Off the Tenure Track: Building an Education-Forward Academic Career Regional Philadelphia Retreat

We invite you to join us for an upcoming regional retreat designed for education-forward faculty across higher education in the Philadelphia area who are full-time but off the tenure-track. Our goal is to bring together faculty for a comprehensive day of insightful talks, engaging discussions, and community-building activities aimed at fostering cross-institutional collaboration and policy pollination. We welcome abstract/session proposals and registration below!

You can visit our Conference Resources page to see a growing list of documents presenters shared with us!

Location: Rutgers Camden Campus Center, Multipurpose Room B (google maps) (Campus Center map – room is on the main level)
Date: Tuesday, June 4, 2024
Time: 10:00 – 6:00 pm
Cost: There is no cost to attend or submit a proposal.

Getting there:

• Public Transit: The Camden Campus Center is within a short walking distance to the City Hall stop on the Patco and the Cooper Street stop on the Riverline trains.
• Parking: Guests can register their vehicles for parking using THIS form. This will provide parking in lots c1, c2, c3, c14, city lot 15 or city lot 16 without permits (parking map). 

Tentative Agenda:

• 9:00 – 10:00: Continental Breakfast provided.
• 10:00 – 10:15: Welcome & Opening Remarks by Nathan Fried, Rutgers Camden Biology
• 10:15 – 11:00: Opening Panel: “Navigating the Non-Tenure Track (NTT) across Philly-area universities.”
  • Moderator: Travis DuBose, Rutgers Camden, English and Communication
  • Panelist: Robert Emmons, Rutgers Camden, Visual, Media, and Performing Arts
  • Panelist: Gregory J. Eaton, Rowan University, Department of Biological & Biomedical Sciences.
  • Panelist: Elizabeth Fournier, University of Delaware, Biden School of Public Policy and Administration
• 11:00 – 11:15: Break
• 11:15 – 12:15: Lunch & Keynote Talk: “Working Towards Change in Higher Education Teaching Practice”
  • Dr. Jennifer Stanford, Associate Professor, Department of Biology & Co-Director of the Center for the Advancement of STEM Teaching and Learning Excellence (CASTLE)
• 12:15 – 1:15: Small Talk Sessions on Best Teaching Practices
  • “Incorporating AI into Teaching: Embracing Chatbots in Higher Education” by Alison Baren at Temple University’s Psychology and Neuroscience Department.
  • “Insight and Context: Facilitating Dialogue and Knowledge Exchange with invited Guests” by Rosalyn Washington at the University of Delaware’s Department of Human Development and Family Sciences.
  • “Alternative Grading in Foundational STEM Courses” by Sara Leshen at Rutgers Camden’s Department of Mathematics.
• 1:15 – 2:00: Workshop/Panel on Launching a Teaching Focused Career & Leveraging the Teaching Postdoc
  • Nicole Bracci, University of Pennsylvania’s PennPORT NIH IRACDA program
  • Tess Cherlin, University of Pennsylvania’s PennPORT NIH IRACDA program
  • Camila Barrios-Camacho, University of Pennsylvania’s PennPORT NIH IRACDA program
  • Anthony Howcroft, Drexel University’s Center for the Advancement in STEM Teaching and Learning Excellence 
• 2:00 – 2:15: Break with afternoon snack.
• 2:15 – 3:00: Workshop/Panel on Building Community for NTT
  • Moderator: Cassie Nelson, Assistant Teaching Professor, Rutgers New Brunswick
  • Panelist: Anne Carr-Schmid, Associate Teaching Professor, Rutgers New Brunswick
  • Panelist: Tara Cominski, Assistant Teaching Professor, Rutgers New Brunswick
  • Panelist: Patricia Morton, Associate Professor, Rutgers New Brunswick
• 3:00 – 4:00: Small Talk Sessions on Building an Education-forward Academic Career
  • “Five Strategies for Finding Value and Creating Impact in your NTT Position” by Jay Lunden at Temple University’s Department of Biology.
  • “Fostering Mentorship of Non-Tenured Faculty: The Greater Majority in Higher Education” by Dione Sandiford at Rutgers University’s School of Nursing.
  • “How to Get Started (or become more active) in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning” by Haritha Malladi at the University of Delaware’s Civil and Environmental Engineering
• 4:00 – 4:10: Closing Remarks by Tracie Paulson, Rutgers Camden Biology
• 4:10 – 6:00: Social Hour at Victor’s Pub (1 Market St, Camden, NJ 08102 – Google Maps).
  

Registration & Call for Proposals: Register to save your spot and to submit an abstract/session proposal. We are accepting session proposals and short talks.

• Call for Proposals is due on Wednesday, May 1, 2024 (CLOSED)
• Proposal Decisions sent on Monday, May 6, 2024
• Registration closes on Friday, May 24, 2024