Consortium of colleges and universities dedicated to professional development
The Faculty Collaborative
Spring 2023 Programs
The Faculty Collaborative (TFC) is a new consortium of colleges and universities dedicated to professional development and support. Its agenda is to identify the most pressing issues that confront faculty, explore best practices to address them, and provide expert training and support for their implementation. The Faculty Collaborative must cope with the reality of the continuing pandemic. As a result, our programs currently are virtual. In the future, The Faculty Collaborative will sponsor in-person activities along with virtual programs and confidential teaching consultations throughout the year.
During the Fall and Spring academic semesters, The Faculty Collaborative offers a virtual series of (1) FREE faculty development workshops, (2) FREE special disciplinary seminars, and (3) FREE individual confidential teaching consultations for faculty members at participating TFC member institutions. (See past programs below.)
Workshops
Previous workshops have explored a wide range of topics from Motivating Student Learning, Time Management for Busy Academics, to Writing a Book Proposal and Securing a Publishing Contract. Recent workshop leaders have included Dr. Robert DiYanni, a professor of humanities at New York University (NYU) and a former instructional consultant for the NYU Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Dr. Mary Deane Sorcinelli, Professor Emeritus and Senior Fellow, Center for Teaching and Learning, University of Massachusetts, Amherst. (See past programs below.)
Teaching Consultations
During the Fall and Spring semesters, Professors DiYanni and Sorcinelli also will be available for individual consultations on aspects of teaching and related professional growth to be determined by individuals who sign up for the service. These half-hour consultations, conducted via Zoom, are meant to help teachers respond effectively to challenges faced as they teach and develop their careers. Topics will be determined by participating faculty members. Consultations will be offered on a rolling basis from late September through early November.
Special Disciplinary Programs
In Spring 2022, TFC introduced special disciplinary programs that were convened by eminent scholars in their fields. (See past programs below.)
Coming Up
TFC
Spring 2023 Programs
Learn more about the upcoming programs by selecting one of the blue links below.
Engaging Students in Learning: Effective Teaching Practices
With Robert DiYanni
February 15, 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. (EST) (Session I)
February 15, 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. (EST) (Session II)
The single most important challenge confronting us as teachers is to engage our students in their learning. Meeting that challenge successfully is critical for effective teaching and productive student learning. In this workshop we will consider, under two broad categories, specific ways to engage students: (1) motivating students to learn; (2) using active learning classroom practices. Participants can expect to come away with practical teaching/learning strategies to apply immediately in the classroom.
APPLY FOR THE 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM SESSION (EST) — Wednesday, February 15
APPLY FOR THE 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM SESSION (EST) — Wednesday, February 15
February 15, 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. (EST) (Session I)
February 15, 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. (EST) (Session II)
Publishing Your Book: An Introductory Overview
February 22, 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. (EST) (Session I)
February 22, 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. (EST) (Session II)
What is involved in getting a book published with an academic publisher? What do you need to do to bring an idea for a book to published reality? This workshop provides an introduction to the first important steps in the process: (1) writing a book proposal; (2) working with an editor; (3) securing and evaluating a book contract. Participants can expect to come away understanding how to get a book published by an academic press—and how to get the process underway.
APPLY FOR THE 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. SESSION (EST) — Wednesday, February 15
APPLY FOR THE 11:00 A.M. – 12:30 P.M. SESSION (EST) — Wednesday, February 15
February 22, 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. (EST) (Session I)
February 22, 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. (EST) (Session II)

Professor DiYanni also will be available for individual consultations on aspects of teaching to be determined by individuals who sign up for the service. These half-hour consultations, conducted via Zoom, are meant to help teachers respond effectively to challenges faced in their teaching. Topics will be determined by participating faculty members. Consultations will be offered on a rolling basis from late February through April.
A Multivoice, Multidisciplinary Approach to Enhance Students’ Worldviews and Academic Outcomes
With Kassie Freeman
February 17, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (EST)
There is no denying that we live in a globalized world, and that broadly educated students need to be aware of views and perspectives outside of their own. As Banks (2014) indicated, “Many worldwide trends and developments are challenging the notion of educating students to function in one nation-state. These trends include the ways in which people are moving back and forth across national borders, the rights of movement permitted by the European Union.”
However, it is not just the movement across borders; it is interconnectedness through communication digitally/technologically, connection and exchange through commerce, worldwide environmental planning and programming, shared health and healthcare implementation, and social justice demonstrations and support. These connections and interactions make single nation and narrow views that are constructed and delivered via current educational paradigms obsolete.
In our one-hour discussion, we will define why a different approach to education is necessary, regardless of subject content, and how instructional approaches can be planned and delivered in ways to broaden students’ worldviews and perspectives. This different approach provides students more agency and voice in their learning while enhancing their academic outcomes.
Our discussion will be based on the curriculum that we have developed and implemented for students and artists studying together across the African Diaspora.
APPLY FOR THIS SESSION 11:00 P.M. – 12:00 P.M. (EST) — Friday, February 17
February 17, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (EST)
Kassie Freeman currently serves as the founding President and CEO of the African Diaspora Consortium (ADC), a 501(c)3 global organization whose mission is to positively impact economic, educational, health and healthcare, and artistic opportunities and outcomes across the African Diaspora, with a particular focus on populations dispersed during the transatlantic slave trade and different migration periods, e.g., the Caribbean, Europe, Latin America, and North America. She also currently serves as Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Urban and Minority Education, Teachers College, Columbia University, ADC’s lead partner along with Tuskegee University and the University of Notre Dame. Under her leadership, ADC has developed, and is offering, the first College Board approved Advanced Placement (AP) Seminar with African Diaspora Content globally. This accomplishment has been highlighted in the Washington Post, The Hill, and other media outlets. Additionally, ADC has launched an African Diaspora Lecture Series, highly global thought leaders, and held an inaugural event at the Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York with leading artists, Delfeayo Marsalis and Randy Jackson, highlighting the role of the arts connecting lives and uplifting communities historically and culturally across the African Diaspora. In recognition of her leadership, Diverse Issues in Higher Education named her one of the 2019 Top 35 Women in Higher Education in the USA. Also, the Higher Education Leadership Foundation presented her with the Dr. Eugene D. Stevenson Jr. Lifetime Higher Education Achievement Award, and recently selected her to serve as an inaugural Senior Fellow, serving as a strategic thought leader for aspiring HBCU leaders.
Prior to her current presidency, she was elected by the Board to serve as Interim President of the Southern University System, the nation’s only Historically Black College System. As System President, she provided oversight for the System’s five campuses. Before being named as Interim President, she was the third and first woman System Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs and tenured professor at the Southern University and A & M College System and Professor of Education. She has held leadership positions at some of the highest ranked higher education institutions in the USA, including serving as the first Dean for Academic Advancement at Bowdoin College, where she was a member of the President’s senior cabinet and was responsible for assisting the College with developing programs to ensure that all students reached their academic potential.
She is the author of five books and has been a faculty member at Peabody College, Vanderbilt University and Dean of Educational Studies and tenured professor at Dillard University.
Working in the New Normal — The Cyber Threat Landscape
February 24, 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. (EST) (Session I)
The Working in the New Normal – The Cyber Threat Landscape presentation, is intended for faculty from any discipline to learn about how educational institutions and corporations are working now, post the COVID-19 pandemic. It will take you through what working in the new normal is like, what the cybersecurity threats and risks are, why COVID-19 has made us vulnerable, what to do, and some good remote working tips. This will be an interactive presentation with information and ideas presented that will help you understand the security risks that are out there and what you could do as a faculty member to mitigate those risks and create a productive work environment for yourself.
APPLY FOR THI SESSION 10:30 A.M. – 11:30 A.M. SESSION (EST) — Friday, February 24
February 24, 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. (EST)

Updating/Constructing Your Syllabus
March 2, 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. (EST)
March 8, 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. (EST)
It is time to teach that course again. Whether it’s one that you love or one that hasn’t been such a great experience, your syllabus that will cover the necessary material and critically guide your students. Maybe a few years have gone by, and you need a new approach. Or the area of study has been expanded and your syllabus must incorporate additional topics. How do you update your tried-and-true methods? What assignments might you think about adding (or modifying)? And how do you accommodate different learning modes? What are some effective guidelines for “pacing” the semester? These are some of the questions that this workshop will explore. (Kindly note: Participants are invited to share a syllabus that they plan to teach.)
