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Office of the Provost - Wayne State University

Office of Faculty Development & Faculty Success

December 2021 Monthly Newsletter

a person sits with their head in their hands, a note taped to their forehead with the word 'help'

Lately, academic Twitter and the news are full of stories of burnout, on the faculty and staff side, as well as among students. After 2020 we had such hopes for 2021, and what we got, well, there were positives, but we've been living in the in-between, and we could all certainly use a break.

While we're proud of everything that Warriors have done to step up, as the semester begins to wind down, we hope you'll remember to pace yourselves and take a real, honest-to-goodness break over the holidays. We have all more than earned it.

Faculty Impact: Treating chronic tinnitus

Anthony T. Cacace headshotTo the lay public, tinnitus is often referred to as “ringing or buzzing in the ears;” more specifically, it represents the perception of phantom sound in the absence of overt acoustic stimulation. But to those individuals affected by this condition, the sound they hear isn’t phantom at all; their perceptual experience is real!

Under the direction of Professor Anthony T. Cacace, Ph.D., the Hearing Science Laboratory at Wayne State University (WSU) has been exploring neuromodulation-based methods to treat chronic tinnitus in humans.

Read the rest: Treating chronic tinnitus...

Enjoying Faculty Impact? Nominate a colleague or volunteer to contribute.

Award deadlines approaching

The following awards have deadlines coming up in early January. Remember to keep an eye on our awards page for updates, and that the Academy of Teachers will provide multiple mentoring workshops to support applicants for any form of teaching recognition, including the Academy of Teachers, the President's Award for Excellence in Teaching, and the General Education Teaching Award. If you're interested in a workshop, please get in touch with Jennifer Hart.

Upcoming Professional Development Programming!

Writing for The Conversation
Noon - 2 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 1

The Conversation is an independent, non-profit news organization dedicated to explanatory journalism: by sharing faculty members' specialist news analyses with other news organizations via syndication, they unlock the knowledge of experts for the public good. The Conversation has published several high-quality articles by WSU faculty who have shared their research expertise. Learn from one of the publication's editors and a panel of WSU faculty who have written for them how to craft and pitch articles for The Conversation. Read more about Writing for The Conversation.

RSVP for Writing for The Conversation

New Faculty Series: International Opportunities for New Faculty
Noon - 1 p.m. Friday, Dec. 10

a signpost points out destinations in multiple directionsInterested to learn how you could teach or conduct research with partners abroad as a WSU faculty member? Maybe you would like to connect students - in person or virtually - for a cross-cultural experience? For this and all things international, our Office of International Programs (OIP) is here to help. In this session, new faculty will learn what opportunities are available within OIP, like faculty-led study abroad programs and institutional partnerships. OIP staff will also discuss resources available for faculty travel, such as Fulbright Scholar Awards, and the process to develop new short-term programs for incoming visitors. Read more about International Opportunities for New Faculty.

RSVP for International Opportunities for New Faculty

NCFDD: Every Semester Needs a Plan
Noon - 1:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 21

Participants will leave this workshop with a clear assessment and plan that includes realistic goals and expectations, clear milestones to assess achievement, and tips on how to re-evaluate as the semester progresses. Join Associate Professor of Nursing Debra Schutte as she covers this popular NCFDD webinar with WSU faculty and academic staff! Read more about Every Semester Needs a Plan.

RSVP for Every Semester Needs a Plan

Reach out to our office for recordings of previous seminars you may have missed, and remember to stay tuned to our webpage and Twitter for future professional development seminars.

Tips from our New Faculty Intro to Student Disability Services (SDS)

Many thanks to Student Disability Services Director Cherise Frost for presenting this session. If you couldn't attend, see below for some helpful points that came up:

  • Students need to register for accommodations via SDS and renew their registration each semester; when the semester starts, there is usually a waitlist of 2-3 weeks for new meetings with a Disability Specialist; you can help remind students to register/renew by including a prompt in your syllabus.
  • There is no deadline to register with SDS and students can request accommodations up to finals week - again, you can include a reminder that encourages them to submit their accommodation letters as soon as possible, but you cannot set a deadline.
  • It is a student’s responsibility to self-identify as a student with a disability; if a student tells you they are experiencing anxiety or mental health issues in response to questions about late work or attendance, gently suggest they speak to SDS and CAPS.
  • Helpful links:
  • Resources from the Office for Teaching and Learning (OTL) on accessible course design: