A faculty voice in matters affecting the general welfare of the
University of Alaska system and its educational programs.

Call for session proposals: 

Form to Submit Proposals

Second Annual UA Faculty Alliance Thought Leaders Forum: UA faculty come together to share their thoughts about the important education and research topics of today

 

The Faculty Alliance will host their second annual Thought Leaders Forum for two half days of virtual Zoom meetings, March 27, from 11am to 3pm, and March 28, from 9am to 1pm. This year’s topic is “Universities as a Public and Common Good: Investing in Students, Communities, and Careers.” Is education a public good? Common good? Private good? All three? What do we mean by “public,” “common,” “private,” and “good” in the context of education? As a publicly funded university, the University of Alaska needs to engage in the conversation about the proper role of formal education in contributing to society. Let’s get serious about defining the role of the knowledge, skills, and credentials provided by the University of Alaska toward the future of Alaska and its peoples. The Faculty Alliance is seeking proposals from University of Alaska faculty and others for presentations or panels on the university as a public and common good. 

Categories and possible themes to address: 

 

• Education and knowledge:
• The value of knowledge to individuals and to society
• Academic programs: disciplinary contributions to individual and societal well being beyond economic utility
• Going beyond students as human capital: Critical thinking as a life-skill
• Education and society:
• Education and social capital and mobility
• Education and social cohesion and intercultural fluency
• Education and adaptive resilience in times of change
• Education and addressing social problems
• Universities and an informed public: libraries, information literacies, and the critical analysis of various networks of information
• Education, employment, and economic development
• Academic programs: disciplinary contributions that connect students to communities and careers
• Education and economic mobility
• The role of the university in retaining a resident workforce 
• Workforce development from Occupational Endorsements to Ph.Ds
• Education and community
• Service learning, community engagement, and internships 
• Community and employer investments in the university: Sponsored programs and investments in students
• The educational continuum: partnerships with secondary education
• Reciprocal relationships: Efforts to follow students into their futures and to maintain alumni connection: Where do our students end up and what do they do for Alaska?
• Research contributions: 
• Economic contributions of research and innovation
• Research and social well being of Alaska’s communities
• Research and career opportunities for students
• Research and community partners: Inquiry in response to identified community needs
• Contributions of the Arts and Humanities
• The arts, humanities, and community engagement
• Arts and humanities and education of the whole person
• The arts and humanities as a catalyst for improving mental health
• Understanding cultures through the arts and humanities
• Establishing a shared identity and sense of belonging

 

Proposal Form

Proposals are due: February 10, 2025

Presenters will be notified: February 24, 2025

Schedule will be available: March 3, 2025

 

Format Options:

• Individual Presentation: 20-30 minute presentation. Individual presentations with related or complementary themes will be placed together in combined sessions.
• Group Panel Presentation: 3 to 4 co-presenters coordinated around a specific theme or question for a one hour joint presentation. Panels should reserve 10-15 minutes for questions at the end of the session. Interdisciplinary and/or cross-university collaborations are welcome.

 

Proposals should include a title, the name/s, title, and affiliation of participant/s, and an abstract of 500 words that demonstrates how the proposal addresses the overall topic and thematic area. 

 

Proposals will be evaluated by members of the Faculty Alliance. Groupings of individual presentations for combined sessions will be determined based on submissions received. 

 

For more information contact:

Jennifer Carroll, UAF Faculty Senate Past-President, jlcarroll@alaska.edu 

Jacqueline Cason, UAA, Faculty Senate President, jecason@alaska.edu 

Ali Ziegler, UAS Faculty Senate President-Elect, aaziegler@alaska.edu 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First Annual UA Faculty Alliance Thought Leaders Forum Schedule
Opening Session: Introductions by VP Paul Layer, Jennifer Ward, Jennifer Carroll, and Jackie Cason, and presentation by Ben Shier (Chief Information Technology Officer for UA) & Bill Anker OIT’s (Director for Strategic Initiatives: Systems Office for Information Technology: Artificial Intelligence, data security, and private.
 Recording  Passcode: &4*0Pv?i

