Week of April 1-5

2024

Commencement 2024: Ceremony information, schedules for faculty and guests

The Spring 2024 University Commencement ceremony will be held on Friday, May 10 at 8:30 a.m. in Lane Stadium and the Graduate School ceremony will be Wednesday, May 8 at 10:00 a.m. in Cassell Coliseum. The Graduate School Ceremony will only recognize Ph.D. candidates and Interdisciplinary Graduate Education Program (IGEP) master’s students. All other master’s degree graduates will be recognized during individual college ceremonies.

The Commencement 2024 website has detailed information on schedules, parking, live stream, regalia, and FAQs. Gates to Lane Stadium will open at 7:00 a.m. on May 10 for the University Commencement ceremony and will open one hour before the start of each college ceremony.

The Washington D.C. Area Commencement ceremony will be held on Sunday, May 12 at 1:00 p.m. at the GMU Center for the Arts (Fairfax), for graduates of programs located in northern Virginia. See complete event information and schedules on the Washington D.C. Area Commencement website.

For more information, schedule updates, and speaker announcements, visit the Commencement 2024 website. Requests for accommodations for guests attending commencement ceremonies must be made to the Office of Equity and Accessibility at least two weeks before the events.

Faculty Affairs: Nominations for 2024-25 cohort of Provost’s Leadership Development Program

The Office of Faculty Affairs has announced a call for nominations for the 2024-25 cohort of the Provost’s Leadership Development Program (formerly Academic Leaders Program). This program embraces a broad view of academic leadership, from formal position-based roles to a more lateral view where leadership roles are available to everyone, sometimes referred to as leadership in place.

Nominations (and self-nominations) are encouraged of faculty of all ranks and series (tenured, tenure-track, clinical, collegiate, instructors, and professors of practice) who are interested in participating in the “Leading in Place” cohort.

The cohort will meet in-person throughout the semester. Seasoned leaders from around campus will be invited to join the cohort for lunches throughout the year to allow for broader campus networking opportunities. Program themes include:

Cultivating environment and culture
Developing communications skills/managing difficult conversations
Leading with emotional intelligence
Supporting a diverse and inclusive community
Ethical leadership
Building trust
The role of self-care in leadership

All applications should be submitted on or before April 15. Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their nomination by May 15.

For more information including the process and online form for submitting nominations, visit the Provost’s Leadership Development Program website or email Rachel Gabriele in the Office of Faculty Affairs.

Arts@VirginiaTech: Funding available for Diverse Voices and Perspectives Lecture Series

Virginia Tech’s Diverse Voices and Perspectives Lecture Series (formerly the Women and Minority Artists and Scholars Lecture Series) is now accepting applications for fall 2024. The series is designed to promote the number and diversity of scholarly voices and artistic expressions from underrepresented communities by providing funding assistance for Virginia Tech departments and other units.

The deadline to apply for funds is Wednesday, May 1.

With support from Arts@VirginiaTech and the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost, the program provides up to $750 in funds to support events and experiences that provide students with opportunities to interact with guest lecturers or artists to increase their access to successful women and minority role models.

Giving voice to minority and women’s perspectives, these lectures provide an inclusive and interactive space for scholarly exploration and support a collaborative environment for attendees. Invited speakers may be from any discipline, gender, race, or ethnicity. Invitations to speakers whose scholarship incorporates race, gender, class, or international perspectives are especially encouraged.

For more information and to apply, read this campus notice or visit the Diverse Voices and Perspectives Lecture Series website.

Division of IT: University migration to Zoom Phone enters final weeks

The Division of IT and Network Infrastructure and Services (NI&S) reminds faculty and staff that as part of Virginia Tech’s move to Zoom Phone, Avaya phone services currently available will be discontinued on May 31.

Zoom Phone is an app that works on the same familiar platform that you already use for meetings and webinars. Once a user is migrated to Zoom Phone, they will see a phone icon added to their top bar on Zoom. If the Zoom app is already installed, nothing additional needs to be installed for phone features.

Departments and individual users that have not already migrated to Zoom Phone are encouraged to prioritize scheduling their migration for one of the final remaining migration phases. If you are still using an Avaya phone or Avaya software client, contact your local IT office to ensure you’re signed up for one of the upcoming phases. Phone Service Managers in each department have the ability to schedule Zoom Phone migrations as described in this recent VT News announcement.

The signup deadlines for remaining migration phases are April 23 and April 30.

For more information including links to a Zoom Phone Guide and migration FAQs, read this campus notice, contact the NI&S Customer Service team via email or at 540-231-2800, or visit the Voice Service Migration Procedures website.

ICYMI: Faculty, instructors invited to take part in spring Course Design Clinic

Faculty and instructors planning for their summer and fall 2024 courses are invited to join the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) for its spring Course Design Clinic and leave with a plan and syllabus for the upcoming semester.

The clinic will take place May 13-14. There is no cost to attend, but registration is required. During the two-day clinic, faculty and instructors will be guided through several stages of course design to include:

Identifying goals and learning outcomes
Organizing the syllabus and schedule
Designing individual class meetings, activities, and assignments
Planning for assessment of student learning

Through working with CETL staff, participants will receive guidance on rigorous instructional design, assignment-based assessment, active learning strategies, and inclusive course design. The goal of this clinic is to encourage faculty and instructors to think through the multiple levels of granularity for courses and to complete much of the planning while having instructional experts on hand.

For more information about the spring Course Design Clinic, visit the program webpage or email CETL.

Additional Resources and Updates

Please submit a Google form or email Provost Communications for comments or recommendations to improve the Weekly Communications Update or to share faculty, staff, and academic program personnel information.

Visit the provost’s website frequently for new and updated university information. All members of the campus community should also read their VT News daily email for further important updates, notices, and resources.