Author: p982z469@wichita.edu

Writing Circle is an opportunity for faculty to get feedback on their writing (before reviewer two gets to it). The group meets from 4 to 5 p.m. every Thursday in 112 Jardine Hall at the Office of Faculty Advancement, Retention, and Excellence (FARE).

What to bring: Three paragraphs of your writing, even that first draft. Bring five printed copies, double spaced.

What to expect: Faculty spend 10-15 minutes on each person’s writing, reading to identify main points and make recommendations primarily about clarity and organization. Hearing from people outside your discipline can help fill gaps people in your area may not recognize.

The atmosphere is collegial, and you are welcome to drop in on weeks that you need some extra eyes on your work. For more information, contact William Weare, associate dean of libraries, at william.weare@wichita.edu, or fare@wichita.edu.

The first FARE Fall Conference is coming 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Nov. 6 at the Rhatigan Student Center. The day will feature breakout sessions by WSU faculty and staff and is open to instructors of any rank, post-docs and doctoral students.

The theme for the day is “What Counts: Building a Career, Along With All That Makes It Worth Having.” Come hear about what it takes to build an academic career and how to protect your mental health and sense of purpose while doing it. Most content is geared toward early-career faculty, but any instructors interested in sessions are welcome to join.

Conference schedule:

8:30-8:50 a.m. – Registration, light breakfast and coffee

8:50-9:20 a.m. – Opening remarks by Dr. Mathew Muether, associate vice provost of Faculty Affairs, and stories of “what counts” by Dr. Erin O’Bryan, associate professor, and John Hammond, senior educator

9:30-10:20 a.m. – Session one options:

• Integrating real-world learning and career-ready skills into your courses (Sarah Mathews, Shocker Career Accelerator director, and Sara Leftwich, program specialist)
• Setting your research trajectory and establishing an identity as a scholar (Dr. Jan Twomey, professor of industrial engineering, and Dr. Rhonda Lewis, professor of community psychology)
• Building your scholarly career and identity in the humanities and fine arts (Cheyla Clawson, director or performing arts, and Dr. Twyla Hill, professor of sociology)
• Building a record of your work in Watermark: What evidence matters and where to enter what (offered during both times by Rachel Crane, associate professor, University Libraries)

10:30-11:20 a.m. – Session two options:

• Mentor Mapping: Getting the support you need to achieve your goals (Dr. Heather Henderson, College of Health Professions associate dean of research, compliance and accreditation)
• Getting started with funding your scholarly activities (Panel: Dr. Moriah Beck, professor of chemistry and biochemistry, Dr. Katie Lanning, associate professor of English, Dr. Atri Dutta, professor of aerospace engineering, and Dr. Jung Mee Park, data librarian)
• Getting to “accepted”: Demystifying publishing strategy (Dr. Mia Ocean, associate professor of social work, William Weare, associate dean of University Libraries, and Bayram Yildirim, professor of industrial, systems and manufacturing engineering)
• Building a record of your work in Watermark: What evidence matters and where to enter what (offered during both times by Rachel Crane, associate professor, University Libraries)

11:30 a.m.-12:20 p.m. – Session three: College-level tenure and promotion informational sessions and Q&A (for tenure-track and NTT faculty)

12:30-1:20 p.m. – Lunch keynote: “Building a sustainable academic life: Time, boundaries, and the myth of doing it all” (Dr. Suzanne Hawley, professor of public health, and Dr. Carolyn Speer, director of the Office of Instructional Resources)

The event will be immediately followed by the Faculty and Staff Wellness Retreat from 1:30-3:30 p.m. in 305/306 RSC, Beggs Ballroom.

Watermark administrator Rachel Crane will hold office hours twice a month this year to answer questions about Watermark at these times:

• 3-5 p.m. on the third Wednesday of the month, beginning with Oct. 21 virtually via Microsoft Teams. Email fare@wichita.edu for the calendar invitation
• 3-5 p.m. on the first Monday of the month, beginning Nov. 2 in person in 112 Jardine Hall, Office of Faculty Advancement, Retention, and Excellence

FARE’s advice: It’s stressful to try to remember a whole year’s worth of activities in the two hours before your FAAR is due. You probably don’t even remember what you had for breakfast yesterday. Make life easy on yourself and build a Watermark update into your monthly routine.

Email fare@wichita.edu for one of these calendar invites, either coming in person on first Mondays to work on it in the FARE office (there are snacks) or making your updates from anywhere on third Wednesdays, knowing that if you have a question you can jump on Microsoft Teams and Rachel will be available.

As always, you can direct Watermark Faculty Success questions to Rachel Crane at any time. You can request calendar invites from Debby Hinsdale by emailing fare@wichita.edu.

