CAFE: The Center for the Advancement of Faculty Excellence
CAFE, formerly The Center for Educational Excellence and Innovation, offers a wide range of activities and resources designed to improve faculty retention, job satisfaction, expertise, and engagement in academic life. CAFE strives to spotlight UVA Wise faculty excellence, promote research-driven national best practices, introduce new pedagogy, and nurture deep reflection and cross-disciplinary communities of practice in teaching and learning at UVA Wise.
Located on the second floor in room 230 of Smiddy Hall, CAFE was created to provide free support and instruction at every level of faculty development for anyone in a full or part-time teaching role at UVA Wise.
- CAFE One Time Workshops, which are advertised each month and available on a monthly calendar, encourage faculty to drop in for 50-minute coffee stops in Smiddy Hall room 230 to learn about recent relevant research in teaching and scholarship.
- CAFE Faculty Learning Communities enable a series of more in-depth collaborative multidisciplinary conversations with colleagues held regularly over an entire academic year. For example, the New Faculty Learning Community offers mentoring and support to all new faculty in their first year at UVA Wise and the Tenure and Promotion Learning Community offers resources and hands-on workshops to assist faculty in understanding teaching, service, and support faculty in those processes.
- CAFE promotes UVA CTE workshops and other national academic resources and events that are open to UVA Wise faculty.
- CAFE provides a frequently updated Faculty Resources page with UVA Wise campus policies, handouts, links, video presentations, and podcasts to promote excellence in teaching, service, and scholarship at UVA Wise.
- CAFE partners with various campus organizations, departments, and programs to sponsor and promote events like writing retreats and community-engaged activities that allow faculty to build community and connect over shared interests and research opportunities.
- CAFE assists with writing and critical thinking assessment at UVA Wise and offers resources and workshops that promote improvement in communication skills and thinking.
- CAFE is available for individual or departmental conversations about teaching, service and scholarship by appointment.
Bookmark the calendar to check out current activities!
New at UVA Wise in Spring 2025
- One Thing Better: The Engaged Teacher Experiment: This new Faculty Learning Community offers faculty an opportunity to review recent research on best practices in student engagement in their discipline and commit to enacting and assessing one new engagement practice of their choice in at least one class each month. Participants will share their reflections and results each month so monthly attendance (scheduled once we have a list of participants) by zoom or in person is required.* Email Emily ead2y@uvawise.edu by 1/27 to sign up.
- Peer Review of Senior Instructor Materials: This is available at any time this semester in person or by Zoom by contacting Emily at ead2y@uvawise.edu. CAFE can help you in any way from brainstorming or drafting to revising and editing as you prepare your materials for this new opportunity. Just email Emily to set up a time and date that works for you.
- Study Abroad Planning: Join Candice Stadler, the Director of International Programs and Services, for a conversation on how to select a destination, the planning process, and more Wednesday, February 19th at 1 Pm in the Library room 509 (right next to Books and Brew).
- Making Office Hours Matter: This workshop on 3/17 at 1PM offers information and resources about making your office hours student-friendly and productive. We will discuss how to encourage attendance, resources you should have available, and specific questions you can ask, as well as language to avoid (office hours for example!) to make your meetings with students more productive.
- Sabbatical 101: This four-part lecture series offers information about How and When to Take a Sabbatical in February, followed in March by three presentations co-sponsored by the Lecture Committee from Cody Sanders on 3/6, John Mark Adrian on 3/17, and Donnie Sorah on 3/19 about recent sabbatical projects. Come learn about pitching your project, IRB approvals, funding, research strategies and presentation or publication opportunities. Come learn how to make the most of your sabbatical.
- Better Self-Reflective Assignments: This pizza and pedagogy workshop will help you develop and improve the reflective prompts you use in your classes. Come share your best practices and learn a few simple ways to direct student attention to the important issues they have encountered and to better articulate what is truly at the heart of their experiences. April 14th at 1 PM: Please register in advance by 11 AM on 4/14 so I can order enough pizza.
- Guiding AI: This pizza and pedagogy workshop will offer a few very simple instructions that you can add to a rubric or assignment to help students use AI in responsible ways that lead to greater creativity, organization and critical thinking. Come share your best practices and learn a few simple ways to help students navigate AI better. April 28th at 1 PM: Please register in advance by 11 AM on 4/28 so I can order enough pizza.
- Teaching Reflection SOPA Workshop: This hands-on workshop (and free dinner) on Wednesday, May 2nd from 2-5 PM in Smiddy 230 provides model examples, guided discussions, and the focused work time needed to develop and assess your teaching philosophy. We'll discuss the nuts and bolts of writing your reflective teaching assessment for promotion and contract renewal reviews. You'll explore the various components of a teaching statement, examine sample statements from a variety of disciplines, and learn to apply a basic rubric for evaluating our own teaching statement. You'll also have a chance to reflect on your teaching philosophy and practices and consider how you wish to communicate these in writing.