March 28 Track A: Sean Holland, with Peter Westley (UAF), “Using AI Voiceovers to Augment Instructor Presence”; Ruth Gastineau (UAF) Slideshow, “AI & Social Media Marketing”; Nathan Feemster, with Retchenda George-Bettisworth (UAF), “Priming Conversations on Ethical Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence in an Online Program”; Arghya Kusum (Argo) Das (UAF), “AI for Research and Education: Where We Are Heading and How We Should Respond?"; Erik Carlson (UAA), “AI Models and AI Products: Layers of Bias”
Recording  Passcode: T20i3B*M

March 28 Track B: Ilana Kingsley (UAF), Jodi Jacques and Ruth Terry (UAA) “Future of Library Research”; Jennifer Tilbury (UAF) “Using AI As A Partner in the Research Process”; Kenrick Mock, Helena Wisniewski, Masoumeh Heidari, Frank Witmer, and Vinod Vasudevan (UAA), “Growing the AI Ecosystem at UAA: Research, Curriculum, & Student Projects"
Recording Passcode: 1d%aaZN=

March 29 Track A: Nathan Feemster (UAF), “Making Project Based Learning Scalable with Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools"; Dan LaSota, UAF Center for Teaching and Learning, “A Year of AI Pedagogical Inquiry and Support from CTL”; Nathan Feemster (UAF), “Detection Feasibility of Artificial Intelligence Derived Text”; James Ryan (UAS), “Against ‘cheating’: Rebooting our response to AI”; Jennifer Moss (UAF) and D'Arcy Hutchings (UAA), “AI and Open Educational Resources: Opportunities and
Pitfalls"; Faculty Alliance Panel: "Knowing What We Know, How Should We Act? An Exploration of Policies for the Future"
Recording Passcode: X#MrF#0W

March 29 Track B: Tori McDermott, with Amy May, Donica Nash, Nike Jacob (UAF), “Impact of AI on academic performance: A Communication Perspective”; Rodger Lewerenz (UAF)
“AI as a Catalyst to Enhance Education and Empower Faculty”; Corrie Whitmore (UAA)., ”Utilizing AI Tools in the Classroom to Deepen Student Learning"; Andrew Harnish (UAA)
“A.I. and Writing Studies: Current Trends and Future Possibilities";  Chris Coffman, with Manuel Melendez (UAF), “Reading, Writing, and Theorizing with AI: Possibilities
and Limitations"
Recording Passcode: ^35bhcHm

Keynote Session: Dr. Tricia Bertram-Gallant: Creating Integrous Classrooms in the GenAI Era
Recording Passcode: wf^63t0b       Keynote Speaker Slides

 

UA faculty, staff, and students will explore the ethical integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into educational practices at our first Faculty Alliance Thought Leaders Forum: A Brave New World: Looking into the Future of AI in Higher Education. The forum will occur via Zoom over two days, Thursday March 28 from 11 to 3 and Friday March 29 from 10 to 2. Presentations include discussions on practical and disciplinary applications of AI in course development, teaching methodologies, learning assessment, and career applications while emphasizing the importance of maintaining academic and degree integrity, as well as discussions regarding the biases and potential ethical implications of AI use in terms of replicating social biases, integrity and authorship, and safeguarding student data and identity. We have presentations from all three universities, including faculty, staff, and administrator presenters.  While each university has been discussing issues of AI in their own academic programs and with their students, we hope that the forum will provide a broader look at the issue and provide an opportunity for increased collaboration across the system. The forum also includes a Keynote address by Dr. Tricia Bertram-Gallant, the Director of the Academic Integrity Office and Triton Testing Center at the University of California San Diego (UCSD).

For more information contact:

Jennifer Carroll, UAF Faculty Senate President, jlcarroll@alaska.edu 

Jacqueline Cason, UAA, Faculty Senate President-Elect, jecason@alaska.edu 

Jennifer Ward, UAS, Faculty Senate Past-President and UA Faculty Alliance Chair, jdbrown@alaska.edu 

Paul Layer, UA Vice President for Academics, Students, and Research, pwlayer@alaska.edu

 

UA Faculty:  AY25 Faculty Initiative Fund!

Faculty Initiative Fund Website

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