Committees

Professional Development Committee

Develops, coordinates, supports, and monitors the institutional and individual non-sabbatical professional development activities of faculty. To further collegiality and make good use of resources, this committee coordinates with both classified and administrative professional development committees.

First Friday is now Faculty Forum Professional Development

Our next Faculty Forum will be announced soon!

More details to follow soon!

Faculty Forums are designed to engage faculty in key issues and challenges facing our college.  

  • Faculty Forums will be held on once a month during Fall and Spring semesters, typically on a Friday from 10:00 am - 11:20 am on Zoom unless otherwise noted. We encourage our speakers to record the event for maximum accessibility. When the events are recorded, the recordings will be posted shortly after each meeting.
  • Recording of all previous First Fridays are posted below. 

Past First Friday Events & Recordings

The next event will be in Spring 2024

First Friday meeting date Speakers & Topic

December 1, 2023

Course Design for Inclusive Engagement

Speakers: Lea Hald & Jessica Krug

Please join the faculty EpiCenter leads in this interactive workshop on how you can design your course for greater engagement. 

View Course Design for Inclusive Engagement Workshop

Course design for engagement workshop slide deck

November 3, 2023

DE Committee Presents: Online Community Exchange: AI in your Syllabus

Speakers: DE Committee

This is the first in a series of Online Community Exchanges (faculty conversations) regarding teaching and learning in the online environments. AI in your Syllabus will be a conversation and share out about what we include or would like to include (or not) on our syllabi about Generative AI, and ideas about how to include it generally or with an eye toward specific assignments like discussions.

Generative AI Syllabus Statement Considerations Sample Guideline

This session was not recorded intentionally, but future conversations on this topic will be held. 

October 6, 2023

How can science fiction be a tool for shaping a more just world?

Speaker: Shannon Herbert, Chair of the Decolonizing the Academy Committee

Please join the Decolonizing the Academy Committee for the first Community Read of Walidah Imarisha and adrienne maree brown’s Octavia’s Brood: Science Fiction Stories from Social Justice Movements

The book is available for purchase in the SMC Book Store. It can also be accessed for free thanks through our wonderful co-sponsors at the SMC Library.

We will be discussing the “Foreword” by Sheree Renee Thomas and the “Introduction” by Walidah Imarisha

If you can’t make this discussion, don’t worry. There will be other opportunities to discuss these passages!

Recorded on September 1, 2023

Academic Senate - Call to Action

Speaker: Jamar London

Please join Academic Senate President Jamar London for our First Friday Academic Senate - Call to Action, workshop. During our time together we will discuss the role and responsibilities of Academic Senate, highlight some of our committees, discuss some hot topics, and finally inform faculty on how to get involved. 

This session was recorded.

View recording of First Friday Session - Academic Senate - Call to Action  

Slide deck from Academic Senate Call to Action

June 2, 2023

ChatGPT Workshop

Speaker: Keith Graziadei

Please come join your colleagues in a discussion of all things related to ChatGPT. This session will be a conversation and dialogue where faculty can gather to share their experiences with ChatGPT.

View ChatGPT workshop

April 28, 2023

Join us for an interactive session with Ruben Canedo where you will get a chance to apply, actualize and take action on the ideas presented in the last workshop. 

The same session will presented once on Zoom in the morning and repeated again in the afternoon on Campus.  

The Zoom session was recorded up to the point that breakout rooms were started.  Unfortunately the time after the breakout sessions was not recorded.  

View Ruben Canedo's workshop

April 25, 2023
2:30 - 3:50 p.m.

Note: this event is on a Tuesday.

Academic Senate Town Hall

Speaker: Jamar London, Academic Senate President & Elisa Meyer, English Department Chair

Description: Join Academic Senate President Jamar London and Elisa Meyer, English Department Chair, for this Town-Hall to continue a conversation about concerns and praises regarding our college. Academic Senate Leadership will continue to use your feedback to engage Senior Staff and our administrative colleagues as we all work to continue make SMC premiere destination for folks pursuing career advancement and higher education.

This event was not recorded. Notes taken (with names removed from participants) will be shared shortly.

April 7, 2023
10 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Teaching the Student and Teaching the Material: Course Planning for Student Success

Speakers: Dr. Lauren Ford & Katrina Pantig Naval

Description: Faculty have a critical role at promoting equity in the classroom by preparing an engaging learning experience for students with different backgrounds and different levels of understanding. This requires developing foundational skills of course planning  (i.e.  backward design & scaffolding). In this introductory session, participants will be exposed to an approach that demonstrates how to develop an inclusive course planning process. Building on an asset-based framework, faculty will learn practices to develop students’ knowledge, skills, and attitudes for academic success. 

