campus – Faculty Development Tuesday Tips Archive

If you’re looking for a 30-minute lunchtime group exercise class but don’t want to buy a gym membership, the Department of Kinesiology has you covered. They are offering FREE group exercise classes for faculty, staff, and students every Friday in Yolo Hall, Room 213 (see times below). Physical activity in a social setting can elevate mood, improve memory, and increase work productivity. The classes, led by certified group exercise instructor Suzanne White, started as part of the Paradise U Community Project as a way for Camp Fire survivors to use physical activity to manage anxiety and improve health on their healing journey. The program has now expanded to include all campus employees and students. No obligations and no need to sign-up…just bring a water bottle and stop by as your schedule allows to one or more of the following positive exercise classes:

11-11:30 Learn to STEP (cardio fitness)
11:30 -12 Intermediate STEP (complex and vigorous cardio)
12-12:30 Cross Training (muscular fitness)
12:30-1:30 Advanced STEP (complex and vigorous cardio)

If you have questions, contact Kinesiology Professor Cathrine Himberg.

A recent Onion article poked fun at the speech controversies on campus with the headline “Berkeley Campus On Lockdown After Loose Pages From ‘Wall Street Journal’ Found On Park Bench.” As is often the case with satire, the article brought some critical issues to the fore that many of us around the nation are grappling with inside the classroom and in the public areas on campus. Controversies at a number of higher education institutions around the nation have highlighted some tensions around difficult issues. I will not belabor a detailing of what has happened at Berkeley, Middlebury, UCLA, and other campuses, but you can find a listing and an interesting response from students in this Inside Higher Education piece. Rather, I want to highlight some of the important work done at Chico that represents how we should engage controversy and invite you to participate in the forthcoming dialogue at the CELT conference to continue those conversations.

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Chico is home of some longstanding events that engage students in civil discussions on controversial issues. The Town Hall Meeting and Great Debate have showcased active engagement in and out of the classroom and become models for other campuses around the nation. If you are looking for help in and out of your own classroom, you do not even have to step off campus for advice from First-Year Experience and Civic Engagement.
A recent incident on our campus showcased some of the best Chico has to offer when students engaged in creative counter-protest of a controversial speaker in the 1^st street mall area.
The question of “what is up for debate?” was central to our selection of the 2017 CELT Conference theme, Revitalizing Truth Through Education. We are not courting controversy, but we are asking you to address it. What topics are off limits in your courses? What gets brought up unproductively? What do we do when controversy erupts?

Lastly, I want to let you know how pleased we are to welcome Dr. Josh Trout as the new Director of Faculty Development starting in Summer 2017. We are all excited to see where Dr. Trout takes the campus next and eager to support him.

The call for the 23^rd annual CELT conference is live! Submit an abstract today to change the world tomorrow—or maybe in October.

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Don’t forget to subscribe to the Caffeinated Cats podcast. Our newest episode is out now! President Gayle Hutchinson joins Mary, Tracy, and I to discuss the bright future of CSU, Chico. Link to it on soundcloud, itunes, overcast, or follow the podcast on facebook.

Tag: campus

Controversies in the classroom and on campus