Professional Development Committee

Title: The Equity-Minded Syllabus​

Presenters: Kat Trần Olvey, Briana Brickley and Steph Anderson from the Academic Senate Equity and Diversity Committee.

Description: In this workshop, they explored how to transform your syllabus into a tool that promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). They reviewed DEI fundamentals and the importance of equity-minded approaches, while offering practical strategies for making your syllabus more inclusive. Through hands-on activities, discussions, and a panel Q&A, participants gain a deeper understanding of how your syllabus can support student success.

Rather than slides, the presenters used this website during their presentation. This website has all of the syllabus links included so that you can participate in the activities discussed in the workshop. Use the menu on the left-side of the website to follow along with their presentation. 

View The Equity-Minded Syllabus workshop

Note: The recording missed the first few minutes of the workshop where the group norms were established. The recording starts during the definition of terms. You can find the Group Norms and full information on DEI Fundamentals and Terms in the links on the left-side panel of the website linked above. The recording was paused during the breakout room syllabus discussion.  

Title: Academic Senate & You ​

Presenters: Senate President Jamar London & Dr. Vicenta Arrizon, Academic Senate President-Elect​

Description: Watch this session to learn about the Academic Senate, its role and functions, what it can do for you and your professional development. Get involved!

This event was recorded.

View Academic Senate & You 

Faculty's Role in Student Success

Speakers: Vicenta Arrizon, EdD from the Counseling Department

Come engage in an insightful discussion on faculty’s role in student success.  Learn action steps you can take to increase students' sense of belonging and retention in your classes.  Familiarize yourself with the wealth of student support resources and programs offered at SMC. This session will be a conversation and dialogue where faculty can gather to share experiences and learn from each other.

This event was recorded. 

View Faculty’s Role in Student Success Presentation Zoom

Slide deck from Faculty's role in student success presentation

Course Design for Inclusive Engagement

Speakers: Lea Hald & Jessica Krug

Please join the faculty EpiCenter leads in this interactive workshop on how you can design your course for greater engagement. 

Join Faculty’s Role in Student Success Presentation

Course design for engagement workshop slide deck

DE Committee Presents: Online Community Exchange: AI in your Syllabus

Speakers: DE Committee

This is the first in a series of Online Community Exchanges (faculty conversations) regarding teaching and learning in the online environments. AI in your Syllabus will be a conversation and share out about what we include or would like to include (or not) on our syllabi about Generative AI, and ideas about how to include it generally or with an eye toward specific assignments like discussions.

Generative AI Syllabus Statement Considerations Sample Guideline

This session was not recorded intentionally, but future conversations on this topic will be held. 

How can science fiction be a tool for shaping a more just world?

Speaker: Shannon Herbert, Chair of the Decolonizing the Academy Committee

Please join the Decolonizing the Academy Committee for the first Community Read of Walidah Imarisha and adrienne maree brown’s Octavia’s Brood: Science Fiction Stories from Social Justice Movements

The book is available for purchase in the SMC Book Store. It can also be accessed for free thanks through our wonderful co-sponsors at the SMC Library.

We will be discussing the “Foreword” by Sheree Renee Thomas and the “Introduction” by Walidah Imarisha

If you can’t make this discussion, don’t worry. There will be other opportunities to discuss these passages!

Academic Senate - Call to Action

Speaker: Jamar London

Please join Academic Senate President Jamar London for our First Friday Academic Senate - Call to Action, workshop. During our time together we will discuss the role and responsibilities of Academic Senate, highlight some of our committees, discuss some hot topics, and finally inform faculty on how to get involved. 

This session was recorded.

View recording of First Friday Session - Academic Senate - Call to Action  

Slide deck from Academic Senate Call to Action

ChatGPT Workshop

Speaker: Keith Graziadei

Please come join your colleagues in a discussion of all things related to ChatGPT. This session will be a conversation and dialogue where faculty can gather to share their experiences with ChatGPT.

View ChatGPT workshop

Join us for an interactive session with Ruben Canedo where you will get a chance to apply, actualize and take action on the ideas presented in the last workshop. 

