Dear Colleagues:

I wanted to update you on our opening-of-school activities. We begin the year with New Faculty Orientation on Monday, August 12. Matriculation Convocation will be held on Monday, August 19 from 9:00-10:00 a.m. in the Lois Perkins Chapel. Fall Faculty Conference events will be held during the week of August 19. All full-time faculty are expected to be present for each of these Fall Faculty Conference activities.

Below is information on these and other upcoming activities. PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR RSVP BY COMPLETING THIS FORM BY FRIDAY, JULY 26.

Monday, August 12, 8:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. (an optional session will follow from 1:30-3:00 p.m.)  – New Faculty Orientation, Fondren-Jones Science Center, Room 100

All new tenure-track and visiting faculty are required to participate in Orientation. New part-time faculty are strongly encouraged to attend. Dr. Maria Macik, Director of the Center for Teaching, Learning and Scholarship, will facilitate a program designed to ensure that new faculty get off to a good start. A portion of the session will focus upon aspects of course syllabi. Please do not finalize your syllabi before attending the New Faculty Orientation, but do have a copy on hand for reference.

Monday, August 19, 9:00 - 9:50 a.m. - Matriculation Convocation - Lois Perkins Chapel

As you may know, the purpose of the Matriculation Convocation ceremony is to formally welcome the entering students to Southwestern and to provide them with a sense of the expectations we have for members of our community. Attendance by tenured and tenure-track faculty is required. Visiting and part-time faculty are invited to attend, but not required. Faculty robing will take place at 8:30 a.m. in the Bishops Lounge. Academic regalia will be available beginning at 8:00 a.m.

Monday, August 19, 1:00 – 4:30 p.m.
Fall Faculty Conference Day One

Please arrive in the Olin Lobby between 12:45 and 12:55 p.m.

1:00–1:05 p.m.	Welcome and introductions	F. W. Olin Room 105
1:05-2:05 p.m.	Ricardo L. Ortiz,  Public Humanities and the Future of Higher Education (Bio & Details)	F. W. Olin Room 105
2:05-2:20 p.m.	Break	F.W. Olin Lobby
2:20-4:30 p.m.	Jennifer Leach (Director of Advising and Retention), Faculty Panel and Group Work (Details)	F. W. Olin Room 105

4:30 p.m.

Faculty Reception

Howry Center

Wednesday, August 21, 2:00 – 2:50 p.m.
Fall Faculty Conference Day Two

Please choose one the following options (we strongly encourage faculty to attend one of the sessions on August 21.)

2:00–2:20 p.m.	Session 1	F. W. Olin Room 105
2:30-2:50 p.m.	Session 2	F. W. Olin Room 105
1:00-1:20 p.m. (September 4)	Session 3	Location TBD

Thursday, August 22, 12:30 – 5:00 p.m.
Fall Faculty Conference Day Three

12:30–1:30 p.m.	Presidential Report to Faculty	F.W. Olin Room 105
1:30–1:45 p.m.	Break	F.W. Olin Lobby
1:45-2:00 p.m.	Welcome from Dr. Sergio Costola, Dean of the Faculty	F.W. Olin Room 105
2:00–3:30 p.m.	Concurrent Sessions (full version) Peniel E. Joseph,  The Third Reconstruction: America’s Struggle for Racial Justice in the Twenty-First Century    (Bio & Details) Rachel Arteaga,  Deepening the Heart of Texas: Public Scholarship in Community (Bio&Details)  Maria Macik (Director of CTLS), Sergio Costola (Dean of the Faculty) and Melanie Hoag (Instructional Design & Technology) Embracing AI in the Classroom: Strategies for Effective Integration (Details)	F.W. Olin Room 105   F.W. Olin Room 124   F.W. Olin Room 110
3:30–3:45 p.m.	Break	F.W. Olin Lobby
3:45–4:15 p.m.	Katie Rallojay (Title IX Coordinator), Title IX and Responsible EmployeeObligations. The Title IX Coordinator will present on recent updates to Title IX Regulations and the impact of these changes on your reporting and support obligations.	F.W. Olin Room 105
4:15-5:00 p.m.	Concurrent Sessions (abridged version) Peniel E. Joseph,  The Third Reconstruction: America’s Struggle for Racial Justice in the Twenty-First Century  (Bio & Details) Rachel Arteaga,  Deepening the Heart of Texas: Public Scholarship in Community (Bio&Details)  Maria Macik (Director of CTLS), Sergio Costola (Dean of the Faculty) and Melanie Hoag (Instructional Design & Technology)Embracing AI in the Classroom: Strategies for Effective Integration (Details)	F.W. Olin Room 105   F.W. Olin Room 110   F.W. Olin Room 111

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For information about Welcome Week for our new students, click here.

As stated in the  Faculty Handbook , all faculty are required to submit original transcripts to the Office of Academic Affairs (Cullen 150) from all institutions from which a college degree was earned. If you have not previously done so, especially new faculty who were hired prior to completion of your PhD, please make arrangements now for your transcripts to be sent to:

Ms. Barbara J. Jean
 Southwestern University
PO Box 770
Georgetown, TX 78627

I am looking forward to a new academic year and to working with you in making it a success.

Best,

Sergio Costola
Dean of the Faculty
Professor of Theatre