Report on Activities of the Faculty Development Committee

During the 2002-2003 Academic Year

Submitted to the Faculty Senate of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse

by Robert W. McGaff, Committee Chair

July 28, 2003

 Membership

The Faculty Development Committee began with the following members who served over the course of the fall 2002 semester:

            Robert McGaff (Chair)

            Lisa Giddings (Secretary)

            Donna Anderson

            Judy Beck

            Bill Cerbin

            Abdulaziz Elfessi

            Al Gedicks

            Jen Holman

            Bryan Kopp

            Becky Ledocq

            Milorad Novicevic

            Audie Olson

At the beginning of the spring 2003 semester, Lisa Giddings and Jen Holman resigned from the committee.  Judy Beck assumed the duties of Secretary.  During the spring semester Ashley Burrowes and Greg Wegner were added to the committee.  Other committee members who served during the fall semester continued through the spring semester.

Meetings

The Faculty Development Committee met on the following dates during the 2002-2003 academic year at 2:15 PM in 327 Graff Main Hall:

            September 11                       November 13

            October 16                             November 20

            October 23                             February 12

            October 30                             February 19

            November 6

Review of Faculty Development Grant Proposals

 The committee received eight proposals, requesting a total of $43,595 in support of various projects.  After reading each proposal and engaging in preliminary discussions, the committee interviewed principal investigators of each proposed project (or in the case of group proposals representative(s) thereof) on either October 23 or October 30.   Following these interviews an electronic ballot was circulated to committee members for the purpose of ranking the proposals.  Funding decisions were made at the final meeting of the fall 2002 semester.

Summary of Faculty Development Grant Funding Decisions

Below is a summary of the grants awarded for Faculty Development proposals submitted during the fall 2002 semester:

            PI(s)                                        Award($)

            Burrowes                                0

            Bratina et al.                          4,400

            Lake                                       1,770

            Lan                                          868

            McGuigan & McBride           0

            Rabbitt & Staloch                  0

            Ritterling                                 2441

            Udermann                              0

Below are the titles of the proposals that received funding:

            Bratina:           “Where are the Women?: An Interdisciplinary Exploration                                               into the Scholarship of Women in Science”

            Lake:              “Summer Institute 2003 at the Centro de Altos Estudios                                                 Literiaros y Sociales Chaco, Argentina”

            Lan:                 “A Rhetorical Introduction to Confucianism Chapter Two:                                                Defining Confucianism”

            Ritterling:        “Kodaly Certification”

Establishment of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Grant Program and Evaluation of Proposals

Following the finalization of funding decisions on Faculty Development proposals, the Committee decided, after some deliberation, to allocate all remaining funds available to the committee to a second round of grant proposals.  Proposals were thus solicited and considered for “Scholarship of Teaching and Learning” (SoTL) grants.  The request for proposals and grant guidelines were drafted by Bill Cerbin and approved, after some amendments, by the Committee.  Proposals were due in the Provost’s Office on February 7, 2003.  Five proposals were received.  These were read by the committee and discussed.  Evaluation was carried out on the basis of the written proposals only, rather than including interviews of project PIs as is the case for Faculty Development grant proposals.   Following the Committee’s initial discussion of the proposals, an electronic ballot was circulated to committee members for the purpose of ranking the proposals.  Funding decisions were made at the final meeting of the spring 2003 semester.

Summary of SoTL Grant Funding Decisions

Below is a summary of the grants awarded for Scholarship of Teaching and Learning  proposals submitted during the spring 2003 semester:

            PI(s)                                        Award($)

            Cooper et al.                          17,000

            Knox & Swanson                   0

            Lee & Buffton                         9,500

            McCannon                             4,021

            Tyser et al.                             0

Below are the titles of the proposals that received funding:

Cooper et al.:             “Using Problem Solving Modules to Improve Students’                                       Understanding in Introductory Biology”

Lee & Buffton:            “Enriched Historical Inquiry”

McCannon:                “Using problem based learning and information technology                                            to enhance the development of students’ critical reasoning                                                 skills, reflective learning, cultural competency and promote                                       an understanding of international occupational therapy                                               practice”

Other Committee Business

In addition to the “core activities” outlined above, the following were also undertaken:

q     At the request of Cynthia Berlin, Chair of the Articles and Bylaws Committee, the Faculty Development Committee considered the question of whether its membership should be increased, decreased, or maintained at the current level (12 members).  After some discussion, the committee reached a consensus that the current size should be maintained in order to preserve a diversity of backgrounds and expertise.  The Chair then reported this consensus to Articles and Bylaws.

q     At the request of Bill Cerbin, the Chair of the Faculty Development Committee provided an “in-house review” of and comments on a proposal to be submitted to the Office of Professional and Instructional Development (OPID) of the University of Wisconsin System.