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Week of July 10-14

2023

OIA: Perspectives, feedback needed on global engagement at Virginia Tech

Outreach and International Affairs is asking the university community to take part in an online survey to share their perspectives on global engagement at Virginia Tech. The survey will only take about ten minutes to complete.

Executive Vice President and Provost Cyril Clarke has convened a working group on global engagement to draft a white paper providing guidance for strategic, university wide approaches to enhancing the internationalization of Virginia Tech. In support of this important effort, an anonymous survey has been created for faculty, staff, and students to provide their perspectives and feedback on global engagement.

For more information, please read this campus notice or email Kim Rhodes in Outreach and International Affairs.

Undergraduate Education and Department of Sociology: Workshop on ChatGPT as a tool

Virginia Tech faculty and instructors are invited to a 90-minute workshop titled, “ChatGPT as a Tool, Rather than a Threat: Re-Envision Student Writing Assessment.” The workshop will be offered virtually via Zoom from 12:00 – 1:30 p.m. on July 20 and August 8.

The interactive workshop is designed to help faculty to reevaluate their teaching methods, particularly the assessment of writing, in the presence of ChatGPT and other generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools. During each session, attendees will receive information and examples as well as a space to redesign assignments. These resources will help faculty to further develop skills relevant to the ever-changing higher education environment.

There is no cost to attend the workshop, but registration is required for either the July 20 or August 8 session. Participants are asked to bring a previous assignment they have used that they would be open to altering in a way that requires students to use ChatGPT and build critical thinking skills around the use of this model.

As part of this immersive training experience, the event hosts kindly request that all participants try using ChatGPT beforehand to familiarize themselves with its functionalities. This will enable attendees to actively engage in the workshop discussions and make the most out of the learning experience.

For more information and a Zoom link for the workshop, please visit the registration page for the July 20 or August 8 session, or email Bonnie Zare in the Department of Sociology.

Provost’s Office: Celebrate internship programs, partners during Virginia Intern Day

Virginia Tech is joining with SCHEV, Virginia colleges and universities, and partner companies and organizations across the commonwealth to celebrate Virginia Intern Day (VID) on Thursday, July 27. Virginia Intern Day is an opportunity to recognize employers who have provided robust internship programs that benefit our future leaders of tomorrow and highlight interns’ pivotal contributions to our ever-changing workforce.

VID will take place in concert with National Intern Day as a way to energize stakeholders about the powerful impact that work-based learning has on students. It is also an opportunity to recognize students as well as the departments, faculty, and staff who are instrumental in delivering a variety of experiential learning opportunities.

Through Virginia Tech’s commitment to provide students with ways to learn experientially through place-based opportunities, we celebrate our programs and initiatives that help to advance the university’s strategic plans to engage students in internships and similar career-related experiences. These include, but are not limited to:  

Along with these university-wide programs, each college offers information and a variety of opportunities and resources to support students seeking internships and engagement with partner companies and organizations.

For more information on Virginia Intern Day, please visit the VID website.

Student Affairs: Hokie Helpers needed to welcome students, assist with fall move-in

Virginia Tech Student Affairs is gearing up to welcome our incoming class of new Hokies with Fall Move-In and Weeks of Welcome, and is seeking faculty and staff volunteers to assist students and families as they arrive on campus.

The Hokie Helpers program supports new and returning students as they move into residence halls. Hokie Helper volunteers come from all over the university and community to showcase the university motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve). Dressed in their signature blue shirts and stationed at blue tents, Hokie Helper volunteers provide information, welcome new students and their families, give directions, check out moving carts, unload vehicles, transport belongings, manage logistics, and distribute water bottles to students and families in need of a break from the heat.

Volunteers for this fall are needed during move-in from August 14-21, and for Weeks of Welcome events from August 15-September 1. Shifts range from three to six hours depending on the task, and volunteers may sign up for just one or as many as their schedule allows.

For more information, please access the online iVolunteer form to view available shifts and sign up.

ICYMI: Special leave for faculty recipients of prestigious, highly prestigious awards

In an effort to provide support to recipients of prestigious and highly prestigious awards, both for the benefit of the faculty member and to help increase the university’s share of these awards, Special Leave (Faculty Handbook Section 2.14.2) is available to help faculty secure the time and flexibility necessary to participate in the requisite activities of the award.

In the past, on an ad hoc basis, Faculty Affairs has worked with individual faculty members on the use of Special Leave to help them take advantage of these opportunities. However, it is likely that many faculty are not aware of this option and may have passed up opportunities to apply for prestigious or highly prestigious awards or fellowships as a result.

Faculty Affairs is preparing to communicate more widely the details of this option and will work with faculty members and their department and college to appropriately structure the use of Special Leave to support participation in award activities. In so doing, Faculty Affairs will abide by the following:

  • Work to ensure there is no financial “penalty” to the faculty member for taking this opportunity, especially as it relates to the additional costs that would be incurred while they are in residence elsewhere while maintaining their primary residence. 
  • Wherever possible, protect a faculty member’s eligibility for taking a research leave, so they do not have to use their earned research leave to take advantage of their award opportunity. 
  • Recognize and try to account for the financial needs of the department in covering classes or other responsibilities while the faculty member is in residence elsewhere. 
  • Prioritize the use of Special Leaves for faculty who receive prestigious and highly prestigious awards as defined by the AAU.

For more information on eligibility and use of Special Leave to support recipients of prestigious and highly prestigious awards, please contact your department head/chair or school director, or email Rachel Gabriele, associate vice provost for Faculty Affairs.

Additional Resources and Updates

If you have comments or recommendations for how we can improve the Weekly Communications Update or suggestions for information that should be shared with faculty, staff, and academic program personnel, please provide them through this Google form or email Provost Communications.

Please 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.