The Office of Faculty Advancement, Retention, and Excellence, in partnership with the Office of Instructional Resources, is hosting its first conference for faculty and lecturers from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Nov. 6 at the Rhatigan Student Center. The theme for the day is “What counts: Building a career, along with all that makes it worth having.”

Sessions were designed with faculty in their first six or so years at WSU in mind, but any faculty, doctoral students or post-docs interested in sessions are welcome to attend. Sessions will be led by experienced WSU faculty and staff giving their time to pass on the experience they’ve gained on how to build a successful academic career and what makes it enjoyable and sustainable for the long haul.

Conference schedule:

8:30-8:45 a.m. – Check-in and continental breakfast

8:45-9:20 a.m. – Opening message and keynotes

9:30-10:20 a.m. – Session #1 choices:

• Setting your research trajectory and establishing an identity as a scholar
• Building your scholarly career and identity in the humanities and fine arts
• Translating your clinical, classroom, or industry experience into a researchable question
• Integrating real-world learning and career-ready skills into your courses
• Building a record of your work in Watermark: What evidence matters and where to enter what (offered twice)

10:30-11:20 a.m. – Session #2 choices:

• Building a record of your work in Watermark: What evidence matters and where to enter what (offered twice)
• Mentor Mapping: Getting the support you need to achieve your goals
• Identifying collaborators and setting up interdisciplinary teams to thrive
• Getting started with funding your research or creative activities
• Getting to “Accepted”: Demystifying Journal Strategy for Early-Career Scholars

11:30 a.m.-12:20 p.m. – Session #3: College-level T&P sessions

12:30-1:20 p.m. – Lunch session: “Designing a Sustainable Academic Life: Boundaries, Time, and the Myth of Doing It All” with Dr. Suzanne Hawley and Dr. Carolyn Speer

Immediately following the event will be the Faculty & Staff Wellness Retreat in the 305/306 RSC, Beggs Ballroom.

Register here for the FARE Fall Conference. Email Dr. Debby Hinsdale at fare@wichita.edu for more information.

The next Faculty Research Collaborative will be from 2:30 to 3:45 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 23 in 106/107 Wichita State Connect. The event will feature three-minute presentations by researchers at Wichita State whose inquiry is at the intersection of STEM and education, followed by Q&A and time for discussion and networking.

Following the presentations, from 4 to 4:30 p.m., attendees are invited for an optional tour of the Project Innovation Hub, the College of Engineering’s hands-on prototyping laboratory, at the John Bardo Center.

The event will include presentations by:

• Dr. Mara Alagic, professor of education, and Dr. JaeHwan (Jay) Byun, associate professor of education and director of the Applied AI in Education Research Lab, presenting “Generativism: Learning with GenAI”
• Dr. Rui Dai and Dr. Yang Fu, both assistant professors of education, presenting “Post-Graduate Goals and Psychological Well-Being Among University Students”
• Dr. Aubrey Neihaus, assistant professor and program chair of mathematics education
• Samantha Corcoran, associate educator of applied engineering
• Dr. Adam Lynch, applied engineering professor of practice and director of the Project Innovation Hub, presenting “Project Innovation Hub (PIH) Introduction”

The purpose of the Research Collaborative is to create a space for faculty to network with potential collaborators and present on projects for which they are looking for collaborators from other disciplines.

The Office of Faculty Advancement, Retention, and Excellence (FARE) is restarting two group opportunities to support faculty scholarly work:

• Faculty “Get Stuff Done” Groups – Faculty gather weekly in the FARE Office, 112 Jardine Hall, briefly share their goals for the day and get to work. The goal is to provide protected time and space for faculty to make progress on their scholarly or creative endeavors. This isn’t a graded class, so it’s fine to miss some weeks when you need to or to join later in the semester if needed.
  • 2-4 p.m. Thursdays in person at 112 Jardine Hall, with the option to meet from 1:30 to 2 p.m. for grant development mentorship on some weeks
  • 1-4 p.m. first and third Fridays in person at 112 Jardine Hall
  • 1-4 p.m. every Friday virtually via Microsoft Teams – This is a great option for those whose scholarly or creative work is tied to a physical space such as a studio or lab.
• Writing Circle – 4-5 p.m. Thursdays in 112 Jardine Hall – There is one Writing Circle led by William Weare, associate dean for academic engagement and public services at University Libraries. This is an opportunity to get (and give) feedback on short passages of any type of written work in a low-stakes, collegial environment.

Why join a group?

• Very few have the willpower to protect the time for scholarship amid other competing demands.
• The FARE Office is an excellent place to hide from interruptions you may experience working in your office.
• The positive peer pressure of colleagues working around you is an effective motivator.
• FARE has caffeine and snacks.

If your syllabus is silent on AI, your students already have an answer to “is this okay?” — and it’s probably not the one you’d pick.

