College of Arts and Sciences

Saturday, April 1
The Pulitzer by SLU: Start your Saturday night by exploring what your neighborhood has to offer. Just a few blocks from campus, the Pulitzer invites you to a special evening featuring SLU student docents who will be on hand to discuss the exhibition,
Minimalism and Beyond.
This free event is a chance to meet with fellow SLU students and staff, explore a unique cultural institution in Grand Center, ask the Pulitzer's director questions about the artwork on view, and enjoy refreshments in the courtyard. Show your SLU ID at the door for a chance to win a selection of fantastic giveaways.
For more information, visit:
www.pulitzerarts.org or call 314-
754-1850.

This event has been organized by the students in Dr. Shawn Michelle Smith's American Studies seminar, ASTA 493: Exploring the Pulitzer.

April 6
Faculty Council meeting, 3-5 p.m., Busch Student Center 253C/253D

SLU THEATRE: April 21, 22 and 28, 29 - 8:00 p.m.
and Sunday, April 23 - 2:00 p.m.
The Shape of Things
by Neil LaBute
asks, "What would you be willing to change for someone you love?" and "What price might you pay?" It probes our impulse to mold lovers into an ideal, rather than love someone simply for who they are. Bitingly comic and scathingly serious, the play explores love, sex, friendship and the very nature of ART itself. The New Yorker magazine has called Neil LaBute "an original voice - the best playwright to emerge in the past decade - a genius." "How far would you go for love?"...Decide for yourself, but not until the last word of the play is spoken. The answer may surprise you.
(adult content - not suitable for children)

April 27
Department Chairs' Meeting,
3:00 - 4:30 p.m., BSC 351.

Workshops on Grading and Assessment on May 16, 2006

For more information, contact Julie Weissman, Associate Provost, at 977-2193 or at weissman@slu.edu.
To register: http://fyp.slu.edu/

Barbara E. Walvoord, Ph.D., author of Effective Grading and Assessment Clear and Simple, Chair of Assessment Committee, Fellow of the Intstitute for Educational Initiatives, and Professor of English, University of Notre Dame, will offer two workshops on May 16 to SLU faculty and staff.

For Faculty:
Tuesday, May 16, 8:30 a.m. to noon, Busch Student Center, Saint Louis Room
Making the Grading Process Fair, Time-Efficient, and Useful for Student Learning AND Using the Grading Process for Departmental Decisions

The workshop addresses these questions:

How do I create assignments that demand high-quality student thinking?

How can I make grading fair and consistent for all my students?

How can we make grading consistent across sections of the same course?

How can we deal effectively with "grade inflation"?

How can we help students focus on the learning, not just on the grade?

How can we make grading time-efficient?

How can we use classroom evaluation of student learning for departmental and program-level improvement?

For "Unit" Directors and Faculty:
Tuesday, May 16, 1:00 - 4:00 p.m., Busch Student Center, Saint Louis Room
Practical and Feasible Ways to Assess and Improve Student Learning in Departments and General Education

Issues include:

how to get department members on board; how to do assessment within available time and resources; what is the most basic, simple, no-frills assessment plan; how to simplify an assessment plan that is too complicated; how to construct workable goals for learning; how to choose assessment measures that are sustainable and useful; how to conduct simple yet useful surveys of students and alumni; how to use the grading process for assessment; how to ensure validity and reliability in measures; and how to actually USE your data for the benefit of the department and its students.

The Faculty Council will be sending out a request for nominations for next year's council. Please consider serving on this body particularly if you have never done so or encourage a colleague to run.