- Foundations of Generative AI in Education Summer Institute: Faculty are invited to attend a three-day institute with local teachers about generative AI in all levels of education. Day one will be an orientation to how and what AI can do and best practices for teaching students ethical and useful ways to use it as well as reasons to avoid it in some instances. Day two offers a hands-on opportunity to redevelop or develop an AI policy and at least one AI-integrated assignment for your students. Day three offers an opportunity to workshop your policy and assignment with teachers in your field. June 2-4 Slemp Center 5th Floor. Free for UVA Wise Faculty. Registration Required.
Returning to UVA Wise in Spring 2025
- Master Teacher Learning Community: This Faculty Learning Community invites faculty to drop in any time and talk to colleagues about teaching. Join us on the first Monday and Tuesday of the month in Smiddy 230 starting on Monday, February 3 at 1:00 and Tuesday, 2/4 at 12:30.
- International Faculty Coffee and Conversation: This Faculty Learning Community, hosted by Heather Gordon and Zafar Khan, will meet on the second Wednesday of each month at 1 PM in room 509 of the Library starting February 12th.
- Taco 'bout Teaching Book Club: Creating Wicked Students This Faculty Learning Community, hosted by Julia Weiss, will meet on the third Thursday of each month at 3:30 at El Dorado starting Thursday, 2/20/25. *Email Emily to join and get a free copy of this semester's book, Creating Wicked Students by Paul Hanstedt Creating Wicked Students: Hanstedt, Paul: 9781620366974: Amazon.com: Books
*Registration is required for these events. Email ead2y@uvawise.edu to register or get the Zoom link!
New Recommended Off-Campus Workshops in Spring 2025
ACUE Effective Teaching Webinar. February 6th at 3PM Online. Advance registration required at First Day Magic? Effective Teaching Practices for Faculty to Start Strong
The Chronicle Webinar: Using AI for Research. February 24th at 2Pm on Zoom. Register in advance at Webinar Registration - Zoom.
UVA CTE OneHE Lunch and Learns: Join us this semester for our virtual OneHE Lunch and Learns! In this series, we'll explore various topics by engaging with a OneHE course and hearing from our colleagues across Grounds. Since these sessions are virtual, you're encouraged to bring your own lunch. All sessions will be held on Zoom and facilitated by CTE Associate Director Derek Bruff. February 10th Digital Reading, February 21st Exp Education, March 3rd Mental Health Resouces, March 20th Attention and Distraction Resources. All sessions are at noon on Zoom. All sessions require advance registration at UVA Center for Teaching Excellence.
Scholars in Progress:“Engaging with Feedback: Peer-Reviewed Articles.” This session will be held via Zoom on Tuesday, March 18, at 12:30 PM EST. Register in advance here.
UVA CTE Innovations in Pedagogy Summit: April 30th from 8 AM to 5 PM. Concurrent Sessions, Including Online sessions, TBA. Innovations in Pedagogy Summit — UVA Center for Teaching Excellence
Need Resources or Recommendations?
Click above to access the CAFE Resource page with updated Academic Affairs policies and a variety of recorded workshops, handouts, videos, podcasts, and other materials developed by our own faculty and from national experts to help you with any questions you may face in teaching, service, scholarship, and academic life
Don't see something you need?
Email Emily Dotson at ead2y@uvawise.edu to request a workshop or event.
Want to offer a workshop?
If you would like to offer a workshop to help develop college-wide teaching or professional development, please send your workshop title, a brief description, and proposed dates to Emily at ead2y@uvawise.edu at least 30 days before the anticipated workshop.
Have a Question or Need Individual Attention?
The CAFE Director, Emily Dotson, came to UVA Wise as Director of the campus wide QEP, Wise Writes. When the QEP successfully ended, she extended her work in faculty professional development by becoming the founding Director of the Center for Educational Excellence and Innovation in 2021. She is also a Tenured Associate Professor in the Language and Literature Department. She holds a PhD in Literature with graduate credentials in Scientific and Technical Writing, Social Theory, Writing Program Administration, Writing Assessment, and a recent degree in Higher Education Teaching and Learning from Harvard. She has thirty-plus years of teaching experience and has won multiple awards for teaching from UVA Wise, Paducah Community College, Midway College, Muray State University, UNC Wilmington, NCSU, and the University of Kentucky, where she was the first and still to date the only person to win the highest award for teaching, The Provost's Award, solo for both in-person and online teaching. At the University of Kentucky, she was Director of the Robert Hanneman Campus Writing Center, Assistant Director of the multidisciplinary Writing in the Disciplines QEP, and a Founding Director of the Elbert C Ray Digital Studio for STEM Writing. She maintains an active research agenda in two disciplinary fields: English Literature and SoTL.
Emily Dotson is always happy to meet privately to discuss your pedagogical philosophy, solve a teaching challenge, or brainstorm ways to live a more meaningful and engaged faculty life. She is also happy to observe your class and provide feedback or survey your students at any point in the semester.
Frequently Asked Questions About CAFE
What is CAFE?
CAFE offers a wide range of activities and programs designed to improve faculty retention, job satisfaction, expertise, and engagement with students.
