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Campus Community Connections – February 2026

by | Jan 29, 2026 | Blog, Campus Community Connections, Event

Highlighting Opportunities and News from our Campus Partners

Black History Month at 100: Reclaiming the Legacy of Dr. Carter G. Woodson’s Black History Month and the War Over Historical Erasure 

  • February 3: “In the Legacy of Black History: The Revolutionary Praxis of Malcolm X.: Dr. Richard Benson, Professor, University of Pittsburgh 
  • February 5: Global Black Studies Inaugural Undergraduate Student Research Conference: “A Century of Struggle, Scholarship, and Survival: Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?” 
  • February 10: “The ‘Mis-Education’ of 2026: Modern Erasure and Woodson’s Warning.” Dr. Alicia Fontnette, Director of the National Council for Black Studies and Assistant Professor of Africana Studies, University of Delaware 
  • February 17: “When the Witness Becomes the Record: on ‘Bombingham’ and the Record of Racial Terror in Birmingham, Alabama.” Mr. Dale Long, Survivor of the 1963 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing, Birmingham, Alabama 
  • February 19: “Commemoration or Confrontation? Interrogating if Black History Month Needs a Makeover” 

All events held in Apodaca Science Building, Room 123 @ 2:00 pm. 

From the Center for Community Engagement & Service Learning (CCESL)

SLC/CEC Faculty Roundtable 

February 18, 2026 (Wednesday) | 3:30 – 4:30 pm Hunter Library 156 (CFC Conference Room) 

For All Interested Faculty: Come discuss service-learning and community experience courses with WCU faculty Dr. Brian Byrd (School of Health Sciences) and Dr. Patricia Bricker (School of Teaching and Learning). This roundtable conversation will feature opportunities to hear about their experiences, to learn about the designation process (coming March 2nd!), and provide an open forum to exchange ideas. Questions? Contact CCESL Director Joy Mischley (jmischley@wcu.edu). A Zoom option is available for those not able to attend in-person (https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81328274742) 

Community-Engaged Courses: Upcoming Deadline 

The Service-Learning Course (SLC) and Community Experience Course (CEC) designation process for Fall/Summer 2026 courses is currently underway. The initial designation process involves the faculty member completing a brief (~9 min) form. Please refer to the CCESL website for more information or contact Joy Mischley, Director (jmischley@wcu.edu). If you submitted your course during one of the deadlines last year, you do not need to repeat the process this year. Instead, CCESL will contact you individually about completing a brief renewal. 

Deadline: Monday, March 2, 2026, for Summer & Fall 2026 courses 

QR code for staff senate

Staff Senate

Staff Senate is here for you.

Website: staffsenate.wcu.edu

CFC November Workshops

by | Oct 20, 2025 | Blog, Canvas, Event, Faculty Development Workshop, Online Learning, Teaching and Learning

November Workshop Line-Up Is Here!

We’re excited to share our November workshop schedule, designed to help you make the most of your teaching tools before the end of the semester. This month, we’re rotating three focused sessions:

  • Canvas Grading Tools (Intermediate) – A 30-minute demo of our favorite strategies and features for time-saving tips and smart grading workflows, followed by a brief Q&A.
  • Canvas Communication Tools (Intermediate) – A 30-minute demo of our favorite strategies and features for keeping students informed and engaged, followed by a brief Q&A.

  • Online Template Session – The CFC continues to offer training to help you integrate WCU’s online template into your courses.

New this month: All sessions will be offered in a hybrid format — join us in person at Hunter Library 156 or participate virtually via Zoom, whichever fits your schedule best.

If none of the workshop times work for you, we highly recommend our new 4-week asynchronous UDL course, which guides you through applying Universal Design for Learning principles to your own course.

Session Descriptions:

Grading in Canvas: SpeedGrader, Rubrics & Feedback Tools 

Simplify your grading workflow while maximizing feedback quality. Learn how to use SpeedGrader, apply rubrics, record video comments, and manage your gradebook with ease. 

Tuesday, Nov 18 | 10:00 – 10:45 am

Wednesday, Nov 19 | 2:00 – 2:45 pm

Communication in Canvas: Be Present, Be Heard 

Stay connected with your students with built-in Canvas features. We’ll show you how to use announcements, feedback tools, the syllabus feature, and discussions to build an engaging and communicative course environment. 

Tuesday, Nov 18 | 9:00 – 9:45 am

Wednesday, Nov 19 | 3:00 – 3:45 pm

Online Course Template Training

The Online Course Template is designed to enhance consistency, support, and engagement for both students and instructors. We will support faculty to adapt the template to fit their course needs while maintaining a cohesive structure across WCU.