APPLY FOR THIS SESSION 11:00 A.M. – 12:30 P.M. SESSION (EST) — Thursday, March 2
APPLY FOR THIS SESSION 11:00 A.M. – 12:30 P.M. SESSION (EST) — Wednesday, March 8
March 2, 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. (EST)
March 8, 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. (EST)
Michael Dinwiddie is a playwright and associate professor of dramatic writing at the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at New York University. In 2018 his play Actuary was produced in Louisville in the Black Lives Matter Festival, and in February 2020 his play Invisible Life will be part of the Genesis Festival at Crossroads Theatre. Michael’s courses include James Reese Europe and American Music; Poets in Protest: Footsteps to Hip Hop; Dramatizing History; Sissle, Blake & the Minstrel Tradition, and Motown Matrix: Issues of Gender, Identity and Sexuality in ‘The Sound of Young America.’ A contributing editor to Black Masks Magazine, he has also written articles and reviews for Crisis Magazine, Third World Press, Advertising Age, and Dance Research Journal. Michael is a former board member of the Classical Theatre of Harlem, the Duke Ellington Center for the Arts, and the New Federal Theatre. His honors include an NEA Fellowship in Playwriting, a Walt Disney Fellowship at Touchstone Pictures, the National Black Theatre 2013 Spirit Award, NYU’s Distinguished Teaching Medal, and an inductee into the College of Fellows of the American Theatre. Michael is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Writers Guild of America, and the Association for Theatre in Higher Education.
Gender and Sexuality in Film and the Mass Media
March 10, 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. (EST)
How can we account for the appeal of the screen personae of Lillian Gish and Douglas Fairbanks to audiences of the 1910s and 1920s, of Barbara Stanwyck and William Powell to audiences of the 1930s and 1940s, of Marilyn Monroe, Rock Hudson and John Wayne to audiences the of the 1950s and 1960s, of Pam Grier or Jane Fonda to the 1970s, or of Halle Berry, Tom Cruise, Kanye West, Taylor Swift, Jennifer Lopez, or Angelina Jolie today? Their popularity must be understood with relation to the specific social and cultural contexts in which they appeared. Each persona possessed great resonance for its own era but can hardly be imagined affecting a different era in a similar way. Imagine a Hollywood film featuring Pam Grier in the 1920s or one with Lillian Gish today? Gender images that resonate deeply for one era can seem preposterous for another. Why, and what pedagogical pertinence does this issue have? How do our students relate to these images and at times model themselves upon them? How might this affect their apprehension of what we teach?
A related and complex issue involves the significance of the offscreen lives and sexualities of behind-the-camera presences of directors such as Dorothy Arzner, Pedro Almodovar, Alfred Hitchcock, and George Cukor upon their works.
This seminar explores the diversity of ways in which gender and sexuality have been represented in (primarily Hollywood) films and the mass media over the past century and establishes contexts for understanding the socio-cultural significance of some of them. It also examines the presence, and absence, of women, gays, and transgender people behind the camera and addresses questions whose answers vary substantially with the era to which they apply. Those questions include, among others: what is a woman and what is a man, what agency do they have in determining their professional fates or in resisting unacceptable options imposed upon them, what are the power relations between women and men, what are the social roles and responsibilities available to women, what is an admirable/subversive/desirable/transgressive woman/man/non-binary person, and what are progressive and reactionary images of women/men?
The seminar draws upon theoretical and critical approaches developed within the fields of Feminist Film Studies, Masculinity Studies, Art History, Literary and Cultural Studies, LGBTQ Studies, pedagogical practice, and Social History. It explores representations of gender and sexuality with attention to race, nation, age, and genre as well as practices and politics within the film and mass media industries. It also discusses images of women and men with reference to those simultaneously circulating in the culture at large as well as ways in which such images have changed over time.
Pertinent readings and films will serve as touchstones for class discussion. The responses to these materials, drawing upon the cultural and pedagogical backgrounds of seminar members, are an important component of the seminar. The seminar engages material pertinent to many disciplines and we will discuss ways in which we can incorporate its content into diverse curricula.
Films for reference –
Broken Blossoms (1919)
Victor/Victoria (1982)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011).
Suggested Reading – Thinking About Movies: Watching, Questioning, Enjoying by Peter Lehman and William Luhr, 4th Edition, Wiley-Blackwell, 2018.
APPLY FOR THI SESSION 11:30 A.M.- 1:00 P.M. SESSION (EST) — Friday, March 10
March 10, 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. (EST)
William Luhr is Professor of English and Film at Saint Peter’s University and Co-Chair of the faculty-level Columbia University Seminar on Cinema and Interdisciplinary Interpretation. His recent books include Film Noir for Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, 2012 (Chinese edition, 2014) and Screening Genders (Co-edited with Krin Gabbard) for Rutgers University Press, 2008. The fourth edition of his Thinking About Movies: Watching, Questioning, Enjoying (co-authored with Peter Lehman) appeared from Wiley-Blackwell Publishing in 2018. Luhr’s writings have been published widely and he lectures in both national and international venues.
