CTL Start-Up Grant Recipients Announced

The Center for Teaching and Learning concluded its 2023-2024 academic year by awarding three grants to SAIC faculty. The CTL's Pedagogy Start-Up grant initiative provided part-time faculty with a monetary award to develop 2024 summer and fall courses. We received several worthy applications and are pleased to announce this year’s recipients.

Professor Jerry Bleem (Fiber and Material Studies) for "Contextualizing Textiles: The Big Picture"
Professor Bleem will develop a new research studio course, "Contextualizing Textiles: The Big Picture," which introduces students to the SAIC’s Textile Resource Center and draws from his extensive travel experience. 

Professor Terri Griffith (Liberal Arts) for "Cyber Feminism."
Professor Griffith will create a new First Year Seminar II course, entitled "Cyber Feminism." This course focuses on intersectional feminisms and their expression in digital and irl spaces. She will use the grant to complete a series of Vanderbilt University designed Coursera courses: Prompt Engineering for ChatGPT, ChatGPT Advanced Data Analysis, and Trustworthy Generative AI. 

Professor Gary McDowell (Liberal Arts) for "Topics in Chemistry: Working with AI"
Professor McDowell will use funding to create a module that introduces students to generative AI tools. The module includes specific group assignments and discussions that consider how AI affects writing about art. McDowell hopes that the module can “dispel some myths and clarify understanding about how generative AI works.”

Congratulations to our grant recipients. Information about the next round of grant funding will appear in August 2024.