This session is a repeat live Zoom version of the experience Hotep team facilitated on-ground during Professional Development Day (3/16). >

Note: This event was not recorded. 

Tuesday March 14, 2023
2:30 - 3:50 p.m.

Note: This event is not on a Friday due to a conflict with Departmental Flex Day.

Academic Senate Town Hall

Speaker: Jamar London, Academic Senate President & Elisa Meyer, English Department Chair

Description: Join Academic Senate President Jamar London and Elisa Meyer, English Department Chair, for this Town-Hall where faculty will have the opportunity to express concerns and praises regarding our college. Academic Senate Leadership will use your feedback to engage Senior Staff and our administrative colleagues as we all work to continue make SMC premiere destination for folks pursuing career advancement and higher education.

This event was not recorded. Notes taken (with names removed from participants) will be shared shortly.

September 2, 2022

Academic Senate Town Hall: Revitalizing The Center

Speakers: Jamar London - Academic Senate President, Dr. Erin Cue, Dr. Lea Hald and Dr. Jessica Krug

Please join us at the first in a series of town hall meetings intended to engage faculty in key issues and challenges facing our college. This session will focus on discussing revisioning Professional Development at SMC and the reimagining of The Center For Teaching Excellence.

View Recording of Faculty Town Hall First Friday

October 7, 2022

This event was for all employee groups and was repeated three times to reach the widest audience, once on Zoom and twice on campus.  The recording is from the Zoom session. 

Basic Needs Continuation of Conversation with Ruben Canedo from Fall Professional Development Day

Title: Transforming College Student Basic Needs: Micro to Macro Level Training

Speaker: Ruben Canedo

Please join us to continue to the conversation with Ruben about supporting ourselves and our students, basic needs, transformative justice and practice emergent strategies centered in love and wisdom.

View Recording of Ruben Canedo Workshop

November 4, 2022

I'm a college student with a disability. Stop treating me like a child.

Speakers: Eric Oifer, Nathalie Laille, Reginald Dunn (a current SMC student) and Ojen Shammasian (a former SMC and IxD graduate from SMC).

In this session, we will watch the short film I'm a college student with a disability. Stop treating me like a child, then engage in a collective conversation about it and what implications it has for how we educate and support students with disabilities.

"In this film by Samuel Habib, 21, and his father, Samuel seeks out guidance from America’s most rebellious disability activists. Because of his disability, 21-year-old Samuel Habib finds that people underestimate him. In this film, he seeks to chart how adults with disabilities build full lives — as a roadmap for himself and others.”

View Recording of I'm a College Student with a Disability Workshop

December 2, 2022

Equitable and Effective Hiring Practices

Speaker: Dr. Vicenta Arrizon

While the benefits of having a diverse and equity-minded faculty are well-researched, diversifying the faculty continues to be a controversial issue within higher education and little progress has been made. Learn more about what we can each do to take action to promote equity in the faculty search process.  Understand the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office Multiple Methods for EEO that call for centering equity and diversity in recruitment, hiring, evaluation and the tenure review process.

View the First Friday on Equitable and Effective Hiring Practices

Slide deck from the presentation


Spring Professional Development Day 2024 Schedule


Faculty Professional Development Funding

Guidelines for Professional Development Conference Request for Faculty

Information

  • PDC Conference Request Applications are accepted for in-person and virtual funding opportunities
  • Full-time and adjunct faculty may apply for PDC Conference Requests.
  • To ensure a greater distribution of funds, SMC faculty are eligible to apply once per academic year for up to $1,100.00 of professional development funding for conferences or other professional development activities for full-time faculty, $1,300.00 of professional development funding for conferences or other professional development activities for part-time faculty.
  • Funds will be allotted on a first-come, first served basis. Once the PDC Conference Request funds are depleted, applications will not be accepted until the next fiscal year.
  • The PDC is an Academic Senate Joint Committee that only meets during the fall and spring semester and does not meet during the intersessions. The PDC can receive conference funding applications dated before the start of the academic year, but since the committee does not officially meet until the fall semester, applications will not be reviewed or approved during the summer months.

Steps to Request Funding

Please read the form carefully to be sure that your proposed activity meets the guidelines established in AB1725. The application requires the approval of five signatures in total: the Department Chair, Vice President of Academic Affairs, PDC Chair, Vice President Human Resources, and the President/Superintendent. Therefore, we ask that the form be turned in at least 30 days in advance of the event.

