Fall 2026 Events
(scroll down for year-long programming)
Professional Development Day, Wednesday September 2
The Provost’s Office and the Center for the Innovation in the Liberal Arts (CILA) invite all faculty and staff to participate in a Professional Development Day on September 2. The event kicks off with an Academic Affairs Update by Provost Tarshia Stanley at 12:30 p.m., followed by three 45-minute professional development periods. There will be several concurrent sessions held during each period. Snacks and beverages will be provided between periods.
Please fill out this form by August 26 to let us know if you plan to attend the event and which of the sessions you are likely to attend. The schedule for the day is outlined below.
- 12–3 p.m. Registration Opens Outside Tomson Hall 280
- 12:30–1:30 p.m. Academic Affairs Update from Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Tarshia Stanley in Tomson Hall 280
- 1:45–2:30 p.m. Faculty and Staff Learning Sessions Block #1 (Locations Across Campus)
- 2:45–3:30 p.m. Faculty and Staff Learning Sessions Block #2 (Locations Across Campus)
- 3:45–4:30 p.m. Faculty and Staff Learning Sessions Block #3 (Locations Across Campus)
- 4:30 p.m. End of Day
Pedagogies of Abolition
Led by Lau Malaver, Assistant Professor of Race, Ethnic, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Jaden Janak, Assistant Professor of History, Tuesday October 6, 2026, 3:30pm-4:30, CAD 202.
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This workshop addresses abolitionist approaches to education inside and outside the academy. Participants will engage with the following questions: How can educators use pedagogies derived from social movements within their classrooms? What does socially-engaged pedagogy look like in the belly of the beast? What responsibility do educators have to their communities and what are they willing to risk for justice?
Slow Looking in the Flaten Museum
Led by Michon Weeks, Associate Professor of Practice, Art and Art History. Thursday October 22, 2026, 4:00-5:00pm, Flaten Art Museum.
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Join artist Michon Weeks in the Flaten Art Museum for an introduction to her show Mystic Topographies and a workshop on slow looking. Participants will first hear from Weeks about her work and then engage in a 15-minute slow looking exercise with a painting in the exhibition. The workshop will close with an all-participant discussion of the slow looking process and how the practice could be of use in the classroom and in our working lives. The gallery is open until 8pm on Thursdays, so participants can take more time in the exhibit after the event.
If you’d like an introduction to slow looking, read this brief essay by art historian Jennifer Roberts on immersive attention, published in Harvard Magazine, Oct 15, 2013.
If you’d like to delve more deeply, have a look at: Shari Tishman, Slow Looking : The Art and Practice of Learning through Observation. New York: Routledge, 2018. You can access the whole book in the library at this link.
Advancing Sustainability Across our Curriculum, from individual courses to entire departments and programs
Led by members of the Advance Sustainable Development Goals Implementation Team. Tuesday, November 10, 2026, 12:00–1:00pm, BC 142. Lunch provided.
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Join colleagues from across campus for an update on sustainability and a chance to envision how the curriculum can advance our goals in this area. Explore how existing courses already contribute to this part of the strategic plan, and imagine how a current or new course, or even an entire program, could connect the OLE Core with sustainability competencies. Consider how your course or program might draw on partnerships both on and off campus to help the college move toward longer-term goals like carbon neutrality, community resilience, just pathways, and informed, creative planning.
2026-27 Year-long Reading, Writing, and Talking groups
Writing Alone, Together
CILA is happy to sponsor writing groups and workshops for faculty and staff during the 2026-27 academic year. Click here to learn more!
AI Experimenters: Community of Practice
For faculty and staff who are actively experimenting with AI tools to enhance their work at the college, be it teaching, administration, leadership, or other realms. Recommended readings will complement informal conversation with peers. More information coming soon. Click here to express your interest.
bell hooks Pedagogy Reading Group
This year’s reading group is centered on bell hooks’ three books on pedagogy. If you’re not familiar with bell hooks, read a brief biography here. We will meet three times each semester for discussions over a shared meal, snacks, and/or drinks. Click here to learn more.
Mid-career Faculty Community
Are you a mid-career faculty member who would like to discuss ways to prioritize what matters to you at this busy stage of your career? For the purposes of this reading group, mid-career is defined as teaching faculty of any rank and appointment type who are between these two milestones: about seven years after receiving a terminal degree and about ten years before retirement. Click here for more information.
CILA on the Road!
Is there an idea or an issue that your department/program would like to work on during the 2026-27 academic year? CILA is here to help! Click here for information on how to get started.
If you have an idea for an event, please get in touch with Nancy Thompson: thompsn@stolaf.edu.