The Center for Teaching and Learning will host the Marquette Participating Faculty Symposium, “Discovery,” Nov. 23-24 at Raynor Library. Now in its fourth year, the event will emphasize the important role of participating (full-time, part-time and adjunct nontenure-track) faculty as educators, scholars and leaders at Marquette.
Dr. Melissa Shew, associate director of teaching excellence in the Center for Teaching and Learning, has helped coordinate the symposium since its inception. She says it’s a celebratory event that highlights the great work being done by participating faculty across Marquette’s campus.
“It is a day and a half long with a drop-in, drop-out model, which is really important because a lot of times when you go to conferences or symposia, you feel like you have to be there the entire time,” Shew says. “But what we know about participating faculty, in particular, is that they’re often juggling a ton of different classes and a lot of different responsibilities. So, we wanted to make sure that this was an inclusive two-day event where they can come and go as they please.”
Sessions on the first day will explore themes around discoveries in teaching — from what’s new in our classes and in the Marquette Core Curriculum to how artificial intelligence is showing up in our teaching. On the second day, sessions will focus on discoveries beyond the classroom, specifically in relation to service expectations for participating faculty and in advocacy for continuous improvement through collaboration with the Participating Faculty Committee.
Xiaohan Yan, research, teaching and learning librarian in Raynor Library, is one of the symposium’s core organizers. He emphasizes that the event brings people together across departments, aligning a vision through a service-oriented lens.
“This event helps me envision beyond my day-to-day work and see the incredible work done by others,” Yan says. “It provides a chance to learn what colleagues are doing to serve the campus community and in their classrooms. It also opens doors to new collaborations and service opportunities.”
The symposium’s goals include learning about and discussing what participating faculty members’ teaching, research and leadership look like across campus; connecting with one another to cultivate community; celebrating successes in teaching among all symposium participants; and elevating awareness about resources available to participating faculty and supporting them in their teaching, research and leadership.
“I hope that participating faculty really know the value that they bring to this university,” Shew says. “I also hope that their tenure-stream colleagues and administrators can articulate that value and that we can continue to actually do the work of building a better university that’s supportive of all of its campus members.”
All faculty, staff and graduate students are welcome to attend. Participants are encouraged to join sessions as their schedules allow.
Cosponsored by the Office of Faculty Affairs, the Student Success initiative and the College of Business Administration, the symposium takes place Monday, Nov. 23, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Tuesday, Nov. 24, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Raynor Library Beaumier Suites.
Register now for day one and for day two events.
