Events

Conversations about Scholarship & Teaching

All sessions will be held from noon-1 p.m. in the Harmon Room in the DeWitt Wallace Library unless otherwise noted. A salad and sandwich lunch will be provided. All faculty and staff are welcome!

Spring 2026

Monday January 26 and Friday, January 30: Space to gather and strategize in community during intense times

Monday, February 2

Derek Johnson (Civic Engagement Center) and Keira Leneman (Psychology)

Giving Community Engaged Learning a Try!

Over the Fall semester, Psychology 394: Racialized Stress, Human Development, and Social Policy engaged in a community engaged learning project with ReConnect Rondo. The first half of this session will share about the planning process, the successes and lessons learned over the semester, and the final product shared with ReConnect Rondo. The second half of this session will be a 101 on working with the Community Engagement Center for a CEL class, going over such things as the CEC approach to CEL, funding opportunities, the spectrum of approaches to CEL at Mac, and other ways that the CEC can support CEL.

Friday, February 6

Britt Abel (German Studies, Academic Success), Tam Perlman (Academic Technology Services), and Jaz Thomasian (Academic Technology Services)

Scales, Rubrics, and Individual Student Overrides: A Grading-Focused Moodle Refresher

Join us for a discussion of Moodle grading features. We’ll describe the benefits of rubrics and walk through how you can add rubrics to your courses, including how you can use the General Education Requirement (GER) rubric template that has been added to Moodle. Then, watch us demonstrate a series of other helpful grading features. Bring your Moodle grading questions and learn a few tips and tricks for grading in Moodle!

Monday, February 9

Ariel James (Psychology), Keira Leneman (Psychology), kt shorb (Theatre and Dance), and Dan Trudeau (Geography)

The Discussion Project: Ready-to-Implement Tools for Facilitating Inclusive Classroom Discussions

A number of Macalester faculty and staff participated in a Discussion Project Workshop held on campus in May 2025. A few of those participants (Ariel James, Keira Leneman, kt shorb and Dan Trudeau) will share their experiences using Discussion Project tools in the classroom and reflect upon strategies for facilitating inclusive classroom discussions.

Friday, February 13 (TBA)

Monday, February 16

Katie Kelly (Academic Programs and Advising), Mozhdeh Khodarahmi (Library), Tam Perlman (ITS/ATS), and Britt Abel (Academic Success & German Studies)

AI in Our Classrooms: Designing Clear Communication Strategies for Academic Integrity

In this session, we’ll explore key questions around AI, such as: when and how should we communicate our stance to students, and what does academic integrity mean in relation to generative tools in our courses? We will share national guidelines and campus resources, sample syllabus and assignment language, ideas for in-class conversations about AI and academic integrity, and a list of tools and references to support responsible, transparent use of GenAI.

Friday, February 20

Ginny Moran (Library), Ely Sheinfeld (Archives), and Rose Fanuzzi ’26

A Collection of Voyages: Time Travel with Archives & Special Collections

Join Ginny Moran (’90), Ely Sheinfeld and Rose Fanuzzi (’26) for a trip around the world as told through tourist guidebooks, travel narratives, and stories from our collections from the 15th to 20th century. They will talk about the curation of the physical exhibit, and the development of its online companion. You’ll be able to peruse selections of the original materials and ask questions about how the digital can complement the physical.

Monday, February 23

Shammah Bermudez (Disability Resources)

Student Voices Panel: Disability, Identity, and Lived Experience

Join us for a student-led panel where individuals with disabilities share their lived experiences inside and outside the classroom. Panelists will discuss what they wish others understood about disability, what contributes to inclusive learning environments, and what fosters a true sense of belonging on campus.

Friday, February 27

Andrea Kaston Tange (English & Creative Writing)

How To Tell the Story of Things We Do Not Talk About

I inherited my great-grandmother’s diary and started what I thought would be a nonfiction project about family silences. Three years and loads of research—into family history and hurricanes, the 1920s Miami land boom and bootlegging—later, it’s become a novel. If you want to hear the story of the time mobsters showed up at my great-grandparents’ door, or if you’re interested in how academic and archival skills can turn you to other kinds of writing, this talk is for you.