The same session will presented once on Zoom in the morning and repeated again in the afternoon on Campus.  

The Zoom session was recorded up to the point that breakout rooms were started.  Unfortunately the time after the breakout sessions was not recorded.  

View Ruben Canedo's workshop

Academic Senate Town Hall

Speaker: Jamar London, Academic Senate President & Elisa Meyer, English Department Chair

Description: Join Academic Senate President Jamar London and Elisa Meyer, English Department Chair, for this Town-Hall to continue a conversation about concerns and praises regarding our college. Academic Senate Leadership will continue to use your feedback to engage Senior Staff and our administrative colleagues as we all work to continue make SMC premiere destination for folks pursuing career advancement and higher education.

This event was not recorded. Notes taken (with names removed from participants) will be shared shortly.

Teaching the Student and Teaching the Material: Course Planning for Student Success

Speakers: Dr. Lauren Ford & Katrina Pantig Naval

Description: Faculty have a critical role at promoting equity in the classroom by preparing an engaging learning experience for students with different backgrounds and different levels of understanding. This requires developing foundational skills of course planning  (i.e.  backward design & scaffolding). In this introductory session, participants will be exposed to an approach that demonstrates how to develop an inclusive course planning process. Building on an asset-based framework, faculty will learn practices to develop students’ knowledge, skills, and attitudes for academic success. 

This session is a repeat live Zoom version of the experience Hotep team facilitated on-ground during Professional Development Day (3/16). >

Note: This event was not recorded. 

Academic Senate Town Hall

Speaker: Jamar London, Academic Senate President & Elisa Meyer, English Department Chair

Description: Join Academic Senate President Jamar London and Elisa Meyer, English Department Chair, for this Town-Hall where faculty will have the opportunity to express concerns and praises regarding our college. Academic Senate Leadership will use your feedback to engage Senior Staff and our administrative colleagues as we all work to continue make SMC premiere destination for folks pursuing career advancement and higher education.

This event was not recorded. Notes taken (with names removed from participants) will be shared shortly.

Academic Senate Town Hall: Revitalizing The Center

Speakers: Jamar London - Academic Senate President, Dr. Erin Cue, Dr. Lea Hald and Dr. Jessica Krug

Please join us at the first in a series of town hall meetings intended to engage faculty in key issues and challenges facing our college. This session will focus on discussing revisioning Professional Development at SMC and the reimagining of The Center For Teaching Excellence.

View Recording of Faculty Town Hall First Friday

Basic Needs Continuation of Conversation with Ruben Canedo from Fall Professional Development Day

Title: Transforming College Student Basic Needs: Micro to Macro Level Training

Speaker: Ruben Canedo

Please join us to continue to the conversation with Ruben about supporting ourselves and our students, basic needs, transformative justice and practice emergent strategies centered in love and wisdom.

View Recording of Ruben Canedo Workshop

I'm a college student with a disability. Stop treating me like a child.

Speakers: Eric Oifer, Nathalie Laille, Reginald Dunn (a current SMC student) and Ojen Shammasian (a former SMC and IxD graduate from SMC).

In this session, we will watch the short film I'm a college student with a disability. Stop treating me like a child, then engage in a collective conversation about it and what implications it has for how we educate and support students with disabilities.

"In this film by Samuel Habib, 21, and his father, Samuel seeks out guidance from America’s most rebellious disability activists. Because of his disability, 21-year-old Samuel Habib finds that people underestimate him. In this film, he seeks to chart how adults with disabilities build full lives — as a roadmap for himself and others.”

View Recording of I'm a College Student with a Disability Workshop

Equitable and Effective Hiring Practices

Speaker: Dr. Vicenta Arrizon

While the benefits of having a diverse and equity-minded faculty are well-researched, diversifying the faculty continues to be a controversial issue within higher education and little progress has been made. Learn more about what we can each do to take action to promote equity in the faculty search process.  Understand the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office Multiple Methods for EEO that call for centering equity and diversity in recruitment, hiring, evaluation and the tenure review process.

View the First Friday on Equitable and Effective Hiring Practices

Slide deck from the presentation