Schreyer Institute Announces Curriculum Renewal & Innovation Grants

The Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence (SITE) invites applications for the Curriculum Innovation & Renewal Program (CIRP). This faculty-driven program aims to empower academic units to facilitate curricular changes that enrich undergraduate instruction and to compensate labor associated with curriculum redesign.

Proposed projects may focus on any of the following:

• Developing multi section courses or courses offered at multiple locations, minors, learning pathways, programs of study, and competencies.
• Redesigning curricula for equity, retention, persistence, and degree completion (e.g., DEI, decolonization, high DFW rates).
• Realigning curricula with current, evidence-based pedagogical practices and current disciplinary knowledge and practice (e.g., artificial intelligence, inter- or trans-disciplinary knowledge, technological advances, demographic shifts).

CIRP grants include supplemental compensation ($3,000) for a faculty member (CIRP Fellow) to lead planning and to oversee their unit’s curriculum project. The Schreyer Institute will provide each fellow with access to knowledge of curricular visioning, design, development and review through a series of four Fellows group meetings throughout the 2024-25 academic year, and well as opportunities for individual consultations with Schreyer Institute Faculty.

In addition to financial support for a faculty member, units can request funds for activities such as data collection and analysis (e.g., student hourly workers to conduct focus groups & analyze results), and honoraria for external stakeholders and experts (e.g., industry, communities). We expect proposal budgets to be no more than $2,000.

Please meet with a SITE consultant to discuss your initial ideas in a pre-proposal consultation before May 7, 2024. Please contact Beate Brunow (bub130@psu.edu), Larkin Hood (lnh2@psu.edu), or Mary Ann Tobin (mxt325@psu.edu) for a consultation. You will hear by May 15 if your project has been selected to be developed into a full proposal. Applications are due June 30 and applicants will be notified by July 30.

Position Open for Part-Time Administrative Assistant at the Schreyer Institute

Penn State Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence (SITE) is seeking candidates for hourly wage part-time administrative support assistant positions for 20 hours per week. Hours to be negotiated to ensure front desk coverage and accommodate student worker’s courses, Monday through Friday, with occasional evening hours.

Candidates should be detail oriented, self-motivated, able to work in a team environment, be proficient in Microsoft Office 365, and be familiar with video conferencing technologies (Zoom, Teams). This position requires you to be in-person and does not have a hybrid or remote option.

Job Duties: General administrative support, including answering phones and greeting guests, mail, maintaining contact lists, client database entry, event support, and correspondence. Provide backup support to the Testing Center Front Desk Staff; may involve occasionally working evening shift. Monitor and maintain SITE Master Calendar for deadlines and programming milestones. Monitor office supplies, and standard office equipment. Assist faculty and other administrative staff with events, calendaring, and clerical tasks. Other duties as assigned.

Requirements and qualifications: High school diploma or GED. Must provide positive, professional, and welcoming customer service to a wide range of people. Ability to problem solve. Excellent organization. Comfort with asking for help when needed. Employment with the University will require successful completion of background check(s), in accordance with University policies. This part-time position is not eligible for PTO or tuition discount benefits.

For more information visit the official Penn State job post.

Congratulating 2024's PSU Faculty and Staff Award Winners

Each spring, Penn State recognizes outstanding faculty and staff with annual awards in teaching and excellence. These awards highlight many of the University's faculty and staff who go above and beyond in their work at Penn State.?

The Schreyer Institute offers resources and information specifically for the George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching, Eisenhower Award for Distinguished Teaching, and the Teaching Fellow: Penn State Alumni Association Award for Excellence in Teaching.

The winners for those awards respectively are as follows:

George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching

• Sommar A. Chilton, associate teaching professor in the College of Health and Human Development
• Linda Instanbulli, Caroline D. Eckhardt Early Career Professor of Comparative Literature and assistant professor of comparative literature and Arabic in the College of the Liberal Arts
• Siu Ling “Pansy” Leung, associate teaching professor in the College of Engineering
• Kuei-Nuan Lin, associate professor of mathematics at Penn State Greater Allegheny
• Sarah E. Nilson, assistant professor of biology at Penn State Beaver
• Kara Stone, assistant teaching professor of English at Penn State Scranton

Eisenhower Award for Distinguished Teaching

• Lolita Paff, associate professor of business and economics at Penn State Berks
• Scott Showalter, professor of chemistry and of biochemistry and molecular biology in the Eberly College of Science

Teaching Fellow: Penn State Alumni Association Award for Excellence in Teaching

• Juan Gil, professor of mathematics at Penn State Altoona
• Sonia Molloy, associate professor of human development and family studies at Penn State York
• Jacqueline O’Connor, professor of mechanical engineering in the College of Engineering

To see the complete list of awards and their respective winners, visit PSU’s Penn State announces 2024 University-wide faculty and staff awards news article. To learn more about the faculty awards provided through the Schreyer Institute, visit our Teaching Awards page.

Nominate an Excellent Teacher

Nominations for the Milton S. Eisenhower Award for Distinguished Teaching and the George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching awards are accepted all year round. Students and educators from any Penn State campus can nominate Penn State faculty for a University Undergraduate Teaching Award.

Find the nomination form and award criteria on our Penn State Undergraduate Teaching Awards page. Submissions before June 30, 2024, will be considered for the 2025 awards.

New CIRTL-Modeled Certification Program for Graduate Students at Penn State

The Graduate school at Penn State and the Schreyer Institute have partnered to provide graduate students and post docs with a teaching certificate opportunity that builds on the Grad school’s previous teaching certificate program. The new program incorporates framework developed by the Center for Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL), a network of 45 universities around the United States and Canada dedicated to advancing effective teaching practices for diverse learners through professional development for future faculty.

Penn State's CIRTL Program is uniquely designed to allow graduate students to meet certificate objectives in the way that best suits their teaching goals. Certification can be achieved by participating in activities offered by the CIRTL Network, a Penn State department or college, the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence, or programs from other Penn State units focused on teaching.

This certificate program replaces the previous Graduate School teaching certificate. Graduate students that have already started the previous certificate program will be allowed to complete it.

For more information on the CIRTL Certificate Program, visit PSU’s Graduate School website or email cirtl@psu.edu.

Additionally, the CIRTL network continuously offers professional development events for grad students and postdocs. You can find details about upcoming events at: cirtl.net/events/

PSU Shenango’s Roxanne Atterholt Research Article Featured in Latest Issue & Webinar Discussion

Penn State Shenango faculty member Roxanne Atterholt recently published a research article (Shock Waves: Academic Witnessing as Resiliency Practice) focused on the work of their SITE-supported Teaching Community. The article was featured in the most recent issue of the Journal of Faculty Development.

The authors will be discussing the article in a free webinar on February 12th from 1-2pm.

The Journal of Faculty Development publishes research and scholarships on innovation in faculty development that is relevant for administrators, faculty members, and faculty development professionals. The focus of this independent, peer-reviewed scholarly journal is on faculty development in post-secondary educational institutions. It provides support for educators and administrators seeking research studies (utilizing both qualitative and quantitative methodologies) that further explore theory and philosophies related to faculty development.

Learn more: Journal of Faculty Development