Monday, March 2

Dilemma Monday

Friday, March 6 (TBA)

Monday, March 9

Erika Schwichtenberg (Foundation, Government, & Corporate Relations)

From Idea to Impact: Navigating the Grant Lifecycle

This session offers a comprehensive introduction to pursuing external funding at Macalester. We’ll begin with a brief overview of today’s federal and foundation funding environments, then walk through each stage of the grant process: conducting prospect research, crafting a compelling concept note, developing a realistic budget, and navigating Macalester’s Grant Clearance process. You’ll also learn strategies for “zero-waste writing”—how to repurpose and build on your best work across multiple proposals. Finally, we’ll discuss post-award essentials, including spending down your grant in compliance and reporting outcomes to funders. The Grants Office is here to support you at every step, and this session will show you how to make the most of that partnership.

Friday, March 13 (TBA)

SPRING BREAK

Monday, March 23 (TBA)

Friday, March 27

Sherry Imran (Political Science)

AI and the End of Imagination

Reflections on the use of AI in liberal arts classrooms, grounded in a rough sketch of the long history of mechanized knowledge production.

Monday, March 30

Rothin Datta (Political Science), Myrl Beam (WGSS), Sumeet Patwardhan (Philosophy)

Scholarship Lightning Round

Join us to hear several of your colleagues share a bit about their current work for our “lightning round scholarship share.” Each colleague will take five minutes to highlight a current research project that brings them joy or that they would like feedback on.

Friday, April 3

Lela Pierce, Megan Vossler, and Ruthann Godollei (Art & Art History)

Mini-Tour of Studio Arts Spaces

Join us for a mini-tour of the art studio spaces of Lela Pierce (Sculpture and 3D Design), Megan Vossler (Drawing), and Ruthann Godollei (Printmkaing). Not only will you be able to experience their studios up front and close but you’ll get the chance to learn more about the creative work that takes place in those spaces. (Meeting location: Janet Wallace A105)

Monday, April 6

Dilemma Monday

Friday, April 10

John Cannon (Physics), Bill Moseley (Geography), Abby Marsh (MSCS), Amy Elkins (English)

Working with Student Research Collaborators

Monday, April 13 (TBA)

Friday, April 17

Joslenne Peña (Mathematics, Statistics, & Computer Science)

Reflections on a Community-Based Coding Project for Informal Learning: Lessons and Insights

Code for Us (CFU) is an NSF-funded program focused on community outreach, foundational programming skills, informal learning, and computing education, with libraries serving as central hubs for thoughtfully designed learning environments that welcome adults into technology spaces. Join Professor Joslenne Peña as she shares reflections from the program’s first two workshops, including insights on building community partnerships, workforce education, lifelong learning, and designing curricula that center computing skills for underrepresented adult learners. She is preparing for the 3rd cohort of adult learners in Fall 2026!

TBA

Monday, April 20

Derek Johnson (Community Engagement Center)

Community-Engaged Learning Community of Practice

This session is for seasoned community-engaged learning (CEL) faculty, practitioners who are newer to CEL, and those who are potentially interested in utilizing CEL in the future. After we get to know the interests of everyone in the room, we will spend time in small groups connecting with colleagues about different aspects of the community-engaged learning process. After small group conversation, we will reconvene to explore the topic of what a CEL community of practice could look like going forward.

Fall 2025

Friday, September 12

Jim Doyle (Physics & Astronomy)

Winner of the 2025 Jack & Marty Rossmann Excellence in Teaching Award

Monday, September 15

Beth Severy-Hoven (Classical Mediterranean & Middle East), Lesley Lavery (Political Science), Jeremy Meckler (Media & Cultural Studies),and Anika Bratt (Environmental Studies)

The Discussion Project: Simple Tools for Facilitating Inclusive Classroom Discussions

A number of Macalester faculty and staff participated in a Discussion Project Workshop held on campus in May 2025. A few of those participants (Anika Bratt, Lesley Lavery, Jeremy Meckler, and Beth Severy-Hoven) will share ready-to-implement tools and strategies for facilitating inclusive classroom discussions.

