Inside the Core: Faculty Development Sessions

Inside the Core this week we had our first faculty development session of the semester, geared to Core I, on the subject of immigration in connection with Core I texts, such as Exodus, Ruth and the New Testament. This event was a follow-up to the panel presentation on Tuesday, September 24, moderated by Jonathan Heaps, director of the Lonergan Center and Core faculty member, and featuring panelists Susan Reynolds, assistant professor of Catholic Studies and interim director of Catholic Studies the Candler School of Theology | Graduate Division of Religion at Emory University, and Abbey Murphy, Ph.D. student at Boston College. This faculty development session, led by Core I coordinator Elizabeth Redwine, also lecturer in the English Department, is one of many in a long-standing history of enriching and relevant sessions for faculty to enhance their teaching and the experience of their students in Core I and Core II.

Along with Elizabeth Redwine for Core I, Core II’s coordinator is Todd Stockdale, Core fellow. Both coordinators plan these sessions with wisdom and insight, and faculty clearly appreciate the events. The one this week after the immigration panel showed engagement of the faculty who attended, as I did. Coming up in October will be another faculty development session, held in conjunction with the "First Year Writing Program" of the English Department, on the topic of AI and how to navigate the challenges it poses in our classes. A third session for this semester will focus on Dorothy Day, one of the most popular choices among the modern writers from which faculty can select for their Core I classes, as we are hosting an event with Dorothy Day’s granddaughter, Martha Hennessy, who will address our Seton Hall community at 2 p.m., November 6, in the Chancellor’s Suite.

Over the past year of 2023 and 2024, our Core I and Core II coordinators offered the following faculty development sessions, illustrating the breadth and depth of the program:

• A session on Pope Francis’ Laudato Si (Core II text), led by Father Joseph Laracy, professor in Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology and Core faculty member;
• A session on Christian mystics Hildegard of Bingen and Julian of Norwich (Core II authors), led by Core Fellow Erin Zoutendam;
•  A session on Toni Morrison’s Beloved and the Book of Ruth (both texts in Core I), led by Mary Balkun, professor of English;
• A session on the writing proficiencies and best practices for assignments, led by Kelly Shea, professor of English and director of "First Year Writing," and Deb Zinicola, College of Human Development, Culture and Media;
• A session on Pope Francis, immigration and migrants, led by Core Fellow Roger Alfani.

These kinds of sessions, varying in topic but always geared directly to the classes, have been planned and orchestrated by our two coordinators for many years. The coordinators also supplement the formal sessions with informal “Coffee with the Coordinator” Teams meetings, where faculty meet on Teams informally with their respective coordinator of Core I or Core II, to discuss any classroom or other issues they wish. This practice, begun by Todd Stockdale during Covid as a way to allow faculty to feel more connected, has been continued by both coordinators as a positive way for faculty to become more of a community, even in these post-Covid times.

So, we in the Core are very grateful to our coordinators of Core I and II for these wonderful faculty development sessions. We also deeply appreciate our Core III coordinator, Deb Zinicola and (up until this fall, where she and Angela Weisl became co-chairs of the Signature Course Curriculum Committee), Mary Balkun. We are fortunate to have these faculty leaders to support our engaged and committed Core faculty.

Categories: Faith and Service