Dear Colleagues,
I hope you had an enjoyable and restful spring break and are energized for the remainder of the semester! I have been enjoying some of the warmer temperatures and am eager for the arrival of spring later this month. We are entering a busy and exciting part of the year with many celebrations for our students and colleagues.
With the solar eclipse just over a month away, we are thrilled to share upcoming events related to this special event that will occur on April 8 and during the preceding week. Beginning the week of April 1, the College of Science and Mathematics will host an informative lecture, an outdoor movie, and stargazing. On the day of the solar eclipse, the Dayton and Lake Campuses will provide viewing glasses (while supplies last), pinhole viewing boxes, lawn games, telescopes, safety demonstrations, food trucks, and live music. We will continue to provide additional information about the specifics of the event as the date nears. Many thanks to those who have planned activities at Wright State. This is sure to be a time to remember!
Midterm Grading
Midterm grading for the Spring Semester closed last week, and we are happy to report that 96.81% of required classes reported midterm grades, the highest submission rate we’ve had! Over 28,000 grades were submitted, and more than 8,000 students received this important progress information. I would like to congratulate the College of Science and Mathematics, which had a 99.54% submission rate, and the Boonshoft School of Medicine, which submitted 100% of its required grades. We know that issuing midterm grades is a high-impact practice for student success and look forward to improving this process as we strive for 100% compliance.
Faculty Awards for Excellence Accepting Nominations
Nominations for the 2024 Faculty Awards for Excellence are now open. The Faculty Awards for Excellence recognize select faculty members for their excellent work in the areas of teaching, research, community engagement, professional service, early career achievement, and mentoring. These awards are truly a highlight of the year.
Nominations are due by March 22. Learn more about the Faculty Awards for Excellence (PDF).
University Awards for Student Success Champions
Nominations for the University Awards for Student Success Champions are due by March 6. Learn more about the University Awards for Student Success Champions.
First-Year Seminars Piloting in Fall 2024
First-Year Seminars are a key part of our Quality Initiative project required by the Higher Learning Commission and are a High-Impact Practice. In addition to assisting students’ transition to college, they are shown to improve retention and persistence to the second year. Academic performance, student well-being, and integration into college life are all improved.
All colleges will offer pilot sections of their first-year seminar in fall 2024. Each First-Year Seminar will include robust student success and career elements and college-specific disciplinary content. College content will be developed by course leads from each college in a summer engaging course design institute.
New students are encouraged to sign up and may use the pilot course as GE elective credits. Students whose program of study does not currently have space for the class are encouraged to discuss options with advising. In fall 2025, First-Year Seminars will be a required three-hour course in the Wright State University Core for all new students except transfers.
For more information, contact sarah.mcginley@wright.edu.
Graduate Programs and Honors Studies Update
The 2024 Three Minute Thesis/Dissertation Competition on February 21 attracted a packed audience. Eleven graduate students competed, and a panel of faculty judges selected one first-place, two second-place, and three third-place winners. The audience also voted for a People’s Choice Award winner.
Our first-place winner was Robin Leann Richardson-Coy, an environmental sciences Ph.D. student in the College of Science and Mathematics. Her advisor is Dr. Yvonne Vadeboncoeur.
Congratulations to all winners: Robin Leann Richardson-Coy, Ebrahim Ebrahimi, Nainika Hira, Suvechha Bhandari, Sri Meghana Yerrapragada, Andrew Robert Young, and Aleena Alex. Learn more about the competition.
Events
- The Center for Faculty Excellence is hosting an Open House today from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in its new location, 436 Millett Hall.
- The Piediscalzi Lecture in Religion and American Culture will take place on March 11 from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in the Discovery Room (163) of the Student Union. The lecture, “Indian Secularism and the Ambivalence of Religion,” will be presented by Dr. Rajeev Bhargava, director of the Parekh Institute of Indian Thought at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies in Delhi, India. Learn more.
- The Erik C. Banks Memorial Lecture in Philosophy will take place on March 12 from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. in the Discovery Room (163) of the Student Union. The lecture, "Talking 'Cures' in the Context of Mental Health: A Better Model for Mental Health Care than Somatic Medicine," will be delivered by Dr. Anya Plutynski, professor of philosophy at Washington University in St. Louis and winner of the 2021 Lakatos Award for her book Explaining Cancer: Finding Order in Disorder. Learn more.
Faculty Resources
The presentation and supplemental material for “How Can I Use Generative AI to Assess Student Understanding? (PDF)” are available through March 10. This content is provided by Monday Morning Mentors. To access the presentation, use “generative81” as the password.
When a Student Needs Support
Wright.edu/help is a great resource for helping students or making referrals. This site contains contact information for emergency or essential departments that can assist your students all in one location.
I hope you all have a wonderful week! You are appreciated!
Amy Thompson, Ph.D.
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
