February 26. For questions, contact LeeFredrick Bowen, Executive Director of Advising Systems.

Don’t miss the last two lectures in the 2024 Great Decisions series. Cheryl Brown, chair and associate professor of political science and public administration will present “U.S.-China Trade Rivalry,” from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m., Wednesday, February 21. Joshua Miller, assistant professor of political science and public administration will present “Climate Technology and Competition,” from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m., Wednesday, February 28. The lectures are hybrid. The in-person lectures will be held at the Dubois Center at UNC Charlotte Center. Register for the lectures. The Great Decisions lecture series, a national program of the Foreign Policy Association, is offered by the Office of International Programs and co-sponsored by the World Affairs Council of Charlotte, Charlotte Sister Cities, Young Professionals of the World Affairs Council of Charlotte and the International House.

The 2nd Annual Charlotte AI Institute for Smarter Learning will be held on Wednesday, May 15, from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM at the Dubois Center. The Call for Proposals is open through March 8. Faculty and administrators are encouraged to submit proposals for lightning talks, lesson demonstrations, and digital poster presentations on generative AI in teaching and learning. We are excited to engage with you as we explore a year’s worth of experience using generative AI in your classroom! Learn more about the 2024 AI Institute for Smarter Learning

Important Dates:

• Call for Proposals Opens: February 1, 2024
• Registration Opens: March 1, 2024
• Call for Proposals Closes: March 8, 2024
• Notice of Acceptances: March 22, 2024
• Registration Closes: April 15, 2024
• Conference Day: May 15, 2024

Part 1: Canvas Analytics for Early Intervention

Learn how to leverage Canvas Analytics for early student intervention! Course analytics offer data on individual and aggregate student activity, assignment submissions, and grades, as well as page views and student participation metrics across all of their devices. In this session, you’ll learn how to leverage Canvas as a tool for identifying students in need!

• Friday, February 23, 10:00 – 11:00 AM  | (Register)
• Wednesday, March 13, 1:30 – 2:30 PM | (Register)

Part 2: Canvas Analytics to Improve Your Canvas Course Design

Looking to become a data-driven instructor/course designer? This interactive workshop builds on the Canvas Analytics for Early Intervention Workshop to incorporate what you learned into the design of your Canvas Course. We will use Canvas Analytics to identify course elements that need to be improved based on student data. We will also discuss how to (re)design your Canvas course to collect optimal student intervention data, and practice doing so on one of your current course designs! 

• Monday, February 26, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM | (Register)
• Thursday, March 7, 10:00 – 11:00 AM | (Register)

Part 3: Canvas Studio Analytics: Who’s Watching?

Canvas Studio Analytics can enhance your instructional practices by utilizing the power of data to understand student engagement with video content. Learn how to track views, comments, and participation, and gain valuable insights to optimize your teaching strategies.

• Tuesday, February 27, 1:30 – 2:30 PM  | (Register)
• Tuesday, March 26, 10:00 – 11:00 AM | (Register)

Part 3: Student Writing Skills with ChatGPT

In this session, we will learn how to integrate AI tools effectively in writing projects. We will demonstrate how to chunk and scaffold project tasks for peer review and instructor support, as well as how to prompt A.I. tools (like ChatGPT) to enhance the writing process at each stage. By the end of the hour, you will have a planning tool and strategies for integrating AI into writing projects.

• Tuesday, March 5, 10:00 -11:00 AM | (Register)

Canvas Studio: Creating Video Assignments

Canvas Studio has replaced Kaltura Capture and My Media for instructional videos! This workshop will cover the basics of using Canvas Studio to create and share instructional media through your Canvas courses. Topics include: how to upload existing media, recording new media, captioning videos, editing media, embedding media on pages, understanding the video Library, and creating assignments that involve video submission and having students submit assignments involving videos. 

• Thursday, February 29, 10:00 – 11:00 AM | (Register)

Strategies for Making your Course Inclusive 

Looking to make your Canvas course inclusive and accessible to all students? Join this session to learn universal design for learning strategies for creating an accessible course, reflect on ways to improve your course, and identify specific methods for ensuring that all of your students have access.