Friday, September 19

Lesley Lavery (Political Science) (with Sara Dahill-Brown and Stefanie Chambers)

Closing Time? Navigating Community & Conflict Amid Austerity

This study examines how communities across the United States (from Boston to San Antonio and Seattle) navigate school closures amid demographic and pandemic induced declining enrollment and resource scarcity. Through stakeholder interviews and analysis of public documents and media across multiple public school markets, we investigate school closure as a dynamic process with consequences unfolding long after building lockouts. Our findings will inform future consolidation efforts and school finance debates.

Monday, September 22

Shanti Freitas (Center for Study Away); Megan Butler (Sustainability); Derek Johnson (Community Engagement Center); Katie Kelly (Academic Programs and Advising); Jean-Marie Maddux (Psychology and Neuroscience); Jon Vaughan-Fier (Hamre Center for Health & Wellness); and Hui Wilcox (Kofi Annan Institute for Global Citizenship)

Unlearning with Ecuadorian Partners

The Center for Study Away (CSA) and Kofi Annan Institute for Global Citizenship (KAIGC) have a partnership with Pachaysana, an organization and collective of Ecuadorian and international educators, nature restorers, teaching artists, and community organizers. During summer 2025, a cohort of six Macalester faculty and staff spent 2 weeks in Ecuador, on a retreat facilitated by Pachaysana meant to create spaces where all participants unlearn and grow together, develop the knowledge and skills necessary to transform our work, reimagine new stories, and integrate diverse ways of knowing and being into our institutions, teaching, and activism. At this CAST presentation, this cohort will present on their learning and unlearning, and discuss how we might reimagine our work at Macalester.

Friday, September 26

Dan Trudeau (Geography)

Advancing Belonging and Inclusion through Public Programming in City Parks

This session examines how infrastructure design and programming interventions in city parks can foster social interaction and promote inclusion in diverse communities. We will explore this topic through a case study of the Signs of Belonging project, a pathbreaking public art project in Ramsey County, Minnesota, designed to expand the capacity of the park system to welcome diverse communities and deepen people’s sense of belonging in parks. We’ll unpack research on people’s experiences with the public art to discuss how coordinated events, thoughtful signage, and carefully designed infrastructure can enhance the park experience for everybody. The session will consider how insights from parks could apply to other efforts to create spaces that serve as vibrant community hubs in an increasingly diverse society.

Monday, September 29

Julia Chadaga (Russian Studies)

Sharing Stories and Building Skills: Reflections on Teaching a Community-Engaged Course

In the spring of 2024, students in a project-based course funded by Project Pericles titled “Once We Arrived: Stories of Immigrants’ First Jobs” interviewed Twin Cities immigrants from various parts of the world, then created a website featuring the interviewees’ stories of work, struggle, and perseverance. This workshop will provide an overview of the course goals, process, and outcomes, then invite attendees to share their thoughts and questions about this course and, more broadly, the challenges and the potential of community-engaged learning at Mac.

Friday, October 3 (will be held in the Serie Center, Library 338)

Lisa Mueller (Political Science)

Do Protests Work? What Activism Can (and Can’t) Achieve

Why do some protest movements spark lasting change while others fizzle out or even backfire? Lisa explores protest outcomes while drawing on insights from The New Science of Social Change: A Modern Handbook for Activists, recipient of the 2025 Minnesota Book award for best non-fiction book. In this session, she also shares new findings on how protest waves shape crime trends around the world and provides advice for writing for a lay audience. Combining statistical analysis, experiments, and ethnographic fieldwork, Lisa offers an evidence-based look at the power and limits of collective action.

Monday, October 6

Dilemma Monday

Bring your pedagogical dilemmas and benefit from the collective wisdom of our colleagues

Friday, October 10 (will be held in the Serie Center, Library 338)

Applying for Scholarly Funding at Mac: Wallace Scholarly Activities and Collaborative Summer Research with students; a presentation and Q&A with Dennis Cao and David Moore

Macalester faculty may apply for varied types of funding each year from the College. Two notable programs are Wallace Scholarly Activities (WSA, with early November and February deadlines) and Collaborative Summer Research (CSR, early February deadline, requiring student collaborators). Dennis Cao and David Moore have substantial experience reviewing and rating these applications. Over lunch, we’ll briefly outline the two programs, describe common strengths and fixable application weaknesses, and take questions. In advance of the session, please review the current program descriptions for the WSA and CSR programs.

