Teaching Institute

Because it Matters: Engaging Students in Today's Colleges and Universities

Ernest Morrell, Keynote Speaker

Ernest Morrell is the Coyle Professor in Literacy Education an inaugural director of the Center for Literacy Education in the University of Notre Dame's Institute for Educational Initiatives. Morrell is serving a three-year term on the American Educational Research Association's Executive Committee (AERA). Prior to this position, Morrell was the Macy Professor of English Education at Columbia University's Teachers College and was the director of Columbia's Institute for Urban and Minority Education (IUME). In addition to this work, he has been president of the National Council of Teachers of English and a member of the International Literacy Association and the ILA's Literacy Research Panel.

Teaching, Leading, and Learning through Compassion

Christopher Kukk, Keynote Speaker

This talk combines research findings in the fields of neuroscience and social sciences to demonstrate how and why compassion is a key source of success in achieving several interconnected goals in education (i.e., more effective teaching and learning as well as more productive teams/departments).

Christopher Kukk is the author of the text The Compassionate Achiever and Professor of Political Science/Social Science at Western Connecticut State University and the founding Director of the Center for Compassion, Creativity and Innovation.

Academic Publishing: The Implications of Transitioning from Scarcity to Abundance

Jason Schmitt, Keynote Speaker

Jason Schmitt is a filmmaker, journalist, and Chair of the Department of Communication, Media & Design at Clarkson University in Potsdam, NY.  Schmitt concentrates his research toward online education impacting a global audience, open access relating to academic publications, and the reproducibility crisis in science.

Schmitt’s documentary, “Paywall: The Business of Scholarship,” specifically investigates the economic and societal impact of academic publishing, the $25.2 billion a year that flows into for-profit academic publishers, the 35-40% profit margin associated with the top academic publisher Elsevier, and how that profit margin is often greater than some of the most profitable technology companies like Apple, Facebook, and Google.

Working Together to Foster Mental Wellness in the SUNY Oneonta Community 

Matthew Shapiro, Keynote Speaker

Matthew Shapiro is the Associate Director, Public Affairs for the National Alliance on Mental Illness-New York State (NAMI-NYS), the state chapter of NAMI, the nation’s largest grassroots organization dedicated to improving the lives of individuals and family members impacted by mental illness. A passionate advocate with a dual perspective of someone with lived experience as well as a family member, Matthew directs NAMI-NYS's public policy platform and communication efforts along with organizing NAMI-NYS's annual education conference and managing other special projects.

Matthew is the host of the NAMI-NYS produced television program Mental Health Now and is a frequent guest on Capital Region television and radio programs (such as Capital Tonight, Capital Pressroom and the AMC Roundtable) to discuss mental health issues. He has also presented at numerous national conferences and conventions including the CIT International Convention, the annual NIMH Outreach Partner Program meeting, the CNS Summit, the We Work for Health Summit and the NAMI National Convention. He also provides the family/consumer perspective at the Crisis Intervention Trainings held by the Albany Police Department and Albany County. He also presents to each class of cadets in the Albany Police Academy.

At a Glance Schedule

Innovative Pedagogy & Student Success

Dr. Kevin M.Gannon, Keynote Speaker

Kevin Gannon serves as Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) and Professor of History at Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa, where he's taught since 2004. His teaching, research, and public work (including writing) centers on critical and inclusive pedagogy; race, history, and justice; and technology and teaching. He writes for Vitae (a section of The Chronicle of Higher Education), and his essays on higher education have also been published in Vox and other media outlets. His book Radical Hope: A Teaching Manifesto, was published by West Virginia University press in Spring, 2020, as part of their Teaching and Learning in Higher Education series, edited by James M. Lang. He also gives frequent talks and workshops, and appeared in the Oscar-nominated documentary 13th, directed by Ava DuVernay.

 You can find him on Twitter: @TheTattooedProf.

This session will explore not only the research basis for Inclusive Pedagogy, but practical strategies for its application. It’s one thing to say “these are great evidence-based practices,” but unless we’re able to put them into operation in, say, four sections of our 101 course, the evidence doesn’t help us so much. We’ll examine areas of Inclusive Pedagogy such as sense of belonging, representation, and accessibility, and participants will have the opportunity to think about how they might implement these strategies in their own practice.

At a Glance Schedule & Session Recordings