The Professoriate and the First Amendment: A Threatened Relationship
Audrey Wolfson Latourette, M.A., J.D., Distinguished Professor of Public Law
March 31, 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. (EDT)
The vigilant protection of the First Amendment is nowhere more vital than in the community of American public schools and universities – “a true marketplace of ideas” as articulated by the U.S. Supreme Court in Healy v. James, 408 U.S, 169 (1972). And while private universities are not bound to uphold the First Amendment, many advertise themselves as bastions of free speech where all viewpoints are expressed and thus are held to such standards premised upon the reasonable expectations of students. Freedom of speech is recognized by the United Nations and by the laws of many countries. A plethora of litigation in the U.S. was engendered by the violation of First Amendment rights with regard to students’ exercise of that right: a student distributing copies of the Constitution on Constitution Day, but without a permit, was penalized for doing so; speech codes at numerous universities have substantially restricted First Amendment rights; and a doctoral student was expelled due to her social media content. In every instance, the university action was deemed violative of the First Amendment. FIRE, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, represented students asserting violations of their freedom of speech.
In 2021, a wave of litigation ensued addressing the manner in which the First Amendment rights of the professoriate in the U.S. have been wrongfully violated. In the relative absence of advocacy by the ACLU, FIRE, now named the Foundation for Individual Rights in Expression, has now represented faculty in a broad array of cases wherein the First Amendment rights of the professoriate were violated. Examples abound: professors are banned from offering expert testimony in a voting rights case; left leaning professors are severely penalized for engaging in parody with regard to a conservative professorial colleague; a math professor’s employment was terminated who mocked the concept of microaggressions; a widely recognized expert’s presentation was cancelled at a prestigious university as he had urged academic evaluations should be solely premised on merit; and a professor is suspended who refused to grade black students more leniently in light of civil unrest, among others. This seminar will review the origin of FIRE which stemmed from the infamous “water buffalo” case at the University of Pennsylvania, its subsequent representation of students asserting First Amendment right violations, and its current focus on those instances wherein faculty freedom of speech has been threatened. The presentation will review recent prominent cases emanating from universities in the U.S. wherein First Amendment violations have been asserted by the professoriate. APPLY FOR THI SESSION 10:00 A.M. – 11:30 A.M. SESSION (EDT) — Friday, March 31March 31, 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. (EDT)
Audrey Wolfson Latourette, M.A., J.D., is a cum laude graduate of Temple University School of Law where she was an Associate Editor of the Temple Law Quarterly. Formerly associated with a large Philadelphia law firm, Latourette is a Distinguished Professor of Law at Stockton University. She has given numerous presentations at regional, national and international conferences, garnering several Best Paper and Best Presentation Awards, including the “Distinguished Presentation Award for Outstanding Scholarship” awarded by the Pacific South West Academy of Legal Studies in Business for “First Amendment Rights on University Campuses” and the “Best Paper Award” for “The Future Impact of Women in the Law Profession” awarded by the North East Academy of Legal Studies in Business.
Latourette’s publications address issues such as: sex discrimination in the legal profession, legal and ethical implications of plagiarism, copyright implications of online education, legal issues related to transfer students and relevant policies, legal implications of academic advising, legal issues related to the surrogate mother contract, judicial intervention in the student – university relationship premised on due process and contract theories, Title IX issues of due process and First Amendment rights, and abortion from both an historical perspective and court rulings. Her publications appear in resources such as the Journal of College and University Law, published by the National Association of College and University Attorneys, Journal of Law, Business & Ethics, University of Richmond Law Review, University of Detroit Law Review and the Center for the Study of Federalism, among others. Current research addresses the violation of First Amendment rights on university campuses for both students and the professoriate.
Contact Us
Past Programs
Fall 2022 Workshops With Robert DiYanni
- The Habit of Writing
- Revising Your Writing
- Effective Discussion-based Teaching
- Making Learning Last
Fall 2022 Special Disciplinary Programs
Teaching About Climate Change, Solutions and Justice With David Blockstein, Eban Goodstein, Margaret Wang, and Natalie Marsh
- #makeclimateaclass: Teaching About Climate Change in All Disciplines
- Helping Your Students to Combat Climate Despair
- Subjecttoclimate: a Toolkit for Introductory Higher Education and Secondary Education
- Engaging With Your Museum or Gallery in Climate Education
Fall 2022 Workshop With Margarita Benitez
- Becoming a Leader
Fall 2022 Workshop With Audrey Wolfson Latourette
- Plagiarism: Legal And Ethical Implications For The University
Summer 2022 Workshop With Beverly and Bob Kahn
- How to Write Competitive Grant Proposals
Summer 2022 Workshops With Robert DiYanni4>
- Practicing Critical & Creative Thinking (Three-day Seminar)
Each of the two-hour seminar sessions was self-contained, thus allowing participants to attend anywhere from a single session to the full suite of six sessions—and any number in between.