Step 1: CLICK HERE TO FILL OUT THE FACULTY FUNDING REQUEST FORM

Procedures for Claiming Reimbursement of Conference Expenses

  • Step 2: To request reimbursement of expenses, submit the Conference Reimbursement Claim Form
    • Reimbursement requests must be accompanied with original detailed receipts.
    • Submit the claim form with original itemized receipts to Accounts Payable (accountspayable@smc.edu) for all reimbursement items. The subject line of the email requesting reimbursement should read: “PDC Reimbursement Request.”

Policies

Please note: In AB 1887, the California Legislature determined that "California must take action to avoid supporting or financing discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people." (Gov. Code, § 11139.8, subd. (a)(5).) The following states are currently subject to California's ban on state-funded and state-sponsored travel:

  • Arizona

Committee Members

  • Chair, Lea Hald
  • Vice-Chair, Kiersten Elliott
  • Jessica Krug
  • Esmeralda Martinez
  • Marissa Moreno
  • Maria Muñoz
  • Brian Rodas

Email Address

AcadSenProfDev@smc.edu

Current Meetings

Time: Tuesdays - 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. (Fall and Spring semesters only)

Location: Senate office - HSS 261 or the EpiCenter - M104 or (please see agenda), public participants can also join via Zoom, Zoom link is in agenda.

2023-2024 Academic year

All meetings will take place on Tuesdays from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. PST. Agendas will be made available prior to each meeting. Minutes posted after the meeting.

Meeting Date

Documents

September 5, 2023

09/05/23 Agenda

Minutes - Committee did not meet on-ground quorum requirements for a meeting.

September 19, 2023

09/19/23 Agenda

09/19/23 Minutes

October 3, 2023

10/03/23 Agenda

Minutes - Committee did not meet on-ground quorum requirements for a meeting.

October 17, 2023

10/17/23 Agenda

10/17/23 Minutes

October 24, 2023

Meeting cancelled

November 7, 2023

11/07/23 Agenda

11/07/23 Minutes

November 14, 2023

11/14/23 Agenda

11/14/23 Minutes

November 28, 2023

11/28/23 Agenda

11/28/23 Minutes

December 5, 2023

12/5/23 Agenda

Minutes - Committee did not meet on-ground quorum requirements for a meeting.

February 13, 2024

2/13/24 Agenda

2/12/24 Minutes

February 27, 2024

2/27/24 Agenda

2/27/24 Minutes

March 5, 2024

3/5/24 Agenda

Minutes - Committee did not meet on-ground quorum requirements for a meeting.

March 26, 2024

3/26/24 Agenda

3/26/24 Minutes

April 16, 2024

4/16/24 Agenda

4/16/24 Minutes

April 23, 2024

4/23/24 Agenda

4/23/24 Minutes

May 7, 2024

5/07/24 Agenda

5/07/24 Minutes

May 21, 2024

5/21/24 Agenda

5/21/24 Minutes

Past Meetings

Meeting Date Documents

February 21, 2023

02/21/23 Agenda

02/21/23 Minutes

March 7, 2023

03/07/23 Agenda

03/07/23 Minutes

March 21, 2023

03/21/23 Agenda

03/21/23 Minutes

April 4, 2023

04/04/23 Agenda

04/04/23 Minutes

April 18, 2023

Note this meeting will be at El Toritos in Santa Monica and not on Zoom.

04/18/23 Agenda

04/18/23 Minutes

May 2, 2023

05/02/23 Agenda

05/02/23 Minutes

May 16, 2023

05/16/23 Agenda

05/16/23 Minutes

May 30, 2023

05/30/23 Agenda

05/30/23 Minutes

June 6, 2023

06/06/23 Agenda

06/06/23 Minutes

August 30, 2022

08/30/23 Minutes

08/30/23 Agenda

September 13, 2022

09/13/23 Minutes

09/13/23 Agenda

September 27, 2022 - Cancelled

Meeting cancelled

October 11, 2022

10/11/23 Minutes

10/11/23 Agenda

October 25, 2022

10/25/23 Minutes

10/25/23 Agenda

November 15, 2022

11/15/23 Minutes

11/15/23 Agenda

November 29, 2022

11/29/23 Minutes

11/29/23 Agenda

December 6, 2022

12/06/23 Minutes

12/06/23 Agenda

Meeting Archive

Agendas, Minutes, and Information