Category Archives: News

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New Director of Undergraduate Research

I am pleased to announce that Joyce Fernandes (Professor, BIO) is the new director of the ORU. Joyce brings a wealth of experience involving undergraduates in her own research and developing programming at Miami, often targeted at underrepresented students. She also has been very active with the NSF and CUR which should serve her well in this new role. Please join Jim Oris and me in welcoming Joyce and wishing her the best–although it will be tough to compare to the previous director 😉

CTE Director interviews

There are two finalists for the Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence. Jennifer Blue will be interviewing next week, with a session for faculty 12:00 – 12:30 on Wednesday, 8/30. Ellen Yezierski will be interviewing the following Wednesday, 9/6, from 12:30 – 1:00. Both candidate sessions will be held in Roudebush 104.

Important policy reminders, updates

As we get into the new academic year, I wanted to provide some important policy updates and reminders:

  • A simple cheat sheet with important reminders about purchasing policies and procedures can be found here.
  • Please make sure to send Quentin your syllabus by September 1. In preparing your syllabus, you should consider these important points:
    • If you are teaching 111, 221, 231, 241, 242, or 332, you should review the TAG guidelines for the course. These specify learning outcomes to provide state-mandated alignment of these courses across all institutions in Ohio.
    • You should include a statement in your syllabi regarding academic integrity (departmental statement here) and I strongly encourage you to consider promoting the departmental diversity statement as well.
    • Please think about statements in your syllabus regarding accommodations and accessibility. An interesting read on this topic recently appeared in the Chronicle (thanks Amy S.!)
  • Everyone should have received an email about the new reporting requirements for harassment, discrimination, sexual misconduct, and interpersonal violence. Please be on the lookout for email from OEEO regarding mandatory training for all faculty and GAs. I will provide more information on the blog as it is made available, or you can find additional information on the OEEO website.

 

Human trafficking series in the fall

Yvette and one of her students, Samantha Schultheis (PSY, FSW) have developed a series of events this fall to explore the serious issue of human trafficking; these will take place on Mondays at 6:00pm, on Sept 18, Sept 25, and Oct 2 in 125. Samantha asks for your help in publicizing and encouraging attendance:

In the past, some professors incorporate seminars/cultural events into their syllabus in order to encourage their students to go out and learn beyond the classroom. This series is another one of those opportunities for students to apply what they have learned in class to the real world. Human trafficking is a multi-billion dollar business, yet the majority of the public remains uneducated on the topic. Dr. Harris and I are hoping to change and inspire the students at Miami University to stand up for what they believe in and reach out to those in need.

On the 18th, there will be a discussion panel including police officers from both Cincinnati and Toledo, individuals who work with human trafficking survivors through the organization End Slavery Cincinnati, and a former FBI agent who worked on human trafficking cases. The panel will be moderated with questions about statistics, personal experiences, personal involvement, commonly unknown facts, as well as resources for survivors/warning signs.

For the 25th, there will be a presentation of the film ‘Sex Slaves’ – a documentary looking into the lives of traffickers, survivors, victims, and others involved in this modern day form of slavery.

The date of the survivor visit is going to take place on the 2nd of October due to the availability of the survivor to come to Miami. The survivor – Barbara Amaya – was a speaker on a Tedx Talk focusing on her 10 years of being trafficked. She will be presenting at Miami about her experiences as well as what more can be done to help survivors.

Thank you [and] I hope you will consider advertising this 3 part series to… encourage students to attend some of these events.

Career development for your students

Two major things to note for professional and career development for your (undergraduate) students. First, we have a new career center liaison, Shelby Ballard, to help you with any aspect of advising, course development, etc. Second, Ginger has developed a new career development course that is offered online in the fall and thus easily accessible to students on all campuses. From Ginger:

Career Development in Psychology and Related Social Sciences (PSS 211, 2 cr.) is appropriate for all majors, especially those in the social sciences and helping professions. The course includes:

  • Make the most of your degree and your college years, both in and out of the classroom
  • Lay out a 3-, 4-, or 5-year (or whatever your timeline is) plan for your courses toward graduation
  • Understand what employers are looking for
  • Prepare your professional documents (e.g., resumes and cover letters) for the job market
  • Consider and explore graduate school options
  • Practice interviewing skills

Help support the department with #MoveInMiami

As discussed some previously in this post, Miami coordinates a one-day fundraising campaign on freshman move-in day, Thursday, August 24. This is one opportunity for individual departments to include individual “projects” for targeted publicity and (hopefully) support.

This year we are focusing on the graduate student travel fund and the neuroscience curriculum. We are asking for your help in publicizing these campaigns in any of several ways:

  • Take a picture in the main office for us to post on social media, with a single phrase of “wisdom” for the incoming class.
  • Post the links to your social media, and be sure to use the #MoveInMiami tag. You might also follow activity of other university entities such as @PresGreg or @miamiuniversity.
  • Reach out to individual alumni, especially former graduate students that might understand the need for graduate student travel support. Every little bit helps.
  • Make a contribution! Again, every little bit helps.

I’m hopeful we can all work a little bit to see if we can make this a success. For relatively little individual effort, flash campaigns such as this can reap tangible (and “record-breaking”) benefits. I understand that the fundraising functions of the department and university are not within our typical routines and appreciate any activity each of you are comfortable undertaking.

Budget and fiscal priorities

I am glad to announce that I’ll be serving on this committee for the upcoming AY*. I think it’s important to be a part of this conversation on the university level and hope its a good chance to advocate for the work we value as a department.

* unless Senate disbands it