University of Alaska Anchorage

  • The Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence (CAFE) uses a colleague-to-colleague model to promote excellence and innovation in teaching and learning. Through one-time and multi-part workshops, professional development events, and special opportunities, we help faculty network with others in collegial settings to develop strategies that promote student success and cross-disciplinary understanding. CAFE is a resource that serves and supports all faculty (part-time, term, tenure track) on all five UAA campuses.

    Learn more about CAFE

 

CAFE Events & Faculty Development Opportunities

Hover your mouse cursor over an event's title below to reveal its event summary. Otherwise, click on the title for a complete description of the event. See full CAFE Calendar.

UAA/APU Books of the Year Program

 UAA/APU Books of the Year Logo. Includes books from the current Books of the Year theme: Building Community Resilience. Books include: 1. Community Resilience Reader (by Daniel Lerch) 2. This Changes Everything (by Naomi Klein) 3. The Winona LaDuke Chronicles (by Winona LaDuke) 4. Drawdown (by Paul Hawken) 5. Salvage The Bones (by Jesmyn Ward) 6. Threadbare (by Mary Kudenov)

Theme: Building Community Resilience

 

 

 

   

Teaching & Learning

Although faculty members are experts in a given academic discipline, most receive very little training and development as educators. Faculty development is the means by which faculty develop teaching skills and come to understand the learning process. Through cross-disciplinary onboarding events, workshops, learning communities, conference-style academies, intensives, and peer-led programming, CAFE advocates for, supports the use of, and encourages the critical evaluation of inclusive, evidence-based pedagogies and practices that serve the needs of our diverse community of learners. 

 

Choron Ryan, term instructor of biological sciences, with her anatomy and physiology class.

 

Career Support

Whether you've a recent arrival fresh out of New Faculty Orientation or an Associate or Full Professor with a long career who's thinking about what's next, CAFE would be honored to help you grow as a professional in higher education. CAFE offers programming designed to help you improve scholarly writing and productivity, promote your work through your professional ePortfolio, and tackle challenging problems and develop your leadership skills as a Chair or Director of an academic department. We'll be happy to help you review career goals and develop a road map that can take you where you'd like to be.

 

UAA faculty gather in the Consortium Libarary for an Academic Assessment Retreat.

 

New Faculty Resources

Whether you're completely new to teaching in higher education or just new to teaching at UAA, CAFE is pleased to be able to support you on this part of your professional journey. We coordinate New Faculty Orientation, provide initial support for part-time faculty via the adjunct faculty portal, and are available for a range of different types of teaching support. The following items represent some key resources for those who are new to teaching at UAA, but if you have questions or need resources not listed, don't hesitate to contact us at (907) 786-4645.

  • New Faculty Orientation
  • Workload Fulfillment | Tenure Track (Under Construction)
  • Workload Fulfillment | Non-Tenure Track (Under Construction)

 

Spirit on the campus of the University of Alaska Anchorage.

 

We Can't Do This Alone!

CAFE accomplishes its work through the development of relationships and active partnerships with collaborators that span the University. Programming currently includes partners like:

 As well as our wonderful team of CAFE Faculty Associates!

Collaborating team members fist bump towards the center of their workspace.

 

CAFE Calendar