Week of August 29-September 2

Reminder: Proposals for Destination Area 2.0 Planning and Development Grants

Virginia Tech is seeking proposals for the next phase of Destination Area (DA) projects that are aligned with the Beyond Boundaries vision and will achieve the strategic priorities in The Virginia Tech Difference: Advancing Beyond Boundaries.

The DA 2.0 proposals will target transdisciplinary discovery, learning and outreach efforts that yield solutions to complex problems that can advance the human condition and that have a high likelihood of Virginia Tech establishing or sustaining an international leadership position in the area of interest.

Planning and Development Grants of up to $50,000 will be awarded and are expected to support team and project development over an approximately six-month period. The deadline for Phase I proposals is September 30.

For more information on the current Destination Areas as well as the proposal criteria, expectations, and review process for the Planning and Development Grants, please email Catherine Amelink in the Office of the Executive Vice Provost. Information can also be found on the Destination Area website.

CETL: Customized teaching and course design services available to faculty, instructors

Throughout the 2022-23 academic year, the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) is available to partner with faculty and instructors to support the design, development, and implementation of learner-centered instruction. This partnership includes a variety of customized and confidential consulting services to support research-based teaching and learning design and strategies. Through these customized services, faculty and instructors work closely with CETL staff to set goals and action plans.

• Class Observations: Class observations, performed by center staff, are available for faculty to receive feedback on classroom management, communication effectiveness, students' engagement, or other teaching and learning practices.
• Mid-Semester Feedback: An opportunity for instructors to gather structured feedback from their students regarding the functioning of the class and the quality of student learning. 
• One-on-one Consulting: General course consulting is offered to faculty members to address a myriad of questions and issues. 
• Program or Departmental Consulting: CETL partners and works closely with programs and departments to offer specific and tailored services. 
• Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL): Workshops, consulting, grants, and an annual writing retreat to support Virginia Tech faculty and instructors with their SoTL.

In addition to teaching and consulting services, CETL offers faculty several programs and networking opportunities that support research-based teaching and learning design and strategies.

• Book clubs: An opportunity to build a small community that explores topics presented in books CETL has identified as timely and supportive of teaching and learning. 
• Bridge Experience: Plan for all undergraduate students to learn experientially through place-based opportunities and to develop the knowledge, skills, and abilities for success in their future endeavors. 
• Project-Based Learning: A method of engaging students in authentic, real-world problems or challenges over a period of time. It is considered a high-impact practice due to its effectiveness for promoting learning, collaboration, problem-solving, and critical thinking. 
• Principles of Effective Teaching Certificates: Program provides a learning community and support structure within which faculty can become better teachers. 
• Effective Teaching Workshops  

For more information and additional programs and services offered to instructional faculty, please visit the CETL website.

Equity and Accessibility: Workshops available on university policies, procedures

The Office for Equity and Accessibility (OEA) offers a number of interactive and educational workshops on Virginia Tech’s policies and procedures regarding anti-discrimination and anti-harassment, accommodations for individuals with disabilities, and affirmative action. OEA also offers conflict resolution workshops to strengthen communication and increase collaboration in the workplace.

• Compliance Workshop on Policies 1025 and 1026, Title IX, and Violence Against Women Act – This workshop is required for all Virginia Tech employees every two years and introduces employees to important information, including the university's anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policies, federal civil rights laws, and complaint procedures. 
• Affirmative Action – The Search Committee Charge Workshop is designed for members of search committees and other Virginia Tech stakeholders who may engage in recruitment and search processes. It prepares participants to recognize and comply with university and federal equal opportunity and affirmative action policies, and manage a fair and equitable search process. 
• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Accessibility Services – The “Americans with Disabilities Act as Amended: What Everyone Needs to Know” training offers participants a basic understanding of the ADA and explains Virginia Tech’s reasonable accommodations process for qualified employees with disabilities. 
• Conflict Resolution – OEA offers three customizable trainings for conflict resolution, which are available upon request:
  • “Moving from Conflict to Collaboration” teaches participants to use active listening, open-ended questions, brainstorming, and other skills to make conflict an opportunity for dialogue and connection. 
  • “Dis-Solving Conflict from Within” helps participants use self-inquiry to address conflict and respond to it with strength, clarity, and ease. 
  • “Compassionate Communications” helps employees learn to identify and engage with feelings and needs to create more productive and compassionate day-to-day work interactions and build a more equitable, effective, and collaborative work community.

For more information on these opportunities and how to register, please read this campus notice or visit the OEA website.

