September 14, 2026 | Fall News | | |
In This Issue
- Caught in the Act of Academic Excellence - New section!
- Annual Mandatory Training 2026
- Canvas Quick Tip — a fast, practical idea you can use right away.
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Plus important announcements and faculty resources. Keep reading!
| | Caught in the Act of Academic Excellence | | |
Through our faculty members' curiosity and collaboration, academic excellence takes shape in a myriad of ways. This new feature captures those moments as they happen — snapshots of the people and practices driving impact in the U.A. Whitaker College of Engineering (WCE) and FGCU.
AI Books for Teens
(Right) Md Baharul Islam, associate professor in the Department of Computing and Software Engineering, shares his newly published books, all focused on engaging young people in computer programming and artificial intelligence, with Provost Thorne.
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Peer Tutoring
(Right) Peer tutoring in action at WCE’s Learning Hub, where students get hands-on academic support from fellow Eagles. Located in Holmes Hall 203, the Learning Hub offers academic support and peer-to-peer mentoring for engineering, computing, and construction management students. The hub is staffed by upper-level student fellows.
Faculty Summer Residency
Professors go to summer school too, just on construction sites instead of in classrooms. Below, assistant professors Anh D. (Andy) Chau and Raissa Seichi Marchiori are the first two faculty to complete WCE’s new summer residency program.
(Below left) Andy Chau with Robbie Tiedeman, project manager at Manhattan Construction and adjunct professor, during his residency at the company's project office for the Southwest Florida International Airport terminal expansion.
| | (Above right) Raissa Seichi Marchiori completed her residency with Ajax Paving Industries of Florida, gaining hands-on exposure to asphalt production and field operations. | |
Annual Mandatory Training 2026
FGCU is aligning all employee groups: faculty, staff, and OPS onto a single annual training cycle. As part of that transition, staff and OPS employees will have training assigned on September 8. Faculty have already received mandatory training notice early in August.
What You Need to Know:
- Faculty and adjunct faculty — for those whose only role is adjunct faculty — received their mandatory training in early August.
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Training for staff and OPS employees was available in Workday Learning beginning September 8.
- All assigned trainings must be completed within 60 days of the assignment date.
- Beginning in the fall of 2027, annual mandatory training for faculty, staff and OPS employees will be assigned each August at the start of the academic year.
Moving to a single annual training cycle will better align compliance training with the start of the academic year, create a more consistent experience across employee groups and simplify annual training administration and communications.
Questions? Contact Human Resources.
Nestor Del Valle, HRIS Manager & LMS Administrator, HR Operations & Employee Development — ndelvalle@fgcu.edu
Kathryn Webster, Instructional Designer & Employee Development Coordinator — kwebster@fgcu.edu
Jana Sabo, Assistant Director, Employee Relations and Employee Development — jsabo@fgcu.edu
| | Faculty Resources & Best Practices | | |
Title One assignment, multiple due dates with “Assign To”
Give one or more students a different due date with Assign To/ This feature allows you to set and manage individual due dates, available dates, and their times for an existing assignment, quiz, or discussion. It is as easy as selecting the Assign To button in your assignment!
Explore this feature: How do I assign an assignment to everyone, individual students, differentiated tags, or sections?
| Missed a tip? Bookmark Digital Learning's Canvas QuickTip Archive and access expert guidance whenever you need a refresh to use Canvas more efficiently and effectively. CLICK to browse the Archive. | |
ORSP Open Office Hours Coming this Fall
Looking for guidance on research administration, grant proposals, compliance requirements, or post-award management? The Office of Research & Sponsored Programs (ORSP) is launching Open Office Hours this fall to provide faculty, staff, and students with convenient access to ORSP expertise.
From September through December, ORSP will host open office hours twice each month in Sugden Hall, Suite 201, where attendees can drop in to learn about research administration topics, ask questions, and receive one-on-one assistance from ORSP staff. Whether you're preparing a proposal, navigating Streamlyne, managing a grant budget, submitting an IRB protocol, or learning about foreign travel and export control requirements, ORSP is here to help.
Each session will feature brief discussions on selected topics, as well as time for individual questions and consultation. No appointment necessary. Drop in for the topics that interest you, stay for questions, and connect with ORSP staff to get the support you need for your research and sponsored programs activities. Light snacks provided.
Fall Schedule
Monday, September 21 | 1:30-3:30 p.m.
- Streamlyne: Opening and Approving Pre-Award Records
- IRB 101
- Effort Reporting
Friday, October 9 | 9:30-11:30 a.m.
- Notice of Intent Forms
- Research Agreements
- Budget Management
Monday, October 19 | 1:30-3:30 p.m.
- Calculating Proposal Deadlines
- Budget 101
- Streamlyne: IRB Routing and Processing
Friday, November 6 | 9:30-11:30 a.m.
- Assembling a Proposal
- Writing a Progress Report
- Service Learning, Community Outreach, Student Scholarship, and IRB Requirements
Monday, November 23 | 1:30-3:30 p.m.
- Writing Specific Aims and Abstracts
- Post-Award 101
- Budget and Scope of Work Amendments
Friday, December 4 | 9:30-11:30 a.m.