• Wednesday, February 21, 10:00 – 11:00 AM | (Register)

The Black Read (4th annual) 

Join Atkins Library to read and discuss passages from Black literature, speeches, and correspondence. Refreshments and prizes for participants will be provided. 

• Thursday, February 22, 6:00 – 8:00 PM, Halton Reading Room, Atkins Library 

If There Is No Struggle: Early Grassroots Activism in Charlotte

Join Atkins Library for a fire side-style discussion with NC Representative Kelly M. Alexander Jr. and UNC Charlotte professor Dr. Willie Griffin about the birth of grassroots activism in Charlotte starting in the 1930s and into the 1970s. They will discuss Charlotte’s influence on the nationwide Civil Rights movement with special attention to battles on the home front. In collaboration with the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African American Arts + Culture and the National Endowment for the Humanities “Big Read.”  

• Wednesday, February 28, 6:00 – 7:00 PM, Halton Reading Room, Atkins Library (Register)

Review UNC Charlotte’s Proposed Open Access Policy

Atkins Library’s Scholarly Communications Committee has been working with the Office of Legal Affairs to develop a campuswide open access policy. An open access policy would enable the university to archive the full text of faculty journal articles in UNC Charlotte’s open repository, Niner Commons. This aligns with UNC Charlotte’s existing copyright policy, under which faculty grant the university a non-exclusive license to use their work for non-commercial educational and research uses. The policy will be voted on at the February Faculty Council meeting. Learn more about the proposed policy and share feedback.

Media Literacy Matters Conference

Join the J. Murrey Atkins Library Critical Media Literacy Collaborative and Niner Times for the Media Literacy Matters: Current Landscape, Student Actions, and Future Directions Conference.  This half-day conference will bring faculty, students, and researchers across campus together to discuss issues related to media literacy. The conference will feature keynote speaker Ryan Pitkin (co-founder and editor-in-chief of Queen City Nerve), student work on media literacy, a Niner Times panel on the importance of campus journalism, and lightning talks by UNC Charlotte faculty. Media literacy is the ability to use critical thinking and rhetorical reasoning to find, evaluate, and create information in online environments. Media literacy guides people toward consuming digital media in a critical manner as engaged, well-informed citizens. The event is free and all are welcome. 

• Thursday, March 21, 8:30 AM – 12:30 PM, Halton Reading Room, Atkins Library (Register)

As we navigate through another semester filled with learning, collaboration, and growth, it’s important to uphold the shared responsibility of maintaining our learning spaces. Recently we’ve observed instances where tables and chairs are being relocated from classrooms, and we’d like to take a moment to kindly remind everyone of the significance of leaving these furnishings in their designated places.

Reasons to Preserve Classroom Furniture:

• Optimal Learning Environment: The arrangement of tables and chairs in classrooms is carefully designed to facilitate a conducive learning environment. Disrupting this setup can hinder the overall educational experience for both instructors and students.
• Safety First: Rearranging furniture may compromise safety measures, such as obstructing walkways or blocking emergency exits. Keeping the designated layout ensures a safe and accessible environment for everyone.
• Appropriate Seat Counts: The Classroom Support Team assists the Registrar’s Office in maintaining the number of seats in each classroom. Removing tables and chairs can result in classrooms that do not have adequate seating for enrolled students.

A Request for Cooperation:

We understand that sometimes adjustments are necessary for certain activities or events. If you find it necessary to move furniture temporarily, we kindly request that you return it to its original position promptly after use.

How You Can Help:

• Respect the designated seating arrangements in classrooms.
• If temporary adjustments are needed, ensure that furniture is returned promptly.
• Encourage your peers and students to do the same and spread awareness within your departments.
• Contact Classroom Support to report damaged or missing items. 

Thank you for your cooperation in preserving our shared learning spaces. Let’s continue to create an environment that fosters excellence and mutual respect for the benefit of the entire University community.