Week of January 9-13

Reminder from Provost Cyril Clarke: Inventory and strengthening of IT security controls

As part of Virginia Tech’s IT Transformation Program, we are in the process of strengthening IT security controls. A key first step is to conduct an inventory of university-owned IT systems and software.

Many units have started this inventory already, but we need to accelerate the effort, so I am asking all academic units to complete this inventory, using a risk assessment tool, no later than March 3, 2023.

This work is being supported by the university’s IT Security Office and you or your IT personnel are encouraged to seek assistance by emailing itso@vt.edu. We will share an update on our progress at the next Virginia Tech Board of Visitors meeting.

In addition, please be reminded that all university-owned computers must be secured in accordance with University Minimum Security Standards and administrator privileges must comply with the University Computer Administrator Access Standard. As a best practice, computing assets that are no longer used or required should be decommissioned and transferred to Virginia Tech Surplus Property.

Should any questions arise concerning IT security compliance, cybersecurity risk assessment, administrator privileges, or decommissioning of non-essential IT assets, please contact college/department IT administrators and/or the IT Security Office. I realize that this work is both complicated and burdensome, but it is necessary to secure our ongoing ability to achieve our university mission.

Thank you for your support in accomplishing this important task.

TLOS: Kickoff the new year, spring semester with Top 10 for Spring 2023

At the start of the new year, we tend to think about new beginnings and setting goals. Technology-enhanced Learning and Online Strategies (TLOS) had something of a new beginning this past fall when it moved from the Division of IT to the Provost’s Office. While reporting lines have changed, TLOS will continue to offer the same services to the university community in support of teaching goals and improving student learning through the thoughtful application of educational technologies.

As classes get underway next week, here are ten things TLOS hopes will help faculty prepare for a successful spring 2023 semester.

1. Try Gradescope in Canvas courses – Gradescope, a Canvas-integrated assessment platform, offers flexible options for grading paper-based, digital, and bubble-sheet quizzes, exams, and homework assignments.
2. Submit an XCaliber Award nomination – The XCaliber Award celebrates courses and significant projects that demonstrate the exemplary use of technology and student-centered pedagogy.
3. Choose accessible learning materials – The TLOS Accessible Technologies team provides a collection of services and software to help make course materials accessible.
4. Check out Canvas New Quizzes – New Quizzes is an assessment engine that integrates with Canvas, allowing faculty to access and utilize new features.
5. Add LinkedIn Learning videos to courses – LinkedIn Learning offers more than 17,000 on-demand courses and learning paths designed to help users gain new skills and knowledge.
6. Request a Cloud-Based Computer Lab – Adding a cloud-based computer lab to a Canvas course provides students convenient access to many popular software options with a consistent desktop experience for all users.
7. Consider using the modernized Blogs@VT platform – Blogging can be used to enhance course interaction and student learning. TLOS provides the Blogs@VT WordPress platform for course-based or degree-related sites.
8. Schedule meetings in Canvas using the Zoom calendar function – An update to the Canvas Zoom integration calendar function now pushes scheduled meetings to appear accurately on the Canvas Calendar for everyone in a Canvas course.
9. Register for professional development workshops – Featured topics include outreach and engagement, inclusive pedagogy, assessment, teaching and learning, and research.
10. Get Technical Support – Have a question about using our software or services? Search the 4Help Knowledge Base for step-by-step instructions, request a consultation, or submit a 4Help incident for technical assistance.

For complete descriptions and additional information on these opportunities and resources, please visit the TLOS Top 10 for Spring 2023 website.

Faculty Affairs: Join colleagues for Faculty Lunch and Learn, and Elements workshops

Faculty Affairs, in partnership with TLOS, offers Virginia Tech faculty a number of online workshops, webinars and support services throughout the academic year. These resources and informational sessions are available through the TLOS Professional Development Network.

Faculty Lunch and Learn: Every Semester Needs a Plan
Friday, January 20: 12:00 – 2:30 p.m.
University Mall, TLOS Classroom 2104 (free parking)

• Do you often start the semester or term with high hopes for your writing projects, but end disappointed by your actual productivity? 
• Do you desperately want (or need) to write a lot this semester? 
• Do you want to figure out how to be more productive AND enjoy your life this semester?

During this recorded webinar from the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity, you'll have an opportunity to identify personal and professional goals, create a strategic plan to accomplish them, and identify the types of community, support and accountability needed to make this your most productive and balanced semester.

This in-person session is facilitated by Dr. Barbara Lockee, associate vice provost for Faculty Affairs, and includes a complimentary lunch. Registrationfor this session is required.