Policy DA: Call for applications for funding to support policy-related research projects

The Policy Destination Area (PDA) is now accepting applications from Virginia Tech faculty who wish to pursue research projects with policy relevance. Funding is available for up to two research proposals and is open to all faculty members at Virginia Tech with continuous or multi-year appointments (tenure-track/tenured, collegiate, research). Maximum awards are $10,500.

Faculty may apply for only one of the following two programs:

+Policy Fellows Program: Designed to help researchers with policy expertise (a) join or collaborate with an extant or newly forming interdisciplinary research team that otherwise lacks a member with policy knowledge; or (b) to help to extend a policy scholar’s expertise into a new area. Funding will support either collaboration between a policy researcher (the Fellow) and members of a research team, or an individual policy scholar collaborating with a content expert to develop his/her expertise in that individual’s area.

• Priority will be given to applications from interdisciplinary teams or, if a single scholar, interdisciplinary research, a mentoring/collaboration plan and clear plans for future inquiry. 
• All Fellow proposals are expected to result in external funding proposals within three years post-award.

Policy Scholar Professional Development Program: Designed to assist researchers who lack policy expertise, but who wish to address policy questions or pursue a policy focus in their work. The Scholar will collaborate with a Virginia Tech faculty member who will serve as policy coach or mentor. Examples of possible activities and deliverables include:

• Collaborating on a joint article or grant proposal that has policy relevance
• Collaborating on developing and disseminating a policy brief or research tool with policy relevance
• Engaging in regular coaching/mentoring sessions that lead to a Scholar-authored article or grant proposal

The deadline to apply is September 20. Funding decisions will be communicated no later than September 30.

For more information on priority areas, application and budget guidelines, and submission requirements, please email PDA Program Director Isabel Bradburn or PDA Research Committee Chairperson Max Stephenson. Details can also be found on the PDA Call for Research website.

ICYMI: Welcome to the new academic year, return of in-person activities

Provost Cyril Clarke shared a message recently to welcome faculty and program staff to the new academic year, express appreciation for efforts to restore in-person teaching and learning, provide an update on the management of COVID-19, and reiterate academic goals and priorities that align with Virginia Tech’s Beyond Boundaries vision. The following are summary points from his message:

• I wish to welcome our faculty and academic staff back to campus and to express my appreciation for your service to the university and support of our students. 
• One of our most significant achievements as a university has been the restoration of face-to-face learning and co-curricular activities on campus. 
• Face-to-face academic activities are also critical to the ability of faculty and staff to advance in their careers and contribute to fulfilling the university’s mission. 
• Please know that I am not dismissive of the value of virtual work and how we should apply lessons learned during the pandemic. 
• We are still in the preliminary stages of identifying circumstances that are appropriate for remote work and how best to align individual job duties with outcomes that will serve and advance our institution. 
• Like the flu and other common viruses, COVID-19 is now one illness among several that the university will manage on a regular basis. 
• We will continue to monitor and inform our community, but we believe the time has come to stand down the daily emergency management of COVID-19. 
• Through our goals and priorities as an academic enterprise, we will continue to elevate and advance our Beyond Boundaries vision and the priorities outlined in our university strategic plan.
• A cornerstone of this effort is Destination Area 2.0 and the solicitation for proposals for the first phase of Planning and Development Grants. 
• I wish each of you every success this year and look forward to working together to serve and support our students and their academic progress.

Please read the complete welcome back message from Provost Cyril Clarke on the provost’s website.

Additional Resources and Updates

• Undergraduate Admissions seeks help with reading application essays
  Posted-September 1
  Employees, alumni needed to read Ut Prosim Profile essays submitted by prospective students applying for admission to Virginia Tech.
• Perry Street Garage alternative exit to be implemented
  Posted-August 27
  Alternative vehicular exit from the garage will be available to help relieve traffic congestion and decrease wait times to exit.
• Call for proposals for the Conference on Higher Education Pedagogy
  Posted-August 26
  Proposals for sessions focused on effective instructional practices and research for improving quality of teaching, learning in higher education.
• Search committee for dean of College of Architecture, Arts, and Design
  Updated-August 26
  AAD’s next dean will lead a newly reorganized college that offers greater visibility for arts, design, and architecture programs at Virginia Tech.
• Board of Visitors meeting recap, president’s contract extension
  Posted-August 24
  Board of Visitors voted unanimously to extend the contract of President Tim Sands through the end of the academic year in 2027.
• New dashboard provides updates on IT Transformation program
  Posted-August 24
  Dashboard provides a succinct overview of active and future projects, as well as detailed information about each active project.