Dear Colleagues,
On Tuesday, October 1, and Wednesday, October 2, we invite you to join Wright State Raiders and Lakers for the annual Wright Day to Give. This year’s Wright Day to Give will launch with an official kickoff event on Tuesday. Alumni, faculty, staff, students, parents, and friends are welcome to stop by the Wandering Griffin, 3725 Presidential Drive, anytime between 5:30 and 8 p.m. President Sue Edwards and other special guest bartenders will be serving drinks—you may even see me there! Guests can enjoy appetizers, receive a commemorative Wright Day to Give pint glass, and have a chance to win a variety of raffle prizes.
Following that event, on Wednesday, you can be a champion for Wright Day to Give by sharing our mission on your social media platforms and by making a gift. The college with the highest number of alumni donors will earn a $5,000 bonus to their priority funds. There will be multiple opportunities to receive donor incentives, help unlock more gifts and matches, and encourage first-time donors to give.
Wright Day to Give is a great time for all of us to come together and show our support for our amazing students!
Events
- Please join us today for the Faculty and Staff Awards for Excellence ceremony from 3:30–4:30 p.m. in the Student Union Apollo Room. Read about the well-deserving honorees.
- The Campus AI Brown Bag Series: Generative AI and Student Success will take place on Friday, October 4, at 12:20 p.m., in 020 Rike Hall. This first in a series of campus brown bags will address the growing promise of AI to benefit students, faculty, and staff in higher education.
Cogan Shimizu, Ph.D., and Michael Raymer Ph.D., faculty in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, will provide a brief introduction to how contemporary generative AI works, how it can help students overcome “blank page fright” and conduct efficient searches, and address the need to foster critical thinking skills and avoid common pitfalls. Learn more.
Life Skills Campus Survey
The Health and Wellness Task Force’s Life Skills Subcommittee needs your help! The Life Skills Subcommittee is tasked with gathering information from all departments and offices to determine which annual life skills programs and events to schedule this year. This will help us to better plan, support each other, and combine resources.
National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship Program
The National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship Program was established in 1989 to increase the number of U.S. citizens receiving doctoral degrees in science and engineering disciplines of military importance.
Qualified applicants must be U.S. citizens enrolled in a Ph.D. program in science or engineering. If you have students who are interested in advancing their education in military-related disciplines, you and your students are encouraged to attend an informational webinar on October 2 from 11:00 a.m. to noon. The session will be hosted by William P. Roach, Ph.D., chief scientist of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.
Contact james.mae@wright.edu to learn more and register for the webinar. Learn more about the fellowship.
Raider Open House
The Dayton Campus is hosting a Raider Open House for future students on October 19. I encourage you to invite prospective students and their families to register, attend, and learn why it's a great time to be a Raider!
Raider Open House takes place Saturday, October 19, starting at 9:30 a.m. in the Student Union.
Center for Faculty Excellence
- The Center for Faculty Excellence is pleased to bring weekly tips to your inbox every Monday morning through Monday Morning Mentors. These are quick video presentations with additional materials provided. The presentation and supplemental material for “How Can I Use AI to Create Engaging Discussion Boards?” are available through September 29. To access the presentation, use “discussion263” as the password.
- Closing the Loop on Program Assessment: The greatest benefit from program assessment comes from closing the loop on the assessment cycle. In this workshop, participants will recognize the importance of discussing assessment results and articulate questions that could be asked of assessment data that lead to data-informed changes and greater student success.
Wednesday, October 9, 9:05-10:00 a.m., in-person
Monday, October 14, 3:35-4:30 p.m., virtual (Webex link will be sent upon registration)
Tuesday, October 15, 2:00-2:55 p.m., in-person
Register
- Closing the Loop on Course Assessment: At the beginning of the term, assessment plans were created for each course. Now that the term is wrapping up, it is time to collect, report, and analyze the data. This workshop will walk through these processes to close the loop on course assessment for the term. Participants will learn how to report and/or collect data in the Planning and Self-Study system, receive tips on analyzing assessment results, and identify data-informed opportunities to improve student success.
Tuesday, November 26, 2:30-3:25 p.m., in-person
Friday, December 6, 11:15 a.m.-12:10 p.m., virtual (Webex link will be sent upon registration)
Thursday, December 12, 12:30-1:25 p.m., in-person
Register
Faculty Affairs – Important Dates
- September 30 – Professional Development Course Release proposals for NTE BUFMs are due to chairs.
- October 15 – Professional Development Leave proposals (TET and BSOM) are due to deans. Bargaining Unit Faculty should review Article 30-3.2 for guidelines and process. Boonshoft School of Medicine faculty follow the Wright State University Policy 8430.
Research and Sponsored Programs Training Opportunities
- The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs is offering Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training on:
Fall semester: October 9, 16, 23, and 30 at 1:00 p.m. in 158 University Hall
Spring semester: January 31, February 7, 14, and 21, time and location TBD
Learn more.
The 50-minute sessions address core areas of Responsible Conduct of Research and discuss the structure of the program. Grant contracts may require researcher participation in Responsible Conduct of Research programs.
Contractual RCR Requirements: Faculty, staff, students, and external collaborators whose research is supported by NSF or NIH must periodically participate in the RCR forums and program. This includes anyone who can influence the results and validity of your research. The RCR program requires participation in four forum sessions at four-year intervals.
Although only required for NSF- or NIH-funded research, anyone is welcome to attend.
- The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs will host grant writing workshops, facilitated by Hanover Research, throughout the fall semester. All sessions will be held on Zoom from noon to 2:00 p.m. To access, select the link below on the date of the presentation:
September 27: Program Officer Engagement and Essentials of Competitive Proposals
October 2: Writing Competitive NSF, NIH, and DOD CDMRP Proposals
October 4: Developing and Maintaining Collaborations and Resubmissions
The sessions will be facilitated by Steven Jax, Ph.D., a senior grants consultant at Hanover Research.
When a Student Needs Support
As we approach the fourth week of the semester, students may already be struggling. Wright.edu/help is a great resource for helping students or making referrals. This site contains contact information for emergency or essential departments that can assist your students all in one location.
I hope you all have a wonderful week! You are appreciated!
Amy Thompson, Ph.D.
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