- ORSP Services Overview
- Tracking Cost Share
- IRB Deadlines and Timeline Management
Monday, December 14 | 1:30-3:30 p.m.
- IACUC Overview
- Grant Closeout Procedures
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Foreign Travel & Export Control
Learn more at: fgcu.edu/academics/research/
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Next Academic Affairs Newsletter Submission Deadline
Content submission deadline for the next edition: Friday, 5 p.m., September 18. The newsletter will run on Monday, September 28.
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Curriculum Deadline Reminder: October 1
Academic & Curriculum Support (ACS) wants to remind academic units that October 1, 2026, is the deadline for college-level approved curriculum materials intended for implementation in AY 2027–2028.
This deadline applies to the following categories:
- Revisions to existing degree programs and existing program majors
- New minors and revisions to existing minors
- New certificates and revisions to existing certificates
- New courses and revisions to existing courses
- Revisions to Degree Maps
- New and revisions to existing Combined Programs
To be ready for review by the corresponding university-wide Standing Teams and Councils of the Faculty Senate, please be sure materials are complete before the academic unit’s Curriculum Liaison submits the proposal to ACS. Materials may include the revision proposal form and/or CMS course form, catalog copy, Degree Map updates, emails of support, and college/school approval documentation, as applicable. Incomplete submissions will be returned to the unit’s Curriculum Liaison.
Proposals received after October 1 will be reviewed in the next curriculum cycle (AY 2027-28) for implementation in Fall 2028.
Some proposals may require additional review, including General Education, CLWS, SCGR, new programs or majors, and CIP changes.
Questions? Please contact Academic & Curriculum Support to discuss your curriculum ideas before significant development takes place.
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Important Reminder: Service Learning Projects and Human Subjects Research
Faculty, staff, and students should be aware that some service learning projects may meet the federal definition of human subjects research and require Institutional Review Board (IRB) review before the project begins.
Projects that involve collecting information from living individuals through surveys, interviews, observations, or other interactions may fall under IRB oversight, particularly when a structured process is used to gather and analyze data.
A key consideration is whether project findings will be shared beyond the classroom. Presentations, posters, conferences, publications, or other forms of public dissemination may indicate an intent to contribute to broader knowledge, which can trigger human subjects research requirements. Projects involving children may also be subject to additional federal protections.
The determination of whether a project constitutes human subjects research is made by the IRB, not the instructor, student, or investigator. If you are planning a project that involves collecting information from individuals and sharing the results outside the classroom, consult the IRB early in the planning process to determine whether review and approval are required.
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Office of the Ombuds
FGCU's Office of the Ombuds is here to assist faculty, staff, and students! Students or Employees who may be experiencing a university-related concern or conflict are encouraged to reach out to the Ombuds Office as an informal and confidential resource. Visit the Ombuds’ webpage for more information.
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The Global Engagement Office (GEO) invites you to design and implement -
Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL)
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Office of Public Policy Events (OPPE)
Trusting the Food System
Join FGCU on Wednesday, September 16 from 12–1:30 p.m. in the Cohen Student Union Ballroom for a panel discussion exploring food safety, ingredients, labeling, regulation, and consumer trust. Hear different perspectives on how public health, accountability, and innovation shape the foods we eat every day. Open to students, faculty, staff, and the public. More information at: www.eventbrite.com/e/trusting-the-food-system-safety-ingredients-and-the-role-of-regulation-tickets-1989304731001
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Career Advancement Assistance Program
The Office of Academic Affairs is pleased to announce the Career Advancement Assistance Program. The purpose of the Career Advancement Assistance Program is to provide time for faculty members to engage meaningfully in activities that yield outputs and impacts enhancing FGCU’s scholarly impact and timely promotion of faculty members.
- Faculty categories included in this initiative are those on the professor and instructor tracks. The Career Advancement Assistance Program partially relieves teaching obligations to provide time for scholarly, research, or career development endeavors. During the Career Advancement Assistance Program, faculty teaching load and/or other assignments will be reduced, and no overload teaching will be permitted.
- The number of awards is contingent on the availability of funding through the Provost’s office.
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The deadline for the Spring 2027 Career Advancement semester is Tuesday, September 15, 2026. Please submit your application in its entirety to Julie Leyden (jleyden@fgcu.edu).
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The deadline for the Summer 2027 Career Advancement semester is Monday, November 16, 2026. Summer semester is now available for 12-month AND 9-month faculty. Please see the guidelines for details.
Access the application cover page and detailed information about the program here:
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SAVE THE DATE!
Graduate & Professional Schools Fair
Cohen Student Union Ballroom
October 13, 2026
10:00 a.m.- 2:00 p.m.
The entire Eagle community is invited! Please include this in your
course syllabi.
This fair is open to all FGCU students interested in exploring graduate and professional school opportunities. Three easy ways you can help:
- Promote the event by adding it to your undergraduate course syllabi as an assignment, a class activity, extra credit, or an announcement.
- Encourage attendance by highlighting the value of early graduate and professional (law, medicine, etc.) school exploration.
