New faculty orientation, welcome reception, teaching academy, Canvas training set for August
Mississippi State University is announcing a variety of programs to officially welcome new faculty to the Bulldog family this fall.
The Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President is sponsoring an Aug. 14 orientation program at The Mill at MSU in Starkville. The session is required for new full-time instructors, along with new clinical, tenured and tenure-track faculty. Business casual attire is recommended. Parking is available in the parking garage behind The Mill. The first session begins at 8:30 a.m. Lunch is served at noon, and the last session concludes around 3:30 p.m.
MSU President Mark E. Keenum and First Lady Rhonda Keenum also are hosting a 5 p.m. welcome reception Aug. 14 at The Mill for new faculty and their spouses or significant others. Registration for New Faculty Orientation may be completed online at http://www.provost.msstate.edu/newfaculty/index-new.php. The deadline to register is August 10. For registration assistance or questions, contact Tina Gilliland at 662-325-3744 or tgilliland@provost.msstate.edu.
MSU Human Resources Management staff will be available before and after orientation at 8 a.m. and 3:15 p.m. to schedule benefits appointments for new faculty who have not elected benefits with an MSU HRM benefits specialist. Those interested can preview employee benefits by visiting www.hrm.msstate.edu and choosing the Benefits tab. Any new faculty member who has already elected benefits with an HRM benefits specialist still is required to participate in the morning sessions of the New Faculty Orientation on Aug. 14, but is not required to remain for the HRM sessions after the Community and University Fair.
MSU's Center for Teaching and Learning also is offering a New Faculty Teaching Academy on Aug. 15 from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. in the third-floor John Grisham Room at Mitchell Memorial Library. The program is intended for new faculty who will begin teaching in the fall or spring semesters. Faculty can register using their MSU NetID at https://www.ctl.msstate.edu/events/#event17513. Those who would like to enroll but do not have an MSU NetID yet are encouraged to contact Amy Barefield at abarefield@ctl.msstate.edu for assistance.
MSU is moving to a new Learning Management System (LMS), Canvas by Instructure, to improve the teaching and learning experience for students and faculty. MSU will conduct a pilot program with approximately 50 instructors and 100 courses taught in the Canvas system for the fall 2018 semester. The pilot participants include representation from all eight MSU academic colleges. Beginning in the spring 2019 semester, all faculty and instructors will move from MSU’s current LMS, Blackboard -- commonly known as myCourses -- to the new platform, Canvas. Faculty with previous Canvas teaching experience may participate in the university's Canvas pilot program for training with the new system. Faculty who do not have previous Canvas teaching experience will need to register for the myCourses training. Visit www.its.msstate.edu/support/training/workshops to register for Canvas or Blackboard training. Those who do not have an MSU NetID yet should contact Tina Gilliland at 662-325-3744 or tgilliland@provost.msstate.edu to register.