Although all faculty are experts in their disciplinary field, few have professional training in educational pedagogy and practice or other specialized demands of faculty positions at UVA Wise. CAFE was created to fill this gap by providing support and instruction at every level of faculty development.
CAFE develops and promotes teaching and learning resources to spotlight UVA Wise faculty excellence, promote research-driven national best practices, introduce new pedagogy and practices, and nurture deep reflection and cross-disciplinary connection around teaching and learning at UVA Wise.
In 2023-2024, CAFE successfully planned and promoted 11 Teaching Workshops, 12 Professional Development workshops, 8 Faculty Learning Communities, and 4 community-building events. There were more than 32 faculty presenters, a 23% increase, and a total of 208 participants, a 49% growth in attendance.
What are CAFE workshops like?
In 2022-2023, CAFE hosted 85 workshops with twenty-six faculty presenters and over 150 participants.
CAFE workshops on teaching or professional development allow faculty to drop in for a 40-minute presentation with a ten-minute Q&A on a specific topic.
Faculty Learning Communities offer a series of collaborative multidisciplinary conversations with colleagues in fifty-minute meetings held regularly over an entire academic year.
A campus expert on the topic leads most workshops and Faculty Learning Communities.
CAFE promotes UVA CTE and other national academic activities open to us.
Registration is required in advance for some workshops and noted in the workshop description.
What is a Faculty Learning Community?
Many CAFE workshops are offered as a series of connected or thematically related meetings that allow faculty to have deeper, sustained, multidisciplinary conversations with other faculty in a learning community. These meetings are listed on the calendar monthly. While faculty can drop in or out at any time for most of these groups, Faculty Learning Communities work best when faculty attend these meetings monthly over the semester for an advanced or more complex opportunity for learning and reflection.
Who can attend a workshop or event?
CAFE workshops are free and open to anyone in a full or part-time teaching position at UVA Wise.
While some CAFE workshops are open to faculty and staff, CAFE is not connected to Human Resources, so CAFE cannot offer workshops or resources targeted to staff development or involving HR concerns. We encourage you to send any requests for staff development and all Human Resource issues to the Director of Human Resources, Stephanie Perry. See more information about UVA Wise Human Resources.
How do I find out about upcoming CAFE workshops or events?
Workshops are advertised on the faculty listserv and updated on the calendar on this site monthly. Significant notice may not always be possible with events scheduled and promoted by other Colleges, organizations, or people.
Please check your email for updates or changes to dates/times/ locations, or email Emily at ead2y@uvawise.edu to confirm events.
Where are CAFE workshops held?
Because we are an in-person campus, all CAFE workshops are on campus in the CAFE Center, 230 Smiddy Hall, and in person unless otherwise stated.
Can I attend remotely or watch a recorded workshop?
Zoom participation is possible at most workshops if you request this in advance.
CAFE makes every attempt to record and post our events. However, please be aware that events hosted by someone other than the Director may not be recorded as the presenter always has the final say in whether their talk or workshop will be recorded or made publicly available.
Recorded workshops are made public on the CAFE Resources page.
Where can I find info about past events or workshops?
The description of all of this academic year's workshops can be found on the calendar.
Learn about workshops and events from a prior year by contacting Emily Dotson at ead2y@uvawise.edu
How is CAFE assessed?
CAFE is assessed annually through a faculty-wide survey on programs and practices. In 2023-2024, faculty reported 96% satisfaction with the diversity, delivery, and timeliness of programs. In addition, individual workshops and learning communities are assessed through additional satisfaction surveys sent to participants. In 2023-2024, all learning communities had 95% or higher satisfaction rates.
Read More in our 2024 Three Year Program Review at https://uvawise.box.com/s/imqygs4evd7eq9ixhnar8mup7bc8ttis
Who is the Director of CAFE, what do they do, and to whom do they report?
The Director of CAFE is Emily Dotson, a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Language and Literature. See her bio at https://uvawise.box.com/s/70gb1m7r74p18npja1qiqssfkxadse2l
The CAFE Director is a member of Academic Affairs and reports to the Dean of Faculty Affairs and the Provost.
CAFE Director Job Description at https://uvawise.box.com/s/csuv1f4lwrtr0dfq2ezbuph6p7oxe3dn
CAFE Mentor of the Year Award
CAFE is proud to offer one award annually for exceptional faculty mentoring at UVA Wise. This person has shown exemplary connected and collegial service to others and served as a model of the teaching, service, scholarship and academic life we imagine in the very finest of UVA Wise faculty.
Winner of the 2023-2024 CAFE Mentor of the Year Award
Karen Carter, Associate Professor of Computer Science
Winner of the 2022-2023 CAFE Mentor of the Year Award
Christa Moore, Associate Professor of Sociology
Winner of the 2021-2022 CAFE Mentor of the Year Award
Elizabeth Dotson Shupe, Assistant Professor of Education
CAFE proudly salutes the Academic Affairs Faculty Award Winners for 2023-2024
Questions?
Contact Emily Dotson ead2y@uvawise.edu for more information.