Wednesday, Nov 19 | 9:00 – 10:30 am

Thursday, Nov 20 | 1:00 – 2:30 pm

Register for Canvas Workshops

Biltmore Park Day – September 2

by | Aug 5, 2025 | Biltmore Park, Blog, Event, Faculty Development Workshop, Teaching and Learning

Join us for a whole day of workshops in Biltmore Park

The Coulter Faculty Commons is heading to Asheville! We’re excited to host a Biltmore Park Day featuring four hands-on, practical workshops designed to support your teaching, wherever you’re based.

These workshops are open to any instructor who teaches at Biltmore Park, as well as main campus or online instructors who live nearby and would like to participate.

Join us for any or all of the following sessions on Tuesday, September 2, 2025:

Workshop 1: 9:00 – 10:00 am | BP 330

Teaching Philosophy Make & Take

It’s common for instructors to find it difficult to clearly express their teaching philosophy, even after years in the classroom. In this hands-on session, you’ll explore your core teaching beliefs, narrow them down to 3–5 guiding priorities, and learn how to express them in a clear, authentic narrative. Whether you’re preparing a statement for promotion and tenure or simply want to reconnect with your teaching purpose, you’ll leave with a strong draft and next steps. 

Workshop 2: 10:30 – 11:30 am | BP 330

Active Learning for In-Person Classes

Looking to energize your classroom? Explore simple, research-backed strategies to get students thinking, talking, and engaging. You’ll leave with ready-to-use ideas and a renewed sense of what’s possible face-to-face.

Workshop 3: 1:00 – 1:45 pm | BP 330

Grading in Canvas: SpeedGrader, Rubrics & Feedback Tools 

Simplify your grading workflow while maximizing feedback quality. Learn how to use SpeedGrader, apply rubrics, record video comments, and manage your gradebook with ease. 

Workshop 4: 2:00 – 2:45 pm | BP 330

Communication in Canvas: Be Present, Be Heard 

Stay connected with your students with built-in Canvas features. We’ll show you how to use announcements, feedback tools, the syllabus feature, and discussions to build an engaging and communicative course environment. 

Come connect with colleagues, learn something new, and let the CFC come to you!
Register for Biltmore Park Sessions

Join us for ETLE 2025!

by | Aug 4, 2025 | Blog, Event, Faculty Development Workshop, Pedagogy, Professional Development, Teaching and Learning

ETLE 2025: A Celebration of Excellence in Teaching and Learning

The Coulter Faculty Commons invites the WCU campus community to join us for our annual Excellence in Teaching & Learning Event (ETLE) – a two-day celebration of innovative and impactful teaching practices.

ETLE 2025 will feature a dynamic lineup of workshops, presentations, and opportunities to connect with colleagues who care deeply about student success. This year, we are especially thrilled to welcome Dr. Liz Norell – widely known as The Present Professor – as our invited speaker. Dr. Norell serves as the Associate Director of Instructional Support at the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) at the University of Mississippi.

Flyer for the Excellence in Teaching and Learning Event 2025, including information about the speaking times and titles

In addition to delivering the ETLE keynote and a featured workshop, based on her recent book, The Present Professor – Authenticity and Transformational Teaching, Dr. Norell will lead a special pre-ETLE workshop entitled “When and Why do Students Read for Class?”

Her work centers on the power of showing up fully – with honesty, heart, and presence – in the classroom and beyond.

Whether you’re looking for fresh inspiration or eager to share your own experiences,
ETLE 2025 is for you!

Explore session descriptions and register now on the ETLE 2025 website.

Call for Interest: Hurricane Helene Symposium Fall 2025

by | Apr 21, 2025 | Blog, Discussions, Event, Feedback, Professional Development

Are you interested in a Learning Symposium to mark one year since Hurricane Helene’s devastating impact and to exchange knowledge across disciplines regarding the service, research, and teaching response of our faculty, staff, and students?

The Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning is assessing interest in a potential university-wide event to do that next fall. Please indicate your interest by completing a brief form (< 2 minutes) no later than Friday, May 2.

There is no commitment required at this time. If there is enough interest, the information that you provide will help us to plan the event. Please contact Joy Mischley, Director, Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning, for more information at jmischley@wcu.edu.

 

Call for Proposals – SITL 2025

by | Mar 6, 2025 | Blog, Event, Professional Development, Summer Institute for Teaching & Learning (SITL)

Submit your Proposal for SITL 2025 

The Coulter Faculty Commons invites faculty to submit a proposal for a dynamic presentation, panel, hands-on workshop, or short story session for their annual 2-day institute.

The Call for Proposals for the 2025 Summer Institute for Teaching & Learning is now open! The theme for this year’s institute is Renaissance of Teaching: A Summer Faire of Ideas, Innovation, and Inspiration and will be held May 14 & May 15.  

Find detailed information, including a description of the conference tracks and proposal guidelines, on the 2025 SITL CfP website. Proposals will be accepted until the submission deadline on April 1, and presenters will be notified by April 15. 

Call for Proposals flyer for the 2025 Summer Institute for Teaching & Learning of the Coulter Faculty Commons.