Center for the Advancement of Faculty Excellence (CAFE)

Ask any 51�� alumnus or student: “What is Ohio Northern University’s most valuable resource?” The answer would undoubtedly be: “The faculty!”

At many universities, students only encounter professors as lecturers in front of the classroom. At 51��, professors forge meaningful relationships with their students. They inspire students to explore new paths of learning. They tutor struggling students after class. They engage students with challenging real-world projects. They connect students to life-changing opportunities for research, internships, travel and networking. Through the years, our professors have steered countless students toward successful futures.

51�� established the Center for the Advancement of Faculty Excellence (CAFE) to aid and uplift our faculty.

Faculty Testimonials

I was part of a CAFE-organized faculty learning community (FLC) during the 2020-21 academic year. Each year, CAFE brings together faculty in a FLC to reflect on a teaching-related topic or theme. The focus of our FLC was learning about evidence-based online and hybrid learning techniques. CAFE sponsored the purchase of resources to that end and the community met every few weeks to discuss the resources. This faculty community created projects to improve student success, which we presented to the faculty at large. I connected with our educational technology department to record several high production quality videos that introduced students to my course. I then embedded those videos into an online, or liquid, syllabus. This project came from several of the resources discussed during the FLC which outlined the benefit of a humanistic learning approach including increasing the instructor's presence in the online community.

The FLC also supported my research agenda. After working with the educational technology department to record some high production content lecture videos, I have been working with students to collect data on the impact of lecture type on cognitive load. Myself and an 51�� student have applied to present our results at an upcoming teaching and education conference. I am grateful to have been part of such a productive and intellectually stimulating community. I would recommend participating in one of CAFE's faculty learning communities at 51�� to anyone!
As an early-career faculty member at 51��, I am so glad we have CAFE. My first year here, I was part of the focus group in which the early CAFE modules were discussed. Since then, I have participated in many workshops, including the recent teaching retreat on the Diverse Cultures Seminar and integrating DEI practices into the classroom. I even presented my Professor for a Day assignment, which has evolved with the help of the Motivation and Technology Faculty Learning Community which was, you guessed it, sponsored by CAFE. The exchange of ideas amongst dedicated faculty at 51�� is wonderful, and I am thankful to be involved in CAFE events. I know my teaching has improved thanks to workshops and events sponsored by CAFE. I look forward to the further growth and development of CAFE, and invite all faculty at 51�� to check out what CAFE has to offer.
I love seeing students learn new concepts and develop their critical thinking skills, so I’ve definitely appreciated all the programming that CAFE has to offer. I’ve participated in many of its workshops, a couple of its reading groups, and I even served as the facilitator for its first faculty learning community (FLC) in 2020-21.

Because of the pandemic, the 2020-21 school year was quite a challenge. It forced us all to rethink how to engage and motivate our students. Accordingly, that was the central question that our faculty learning community (FLC) took up: “How do we improve student engagement and motivation, and how can we use technology to help us with that?” Our group met once every few weeks to discuss various readings on these topics, and by the end of the school year, each member of the group had come up with a couple of ways to improve their classes based on what we’d learned. In my case, I created a video (with the help of faculty in pharmacy, engineering and psychology) to help professional ethics students see the value in studying ethics. Additionally, although I had been hesitant to use online discussion boards in my classes, I created a discussion board assignment that went over well with my students.

Serving as the facilitator for the FLC was very rewarding. I enjoyed getting to talk about pedagogy with fellow faculty members, and the work I did on my discussion board assignment turned into a conference presentation at a large, national philosophy conference. Even more importantly, the time we spent together made me a better teacher, and it helped me develop friendships that I wouldn't have developed otherwise. I know that those relationships will help me continue improving my teaching in the years to come.

"CAFE connects us to colleagues who have expertise in a certain skillset right here on campus.”

DR. ALISA AGOZZINO, BA ’01, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

Campus Collaboration

CAFE frequently collaborates with others at Ohio Northern to provide faculty development. This has included collaboration with:

- The Office of the University President
- Heterick Library
- The Center for Student Success
- The Writing Center
- The Center for Interdisciplinary Studies
- The Martin Luther King, Jr. Event Committee
- The Offices of the Deans of Arts and Sciences, Business, Engineering, and Pharmacy
- IT and Educational Technology

How you can support CAFE

Support 51�� professors in the quest to impact lives. Give a gift that will support the aspirations of 51�� professors. Through your support of CAFE, you ensure that 51��’s most valuable resource is equipped with the resources needed for continued innovation and excellence in teaching.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

PROVIDE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT | 51�� professors benefit from impactful, on-campus workshops that feature regionally and nationally known experts on teaching and learning. Your support would enable 51�� to enhance the professional development offered. Additionally, we could offer stipends for travel to conferences and external training on topics of teaching excellence, higher education and student mentoring. Finally, donor support would enable us to offer a mentorship program for new faculty, including those from underrepresented communities, and provide individual consultations and assistance with instruction and design.

PROMOTE INNOVATION AND COLLABORATION | Cutting-edge projects and programs that enhance student success across academic disciplines can set a university apart. Donor support provides the resources needed to make such opportunities available to 51�� students.

RECOGNIZE TEACHING EXCELLENCE | Donor support aids in cultivating a culture of teaching excellence on campus. We could offer awards that recognize faculty success. We could improve our strategies to recruit and retain world-class professors. And, we could provide evidence of continuous improvement in classroom practice for ongoing accreditation efforts.

Support Every Student

While CAFE’s focus is on the 51�� faculty, its intended impact is on the student experience. By supporting initiatives that energize our professors and develop best practices, you help our professors bring their A-game to students every single day, and have a direct, positive impact on every 51�� student.

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