CAFE PROGRAMS & OPPORTUNITIES
Blackwell Talks October 26
Scholar: Sharee Murphy
Talk: The Theory of Fruitfulness: Community-Centered Leadership Formation Through Call Me MISTER
Where: Virginia Room
Light lunch provided.
Saving for Retirement
When: October 20, 3:30-5:00 pm
Where: CAFE Classroom, Allen 308
Registration Link: https://forms.gle/jTp9kXwkd1RHrtV69
Have you put off saving for retirement, or are you wondering if you have done everything you can? Join CAFE as we host AJ Sanfratelli, a financial expert who has worked for years with working folks looking to develop a nest egg for retirement. Faculty in all career stages are welcome to attend.
Teaching with Purpose in the GenAI Era: Lessons from the Science of Learning (An Alchemy by Nectar Webinar)
Speaker: Dr. Todd Zakrajsek
When: Wednesday, October 28, 12:00–1:00 p.m.
Where: CAFE Classroom, Allen 308
Join CAFE staff for a shared viewing of this webinar exploring how insights from the science of learning can inform purposeful teaching in the age of generative AI. Dr. Todd Zakrajsek, longtime faculty development leader and co-author of The Science of Learning Meets AI, will examine how educators can draw on established principles of learning to make intentional decisions about integrating AI into teaching while keeping student learning at the center.
P&T: Writing Your Teaching Philosophy (First Year Faculty)
When: October 29th, 3:30-5:00 pm
Where: CAFE Classroom, Allen 308
Registration Link: https://forms.gle/kvM2r2mMYuYkaS54A
This 90-minute workshop is designed to help all faculty, clinicians, and lecturers create or revise their teaching philosophy as part of their P&T portfolio. Attendees will learn about the FPPM requirement for teaching philosophy, reflect on their teaching practice, and shape a draft of their teaching philosophy for the portfolio audience. It may be helpful to bring a laptop or device to use when crafting your philosophy.
As CAFE is not involved in the P&T process, attendees are asked to discuss departmental and college requirements with their department chairs before attending the workshop.
FOCUSED WORK SESSIONS
Pomodoros: Focused Work Sessions
Join CAFE for Pomodoro sessions again this semester. All faculty and staff are welcome. The sessions use a focused cycle: set a goal, work towards it for 25 minutes, and then take a five-minute break. You will repeat the cycle three times. Choose the session that fits your needs and attend when you are able.
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Wonderful Women @ Work with Sarah Tanner-Anderson--your ACE VA Women’s Network co-institutional representative Join women faculty and staff for a welcoming, focused work session that provides dedicated time to make progress on the work that matters most to you. |
Mondays@ 8:30-10:00 am @ https://longwood-edu.zoom.us/my/tannerandersonsl
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Focused Work Pomodoro with Pam Tracy A focused work session where faculty and staff can set aside time to make progress on the work that matters most to them. |
Wednesdays 9:00-10:30 am @ https://longwood-edu.zoom.us/my/tracypj |
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Research Pomodoro with Renee Gutiérrez Join fellow faculty for a session dedicated to making progress on your research, whether you are writing, analyzing data, reviewing literature, or working on another aspect of a research project. |
Mondays @ 3:30-5:00pm @ https://longwood-edu.zoom.us/j/98290614088?pwd=tufEbzYmPSPe0y9N0C2pHU9TdbaRx0.1 |
ACROSS CAMPUS
AI Conversations @ Greenwood Library
An Intro to BoodleBox: A Collaborative AI Workspace
Khawaja Mamun, Dean of the College of Business & Economics
When: October 20, 4:00 pm
Where: Library 209
What Makes This ‘Honors’?: Split-Sections & Enhancements Workshop
Facilitators: Dr. Kevin Schattenkirk, Dr. Hannah Dudley Shotwell, Dr. Adrienne Sudbury, and Ms. Rebecca Sturgill
When: October 22, 2026, 3:30-5:00 pm
Where: Allen 308
Register: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf5Izxvo5qEbp9i6VNXXg9irvIHcby0It48YmZkAirddVBnTg/viewform?usp=publish-editor
Are you excited by the prospect of teaching Honors courses? Are you wondering what exactly makes an assignment or project 'Honors'? Please join us for a workshop on pedagogical approaches to developing split-sections and enhancements, two common ways for students to earn Honors credit.
Authors Reading Series with Reception and Author Meet & Greet
Author Larry Thacker
Wednesday, October 21, 2026, 7 pm, Allen 101
Contact Dr. Mary Carroll-Hackett @ carrollhackettma@longwood.edu with any questions.
Bring the Author Reading Series into your course! Encourage your students to attend and use the editable reflection assignment to help them connect the experience to your course content and learning goals. Go to https://solomon.longwood.edu/cafe/upcoming-events-2026-2027/ to download the reflection assignment.
Larry D. Thacker is a Kentuckian writer, artist, educator, and reality show actor, living in Johnson City, Tennessee. His poetry, fiction, and non-fiction can be found in over 200 publications, including Spillway, Still: The Journal, Valparaiso Poetry Review, Illuminations, American Journal of Poetry, Poetry South, and Appalachian Review. His short stories can be found in past issues of the Still: The Journal, Fried Chicken and Coffee, Dime Show Review, Story and Grit, Pikeville Review, and FEED. His stories have been nominated for Pushcart and Best of the Net recognitions. He is the author of Mountain Mysteries: The Mystic Traditions of Appalachia (Overmountain Press, 2007) the full poetry collections Drifting in Awe (2017), Grave Robber Confessional (2019), Feasts of Evasion (2019), and Gateless Menagerie (2021), and New Red Words (2024). He has two chapbooks, Voice Hunting and Memory Train (Finishing Line Press). His short story collection, Working it Off in Labor County: Stories, is published with West Virginia University Press (2021). The follow-up collection to Working, entitled Labor Days, Labor Nights: More Stories, was published in 2021, and a short story collection, Everyday Monsters, co-authored with CM Chapman, was published in 2021. A fourth short story collection entitled The Wicked Road to Yam Junction is forthcoming from Unsolicited Press in late 2026. He has a full poetry collection (co-written with Jesse Graves), entitled A Little Light in the Grave, forthcoming in late 2026.
He is a veteran of the US Army and a seventh-generation native of the Cumberland Gap area. His MFA in poetry and fiction is from West Virginia Wesleyan College. He is also a 15-year veteran of the student services field in higher education with multiple professional degrees. He is an occasional adjunct instructor at Northeast State Community College. You can also find him as a regular on the Netflix reality show, Swap Shop, which premiered in November of 2021. He is now involved as a cast member in the filming of the new series, Conjuring Truth, forthcoming on Scare Channel TV. Website: http://www.larrydthacker.com
SYNC YOUR CALENDARS: 2026-2027 CAFE SIGNATURE PROGRAMS
Pre-Semester Pedagogy Series January 6-7, 2027
Faculty Well-Being Month April 2027
2027 Teaching and Learning Institute May 18, 2027