Elements Faculty Activity System: Overview & Updates

Join Ginny Pannabecker, assistant dean and director of research collaboration and engagement in University Libraries, for a refresher and/or an introduction to Elements. Elements is a faculty activity repository used for department and college data, institutional analytics and reports, experts public profiles, and a primary data source for electronic faculty activity reports (eFARs). Topics will include:

• An overview of system functionality 
• How to optimize automatic updates of scholarly works 
• How to import scholarly works and manually add/edit all types of activity information 
• How to deposit scholarly works into VTechWorks for open access 
• How to generate reports through the University Data Commons 
• How to manage information in the Virginia Tech Experts profile system that draws faculty activity data from Elements

Several online sessions are available throughout the spring 2023 semester. Registration is required through the Professional Development Network.

Virginia Tech: Campus events set to honor the life, legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Virginia Tech is hosting a series of campus activities and events during the week of January 16 to honor and celebrate the life, legacy and work of civil rights icon and activist, Martin Luther King, Jr.

The week will feature “A Conversation with Ruth E. Carter,” a preeminent visual storyteller and costume designer whose work has spanned more than 60 television and film projects including Do the Right Thing, Malcom X, Crooklyn, Amistad, Selma, Coming to America 2, and Marvel's Black Pantherfor which she was recognized with an Academy Award in 2019.

Virginia Tech’s Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration events are free to attend and open to the public. Registration/tickets may be required for some events.

Monday, January 16:

• Annual MLK Jazz Brunch
  12:00 - 2:30 p.m. – Moss Arts Center
• Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Campus March and Reception (Theta Iota chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity)
  1:00 p.m. March starting location at Peddrew-Yates Hall
  Reception at Black Cultural Center in 126 Squires Student Center

Tuesday, January 17:

• MLK Service Project: Food Drive for The Market at Virginia Tech (runs through Friday, January 20)
  There are a number of drop-off locations in Blacksburg and Northern Virginia. See campus announcement for needs and locations.

Wednesday, January 18:

• Panel Discussion: Antisemitism in the Age of Kanye
  6:30 – 7:30 p.m. – Black Cultural Center in 126 Squires Student Center

Thursday, January 19:

• A Conversation with Ruth E. Carter
  6:00 – 7:30 p.m. – Moss Arts Center
  Tickets (free) required to attend

Friday, January 20:

• Living, Learning, & Adaptive Landscapes: How Evolutionary Biology Can Help Us Navigate It All
  12:00 p.m. – Steger Hall Auditorium (1015 Life Science Circle)

For complete information on these MLK celebration events and sponsor acknowledgements, please read this campus notice.

ICYMI: Application deadline for Pre-Tenure Pandemic Course Relief Program for 2023-24

Applications for the Pre-Tenure Pandemic Course Relief Program for academic year 2023-24 are due to department heads, chairs, and school directors by January 31. Completed applications are due to Faculty Affairs from colleges by February 11.

The Pre-Tenure Pandemic Course Relief Program is intended to help mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on faculty advancement. It provides a one-course buyout in one semester for pre-tenure tenure-track faculty negatively impacted by the pandemic.

The Provost’s Office will provide up to $5,000 in matching funds to the faculty member’s college or department for a one-course buyout to be used prior to their mandatory promotion and tenure year. The goal is to allow additional time for faculty to focus on their research programs as they prepare for promotion and tenure.

Who is eligible for the program? Participants must be pre-tenure tenure track faculty members who started at Virginia Tech prior to academic year 2022-23. This application cycle is limited to only those who can use it to buy out of teaching in spring and fall of 2023 or spring of 2024.

How many faculty members will be able to participate in the program? We expect to be able to fund about 50 faculty in this cycle. We anticipate additional funds will be available in future years to fund more faculty.

How will the recipients be selected? Priority will be given to those faculty who demonstrate substantial pandemic impacts on their ability to conduct research, scholarly, creative, or outreach activities in preparation for promotion and tenure (P&T).

What is the process if the department head does not approve of a faculty member’s request? We ask that all applications for funding be sent on to Faculty Affairs after review by both the department head and dean. This includes applications that are approved as well as those that are not.

For more information and a link to the application form, please visit the Pre-Tenure Pandemic Course Relief Program webpage. Questions may be emailed to Faculty Affairs.

Additional Resources and Updates

• Call for applications for international, outreach awards
  Posted-January 13
  Multiple OIA awards recognize excellence in international education, international outreach, and international research.
• ICAT Playdate: Future of Work
  Posted-January 10
  January 27 event will include an overview of Virginia Tech’s newly formed Center for the Future of Work Places and Practices.
• University Libraries announces new open access agreements
  Posted-January 9
  New agreements bring access to journals from Cambridge University Press, International Water Association, and the Institute of Physics.
• Executive Briefing Center in Arlington booking now for 2023
  Posted-January 6
  Facility is available to host meetings and events and accepts reservations up to a year in advance of the desired meeting date.
• Conflict of interest rules apply to purchase of goods, services
  Posted-January 5
  State and Local Government Conflict of Interests Act applies to all employees and outlines acceptable practices of doing business.
• COVID bivalent booster clinic scheduled for January 19
  Posted-January 3
  Both Pfizer and Moderna versions of the COVID-19 bivalent booster vaccinations will be available to employees. Registration is required.