November Updates from the Faculty Center
Save the Date! - Friday 2/27/26
15th Annual Faculty Center Conference—In Person
Next-Gen Learning: AI in Higher Education Teaching and Learning
The Faculty Center will be welcoming Dr. Lance Eaton, the senior associate director of AI in teaching and learning at Northeastern
University, for this year’s annual conference. His work engages with the possibility
of digital tools for expanding teaching and learning communities, while considering
the profound issues and questions that educational technologies open up for students,
faculty, and higher ed as a whole. He has engaged with scores of higher education
institutions about navigating the complexities and possibilities that generative AI
represents for us at this moment. Dr. Eaton's musings, reflections, and ramblings
on AI and education can be found on his blog.
Kindly RSVP for the conference here.
Faculty Center Awards
Nominations will be accepted through Friday, December 19, 2025
The Faculty Center Awards are funded by the Farmingdale College Foundation.
We invite you to nominate candidates for the Faculty Center Awards. The Faculty Center
celebrates faculty in different areas of their practice including:
- Innovative Pedagogy
- Outstanding Faculty Mentorship
- Outstanding Publication in STEM
- Outstanding Publication in Humanities
- Inclusive Pedagogy
- Online Course of Distinction
For eligibility and selection criteria, to nominate a candidate, or apply for an award,
please visit the Faculty Center Awards webpage. Submissions are due by December 19, 2025.
Previous award winners can be seen on the Faculty Center site. All awards will be
presented at the Faculty Center’s Annual Conference on February 27, 2026.
Please email questions to Jennifer Jaiswal: jaiswaja@farmingdale.edu.
Upcoming Workshop
Faculty Learning Community - How Humans Learn
Final discussion: Authenticity and Failure
Thursday 11/13/25
11 a.m. - 12 p.m.
This term we are reading How Humans Learn by Joshua R. Eyler. There are a limited
number of physical copies available, so please email Jennifer Jaiswal for availability. The e-book is available using your credentials at the FSC Library.
Joshua R. Eyler identifies five broad themes running through recent scientific inquiry—curiosity,
sociality, emotion, authenticity, and failure—devoting a chapter to each and providing
practical takeaways for busy teachers. He also interviews and observes college instructors
across the country, placing theoretical insight in dialogue with classroom experience.
Reminders from the SUNY Center for Professional Development (CPD)
We are pleased to announce that the SUNY CPD will sponsor two Task Groups this year:
- Experiential Learning: From Curriculum to Career
FACT2 Experiential Learning Task Group Signup
While approaches to experiential learning vary, SUNY has focused on curricular experiences
that are structured, intentional and authentic (Applied Learning Initiative), and
integrated within credit-based courses or programs of study. Experiences should have
hands-on and/or real-world context and should be designed in concert with those who
will be affected by or use them, or in response to a real situation. Additional expectations
include intentional curricular design featuring minimal requirements, with opportunity
for further customization and signature offerings.
Co-chairs: Mara Huber (mbhuber@buffalo.edu) and Ed Beck (ed.beck@oneonta.edu)
…
FACT2 Generative AI in Action Task Group Signup
As faculty, staff, and students continue to navigate the changing landscape of Generative
Artificial Intelligence (GAI), ongoing guidance and support is needed to ensure that
these tools are being leveraged in ways that support effective teaching and student
success. This group will focus on the use and application of GAI in various teaching
contexts, focusing on positive ways to use GAI. The group will comprise three subcommittees,
each tasked with specific goals that will result in the creation of resources and
information designed to meet the pressing needs of the SUNY faculty and students.
Co-chairs: Jeffrey Riman (jeffrey_riman@fitnyc.edu) and Billie Franchini (bfranchini@albany.edu)