- Showcase your graduate program by attending the fair and engaging with prospective students who are eager to learn more about FGCU’s graduate offerings.
Visit the event page Graduate & Professional School Fair for the latest information.
Questions? Contact Dr. Dawn Kirby, Shannon Acosta, and Jessica Rhea.
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Lucas Center for Faculty Development
Upcoming Events
Click event titles to register. Some sessions are offered twice, once in person and once online. Please select your preferred format below.
Teaching Excellence Award Series
Thursday, September 24
The Flipped Classroom: Making It Work through Trial and Error
🕐 11:45AM - 1:00PM, In-Person
In this session, Dr. Oscar Johnson will use materials and activities from a genetics class to demonstrate how he productively flipped his classroom. Having adjusted his approach over time, he will share insights about when the flipped model does and does not work. With experience, Dr. Johnson has found the flipped classroom to be quite useful and associated with student success, and after demonstrating some key practices, he will engage attendees in a discussion of how they might adapt this approach to their contexts.
Tuesday, September 29
Come Prepared, Leave Confident: Student Accountability in a High-Stakes Gateway Course
🕐 11:45AM - 1:00PM, In-Person
Anatomy & Physiology is exactly the kind of content-dense gateway course where lecture feels unavoidable and exactly where it fails students most. In this interactive session, I'll share how we restructured A&P I and II (48 students per section) around student accountability: students arrive having prepared the material, spend class time in active engagement and application, and are assessed on that content the same day. Participants won't just hear about this model they'll experience it, working through a condensed version of one of my class sessions to feel firsthand how preparation, engagement, and same-day testing reinforce one another. I'll also share the student feedback that has driven this approach, along with honest lessons about resistance, buy-in, and logistics at scale. Participants will leave with an adaptable framework for shifting responsibility to students in their own content-heavy courses.
Upcoming Conferences
Below you will find links to upcoming conferences that may be of interest. You might consider applying for a Lucas Center Teaching Enhancement Award to support your attendance. (In addition to the conferences listed below, Kennesaw State University maintains a teaching conferences directory that enables searching by discipline.)
There’s more to explore! Check out our full events calendar here for additional workshops and sessions.
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Office of Research & Sponsored Programs (ORSP) | | |
Notice of Hanover Grant Academy 2026-2027
The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (OSRP) is soliciting nominations for the 2026-2027 Hanover Grant Academy. The goal is for eight faculty to undergo an intensive proposal development plan over a one year time frame. The Academy consists of approximately 4-6 in person meetings during the year and one on one meetings with the Hanover experts.
The requested information for application can be accessed here. A key factor in selection will be the goal of submitting a proposal for extramural funding. Hanover will provide grantsmanship training, proposal critique, guidance on project and alignment with grant opportunities, and proposal revision assistance. Faculty selected are expected to submit a proposal for extramural funding at the completion of the grant academy. Faculty are permitted to apply for an additional round of intensive proposal development assistance provided an application for extramural funding was submitted during their previous participation.
The application submission deadline is September 14, 2026 by 5 PM. Please submit the application as a single pdf to Dr. Rosemary Higgins rhiggins@fgcu.edu. Questions can be referred to Dr. Higgins.
| | OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUR STUDENTS | | |
Career Development Services
Click for details: https://careerservices.fgcu.edu/
LEVEL UP WEDNESDAYS
Workshops + Recruiter Connections + Resources
Workshop Series
Cohen Building 162 (Located in the Prevention and Wellness Office Suite)
12:15PM-1:15PM
Job Search Strategies
Tools, Tips, and Strategies for Success
September 23 | Co-Presenter: Enterprise Mobility
Explore effective job search techniques, learn how employers recruit college students, and develop a personalized plan to help you land internships and full-time opportunities.
Your Career Fair Game Plan
Walk In Prepared. Walk Out Connected.
September 30 | Co-Presenter: Scotlynn
Develop a strategy for making the most of a career fair, including researching employers, crafting your elevator pitch, and building meaningful professional connections.
Next Step: Graduate School
Get Ready to Explore Your Options
October 7 | Co-Presenter: Graduate Admissions
Whether you're considering a master's, doctorate, or professional degree, this workshop will help you prepare for the Graduate & Professional School Fair and make the most of your conversations.
Internships Decoded
Everything You Need to Know Before You Apply
October 14 | Co-Presenter: Arthrex
Not sure where to start? Learn how internships can shape your career, where to find opportunities, and what employers expect from successful candidates.
Recruiter Connections (formerly Recruitment Wednesday)
Show Up. Stand Out. Connect.
Wednesdays beginning September 9th
11: 00 AM- 1:00 PM
Every Wednesday, Students can connect directly with employers in the Cohen Student Union Lobby — no appointment needed, just show up and start the conversation.
Walk-In Wednesdays
Quick Questions, Fast Answers.
Career Advising Office (located in Student Plaza)
9:00AM – 3:00PM
No appointment needed — stop by for a 15-minute session to get your resume reviewed or ask a quick career question. Perfect for a fast check-in between classes.
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The next regular edition will run on September 28.
Submit your content by Friday, 5 p.m. September 18.
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