Day One
Morning:
- Introductions
- What is higher order thinking? Who exemplifies higher order thinking?
- Parables as Provocations
- Going Meta: Parables + / Discussion
Afternoon:
- Why Use and Teach Critical and Creative Thinking Together? Daniel Pink and Sir Ken Robinson
- Parallel Thinking: Six Thinking Hats—Edward de Bono—Application of the hats approach
Day Two
Morning:
- Lateral Thinking: Edward de Bono—Random word exercise
- Thinking With and Through Visuals—Exercises
Afternoon:
- Design Thinking: Principles, Paradoxes & More, Pearson Guide to Thinking, DiYanni
- Thinking about Language: Hayakawa—Connotation and Metaphor, Exercises
Day Three
Morning:
- Creative Thinking I: Roger Von Oech, Creative Whacks and Kicks—Exercises
- Creative Thinking II: Michael Michalko, Thinkertoys & Creative Thinkering—Exercises
Afternoon:
- Decision Thinking: Critical and Creative Thinking, Chapter 6, DiYanni
- Ethics and Thinking: Critical & Creative Thinking, Chapter 5, DiYanni
Spring 2022 Workshops With Robert DiYanni
- Making Learning Last
- Assessment & Grading
- Technology and Teaching
- Writing a Book Proposal and Securing a Publishing Contract
Spring 2022 Workshop With Mary Deane Sorcinelli
- Time Management for Busy Academics
Spring 2022 Special Disciplinary Programs With Michael Dinwiddie
- Castoff Treasures: the Artist/scholar Model in the 21st Century
Scholars share knowledge and explore new ways of thinking through books, articles, lectures, and monographs. Artists likewise illuminate pathways into our humanity with the visual and performing arts. What is the artist/scholar model and where was it developed? Is such a configuration necessary in modern society? What is lost or gained with a bifurcation of these roles? And, how does the artist/scholar model help us discern value and worth in social action and activism? As found objects are reshaped through scholarship and artistic practice, they become treasured works that provide a rich palimpsest for future generations to discover. Featured readings examined the castoff roots of such disparate creators as the Gee Bend Quilters, painter John Singer Sargent, photographer Deb Willis, sculptor Richard Howard Hunt, and singer Lauryn Hill, among others.
Spring 2022 Special Disciplinary Programs With Ali Banuazizi and Thomas Barfield
- Afghanistan: the Land, the People, and the Refugee Crisis
This seminar served as a review and analysis of the last five decades of instability in Afghanistan. It also brought to light the pressing needs of the tens-of-thousands of young Afghans who have been given refuge in the United States and explore ways that TFC institutions can welcome, accommodate, and provide educational opportunities for certain members of these refugee groups.
The first sessions devoted to a brief overview of Afghan history and politics, with a focus on the turbulent decades since the Saur revolution of 1978, including the Soviet invasion and occupation of the country (1979-89), the rise of the Taliban and their first period of rule (early 1990s to 2001), and the twenty-year war and state-building efforts by the U.S. and its Western allies (2001-2021). The destructive impact of these events on the lives and livelihood of ordinary Afghans, the bloody inter-ethnic and sectarian conflicts which they generated or intensified, and the massive flight of millions of Afghans to neighboring countries as refugees will be discussed. Included in this overview accounts of the expanded educational opportunities (particularly for young women) and chances for various kinds of civic engagements, entrepreneurial activities, and employment that developed in Kabul and other major urban centers during these same tumultuous years.
The second session of the seminar focused on the consequences of the precipitous U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the collapse of its central government in August, 2021, and the fate of tens-of-thousands who were lifted out of the country in the final days of that withdrawal and many other politically vulnerable individuals and families who were left behind in desperation. More specifically, the current efforts by the U.S. government, aid agencies, and private groups to settle these refugees (for which the U.S. Congress has allocated over seven billion dollars) will be discussed in detail. The overriding goal of the session pursued in the give-and-takes among the participants and the TFC coordinators exploring ways in which academic institutions—with potential financial support by the government, aid agencies, and philanthropic groups—can accommodate and provide educational opportunities for the younger members of these refugee groups in their respective communities. We should note that efforts similar to the one proposed here are being made by various other groups (most notably U.S. veterans who served in Afghanistan), a recently-formed consortium of universities, and several private philanthropic organizations.
Fall 2021 Workshops With Robert DiYanni
- Motivating Student Learning
- Discussion-based Teaching
- Publishing Your Book: an Overview
- Writing & Learning
Fall 2021 Faculty Focus Groups Convened by Mary Deane Sorcinelli
- Four Faculty Forums