A written AI policy, shared from the beginning, is the cheapest insurance you’ll buy all semester: it heads off integrity issues before they start, and it’s what backs you up if you need to enforce a violation later. The catch is that writing one from scratch feels like one more thing on an already full plate.

It doesn’t have to be. The Office of Instructional Resources built an AI Policy Builder widget right into Blackboard and also made it available on the Kansas Academic Resource Network. Pick a few options for your course, and it generates ready-to-use, editable policy language (covering student use and your own use as instructor) that you can paste straight into your syllabus. No blank page, no legalese to draft yourself.

How to find it on Blackboard: In your Blackboard course, go to the right-side menu “Details & Actions” – “Books & Tools” – “Syllabus” – scroll to “Generative AI Policy – “Build Policy.” Select your preferences, then copy the generated text from the preview box into your syllabus or a standalone AI policy document.

Watch a detailed demonstration of the widget from the May ARC:​ “Building an AI Policy for your Class“

More AI-related course resources:

OIR resource page: Designing and Redesigning Courses in the Age of AI

ARC Sessions:​

• “What are You Going to do About AI?” (session for new faculty)
• “Assessments in a World Without a Scarlet AI“
• “Claude Workflows for Course Improvement-20260805_140035-Meeting Recording“
• Using AI in Grading Workflows (No recording, but slides are available from oir@wichita.edu)​
• “Exploring AI (and Other) Tools for Research“
• “Using AI to Create Full Program Reviews“

​Contact oir@wichita.edu with any questions. AI disclosure: This announcement was co-written with Claude.

The Office of Faculty Advancement, Retention, and Excellence (FARE) is hosting a faculty “Get Stuff Done” sprint Aug. 4-6 on the lower level of Ablah Library. This is a protected time and quiet space for faculty to focus on preparing classes, doing research, grant writing or whatever they need to get done. Participants start and end the day with goal setting and in between enjoy quiet camaraderie and the positive peer pressure of others working around them.

Lunch will be provided by the Office of Instructional Resources all three days, and snacks, coffee and drinks are supplied by FARE. Faculty may participate for half days or whole days.

What faculty have to say about FARE sprints:

• “I like these events because it is a commitment device for me. When I sign up, I do so with the intention of completing a specific writing related task. I treat this as dedicated time for writing and not other work (plus being away from my office helps), and these are some of my most productive writing days during the year.”
• “I’ve been to several writing events over the past year, and they’ve been very helpful. I’ve made progress on back burner projects, and the opportunity to have companions-in-writing really improves my quality of life as I write and reflect even when we’re writing wildly different things. I love my office, but I do get sick of it.”

Contact Dr. Debby Hinsdale at fare@wichita.edu for more information.

The Office of Faculty Advancement, Retention, and Excellence (FARE) is sponsoring several weekly groups to support faculty through June and July. Whether you are working on research, writing, creative activities or course development, you are welcome to join if community would support you in pursuit of your summer to-do list.

Summer “Get Stuff Done” groups:

Wednesdays:

• Choose mornings from 9 a.m.-noon, afternoons 1-4 p.m. or do both, in 112 Jardine Hall. Meets June 3-July 29. For those wanting feedback on a proposal or piece of writing, there will be a Writing Circle from 4 to 5 p.m.

Thursdays:

• Virtual group: 1-3 p.m. June 4-July 23 on Microsoft Teams, hosted by William Weare. This is a great option for those working on creative activities or who need to work from home but would benefit from time blocked on their calendar and the structure of a group.

Fridays:

• Writing group in 314 Rhatigan Student Center, Venters Room: 1-5 p.m. on June 12, 26, July 10, 24 and Aug. 7, hosted by Dr. Alyssa Lynne-Joseph
• Course development group in 112 Jardine Hall: 1-5 p.m. on June 5, 19, July 17 and 31. This group is in cooperation with rAI and OIR, particularly for those who are interested in using AI tools to assist in course development and refinement. Hosted by Dr. Susan Castro.

To receive the calendar invite for any group, you can email fare@wichita.edu with the group(s) you’re interested in. It’s not a problem if you need to miss weeks due to travel.

The Office of Faculty Advancement, Retention, and Excellence (FARE) is hosting another Faculty Research & Writing Sprint from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 19-21 at Wichita State Connect. Start your summer off strong by making progress on your research or creative activity agenda. There will also be another room available to participate in whatever ARC sessions you’d like.

• FARE will provide the caffeine, snacks and lunch for the first day, not to mention the positive peer pressure to work on your writing goals
• The Wichita State Connect building is across the parking lot from Ablah Library, next door to the parking office.
• Choose from a half-day or whole-day option.

Email Dr. Debby Hinsdale at fare@wichita.edu with any questions.