New Faculty Orientation: Fall 2026

Orientation Sessions

All August 24-27 workshops will be held in the Ruth Stricker Dayton Campus Center, room 229 unless otherwise noted, and coffee/tea will be available in the same space starting at ~8:30 am. Lunch will be served each day 11:30 am – 1:00 pm in the Loch, on the lower level of the Campus Center. All September 2 activities will take place in Weyerhaeuser Board Room (Weyerhaeuser Hall).

All workshop materials (slides, resources) will be uploaded and accessible via this Google folder after Orientation (accessible with Macalester login).

August 24-27, 2026 Workshops

Monday, August 24 8:30am – 9:15am

Coffee/tea & light breakfast in the Serie Center (Library 338) – come meet the Serie Center staff!

Monday, August 24 9:30am – 11:30am

Setting the Context: Understanding Who We Are Ebony Aya, Program Manager with the Serie Center; Minerva Munoz, Dean of Institutional Equity

Monday, August 24 1:00pm – 2:30pm

Advice from New-ish Faculty Haci Osman Gündüz, Classical Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Studies; Sheharyar Imran, Political Science; Joslenne Peña (she/her), Math, Statistics and Computer Science

Monday, August 24 2:45pm – 3:30pm

Supporting International Students at Mac Luyen Phan, Director of International Student Programs; Molly Rochon, Associate Director of International Students Programs

Tuesday, August 25 9:30am – 11:30am

Using the Library Effectively for Your Teaching and Scholarship (meet in the Library main floor) Dave Collins, Research and Instruction Librarian  + additional library staff members

Tuesday, August 25 1:00pm – 3:00pm

Supporting Students in Writing and Reading Britt Abel, Associate Dean of Academic Success; Jake Mohan, Coordinator of Writing Support; Em Buchanan, Coordinator of Academic and Writing Support 

Wednesday, August 26 9:30am – 11:30am

Academic Technology Services: Using Moodle and Tech Tools to Support Teaching & Learning The Academic Technology Services Team: Tamatha Perlman, Eric Handler, Jeff Rowdon, Brooke Schmolke, Jaz Thomasian, Ben Voigt

Wednesday, August 26 1:00pm – 3:00pm

Supporting Students with Disabilities: Creating a Culture of Inclusion Dr. Shammah Bermudez, Director, Center for Disability Resources; John Hayes, Associate Director, Center for Disability Resources; Jaz Thomasian, Academic Technologist for Social Sciences

Thursday, August 27 9:30am – 11:30am

Using Transparent Design to Support Student Learning Britt Abel, Associate Dean of Academic Success

Thursday, August 27 1:00pm – 2:00pm

An Orientation to AI at Macalester Chris Wells, Professor of History and Environmental Studies

Thursday, August 27 2:00pm – 3:00pm

Workshop: Members of the Academic Technology Services Team will be available to answer your questions about Moodle and other academic technology resources

Wednesday, September 2 New Faculty Orientation Day

All September 2 activities will take place in Weyerhaeuser Board Room (Weyerhaeuser Building)

8:00am Coffee/tea and light breakfast

8:30am Welcome & Introductions to each other and to Macalester Serie Center for Scholarship and Teaching staff: Julie Dolan, Professor of Political Science; Kelly MacGregor, Professor of Geology; Ebony Aya, Serie Center Program Manager

9:15am Welcome from members of Macalester’s Senior Leadership Team President Suzanne Rivera; Executive Vice President and Provost Lisa-Anderson Levy; Dean of Faculty Tom Halverson; Vice President for Student Affairs Kathryn Kay Coquemont; Vice President for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Alina Wong

10:15am Break

10:30am Student Panel

11:30am Small group discussions about pedagogy Ebony Aya, Serie Center

12:00pm Lunch (campus photographer will be present to take photos for website)

1:00pm Hitting the Ground Running / Important Faculty Resources Julie Dolan & Kelly MacGregor, Serie Center

1:30pm 30-minute small group “round robin” to learn about: Institutional Equity (including Title IX), Disability Resources, Academic Success Center (tutoring & support), Academic Programs and Advising, Academic Technology & Moodle support

3:30pm Social Hour / Reception