Friday, October 17 (Fall Break)

Friday, October 24 (no CAST: International Roundtable in session)

Monday, October 27

Louisa Bradtmiller (Environmental Studies and Academic Programs & Advising)

“Introducing . . . the Advising Dashboard!”

We have several digital tools available to us as academic advisors. Some are easier to use than others, and none centralize all the information we might want about a student in one place. Over the past year, Louisa Bradtmiller (Associate Dean of Advising) has worked with Lloyd Lentz and Kathryn Dijkstra to build a new online tool for advising at Macalester. In this session, we’ll demonstrate some of its features, answer questions, and have a conversation about what additional capabilities might be possible or desirable in the future. Bring a laptop/tablet/phone if you want to take it for a test drive during our session!

Friday, October 31 (Halloween Edition!)

Sarah Boyer (Biology)

Discovering, Describing, and Understanding Biogeographic Patterns in the Southern Hemisphere

How many species are there? How are they distributed in space? And, how has Earth history shaped the biogeographic patterns we see around us today? These questions drive the work that my students and I carry out in my lab at Macalester and in the field. Today’s talk will focus on research we’ve done in Australia and New Zealand, with support from the US National Science Foundation. We study arachnids, but don’t be alarmed! We work on daddy long-legs that – contrary to popular myth – are not venomous at all.

Monday, November 3 (will be held in the Serie Center, Library 338)

Dilemma Monday

Bring your pedagogical dilemmas and benefit from the collective wisdom of our colleagues

Friday, November 7

Michelle Tong (Biology and Neuroscience)

Neural Mechanisms for Odor-Guided Foraging

Many animals rely on their sense of smell to find nutritious food, but this seemingly routine task is surprisingly complex. To succeed, they must detect odors, pinpoint where they come from, recall what food they signal, and decide which ones are worth pursuing. Even more surprising, neurons in the olfactory system don’t just respond to smells—they play a role in every step of optimal foraging. A main focus of my lab is studying how neural circuits and molecules in the olfactory system work together to guide odor-based foraging decisions. In this session, I’ll share some of our recent findings as well as new projects I’ll be pursuing during my pretenure leave at the Allen Institute in Seattle, WA.

Monday, November 10

Mozhdeh Khodarahmi (Library), Brigid McCreery (Library), Tamatha Perlman (ITS)

AI-Related Resources

Join us for an overview of the AI-related resources available to faculty at Macalester. This session will highlight both the digital tools and the human expertise that can support you in thoughtfully engaging with artificial intelligence across your teaching, research, and academic work.

Friday, November 14

Ebony Aya (Serie Center)

Shaping the Future of Support for Faculty Scholarship

[description forthcoming]

Friday, November 21 (meet in Smail Gallery, Olin Rice)

Bret Jackson (MSCS), Kelly MacGregor (Geology), and Leah Witus (Chemistry)

Mini-Tour of Faculty Research Labs in OLRI

Ever wondered what goes on in all of those OLRI labs? Never seen the insides of any of the labs? Curious about the amazing scholarly work of your ORLI colleagues? Join us for a mini-tour of the labs of Bret Jackson (Computer Science), Kelly MacGregor (Geology) and Leah Witus (Chemistry). Not only will you be able to experience their labs up front and close but you’ll get the chance to learn more about the scholarship that takes place in those spaces.

Monday, December 1

Dilemma Monday

Bring your pedagogical dilemmas and benefit from the collective wisdom of our colleagues

Previous Conversations about Scholarship and Teaching

2024-2025 Conversations about Scholarship and Teaching

2023-2024 Conversations about Scholarship and Teaching

2022-2023 Conversation about Scholarship and Teaching

2021-2022 Conversations about Scholarship and Teaching

2020-2021 Conversations about Scholarship and Teaching