Yesterday, the university celebrated the publication of Fitchburg State's first five ROTEL (Remixing Open Textbooks through an Equity Lens) textbooks, authored by faculty members Michael Hove (Psychological Science), Peter Staab (Mathematics), J.J. Sylvia IV (Communications Media) and Kisha Tracy (English Studies).

This morning, faculty got the chance to reconnect before the semester and attend various sessions with the theme “The Impact of Generative AI in Higher Education.” Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Patricia Marshall, and other Academic Affairs staff, welcomed all and provided updates, celebrated achievements, and listened to faculty concerns. Keynote speaker Dr. Carie Cardamone, Associate Director of STEM and Professional Schools, Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching at Tufts University presented "Teaching in the Age of AI: Navigating Challenges and Embracing Opportunities." After lunch, "How Fitchburg State Is Navigating AI: Lightning Talks from Across Campus" were presented.

The CenterStage annual Faculty Show Gallery Reception was held yesterday afternoon in the Hammond Hall Art Gallery. The reception was included a film and video screening in Ellis White Lecture Hall. The Faculty Show will run until December 15th. To learn more, visit our CenterStage page.

At the culmination of today's Faculty and Librarian Research Symposium, the Celebration for Faculty and Librarian Excellence was held in the Holmes Dining Complex. As the faculty wrapped up their sessions, Emeriti Faculty were welcomed to reconnect prior to the event. 

Fellow faculty and staff gathered yesterday to celebrate the exemplary career of Nursing  Professor Tara Mariolis. Jennifer Hanselman, Ph.D., Dean, School of Health and Natural Sciences, presented Dr. Mariolis with a certificate of appreciation on behalf of President Lapidus and the university.

Recently, the Center for Faculty Scholarship hosted a celebration of recent faculty-authored publications in Miller Oval. The event celebrated six faculty members who recently published books, and one who released an album. Each faculty member  briefly discussed their work, with time for Q+A and discussion before the reception to honor them and their accomplishments

Recently, Provost Patricia Marshall welcomed those gathered in the Presidents' Hall for English Studies Professor Elise Takehana who presented her Harrod Lecture "Database and Algorithm as Literary Infrastructure", after an introduction by Acting English Studies Department Chair Lisa Gim.

In the lecture, Dr. Takehana discussed the conflicts and overlaps between storytelling and data analysis by exploring examples in experimental literature, interactive fiction, portraiture, and quantitative approaches to studying language and literature. The talk offered several reflections on the nature of human expression in the age of big data and how that might color what we think of as "human."

In our perpetual effort to provide a better, more accessible education, our Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) sponsored a Show & Tell in one of our Active Learning Classrooms in the newly renovated portion of Thompson Hall yesterday afternoon. An Active Learning Classroom is designed to invite flexible teaching and experimentation in pedagogy, configured to maximize active, collaborative learning and multimodal teaching, in contrast with traditional lecture-style classrooms. Drs. Jannette McMenamy, J.J. Silvia, Elise Takehana, Kisha Tracy present how they are currently utilizing the Active Learning Classrooms. 

Environmental and Earth Science Professor Christopher Picone discussed forms of energy in his Intro to Environmental Science class. Students were shown the rooftop photovoltaic solar panels (PVs) installed here at Fitchburg State University in 2011. Later, a demonstration of how a turbine does was interlaced with a lesson in wind power. The goal of Introduction to Environmental Science is to provide students with the scientific principles, concepts and methodologies required to understand interrelationships of the natural world, to identify and analyze environmental problems both natural and human-made, to evaluate the relative risks associated with these problems and to examine alternative solutions for resolving and/or preventing them.

Earlier this semester, students in Professor Kevin McCarthy's Sound Design course got a tour of the Sound Studio in Conlon. Professor McCarthy pointed out the unique assets in the studio, including a Whisper Booth; a soundproof chamber to record voice-over audio. The Course examines the elements of post-production sound design within the context of film and video production. It blends the artistic and the technical. wherein students use nonlinear editors, digital audio work stations and analog and digital recording equipment to design soundtracks for film and video productions.