A faculty learning community (FLC) is an ongoing, active group of faculty who work together to explore new pedagogy, support one another as a cohort when at a similar stage of their career, engage in cutting-edge conversations about a topic in higher education or strategic planning initiative at the institution, research and write together, or share another identity that connects them professionally or personally. By design, faculty learning communities promote collegiality across disciplines, departments, and colleges, and they encourage energy, empowerment, and innovation among participants by providing a unique space to explore new ideas, experiment, and reflect with colleagues.

"Faculty learning communities build communication across disciplines, increase faculty interest in teaching and learning, initiate excursions into the scholarship of teaching, and foster civic responsibility... They change individuals, and, over time, they change institutional culture."                                             -- Milton D. Cox, Miami University, founder of FLCs

FLCs typically involve 8-12 participants and are always facilitated by a faculty member. They are cohort-based or topic-based, or sometimes a combination. The Director of CELT (Dr. Jamie Landau) supports FLCs in a number of ways:

  • Facilitating or co-facilitating
  • Helping to select topics and readings
  • Recruiting members
  • Assisting with promotion and communication
  • Coordinating schedules through Doodle polls
  • Providing meeting spaces at CELT that can be reserved
  • Offering financial support and computer technology whenever possible
  • Reviewing the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) about topics
  • Participating in a group

If you want to facilitate or form an FLC in collaboration with CELT, then please download and fill out this CELT FLC Proposal Form. Proposals are due approximately two months before the start of the semester when your FLC will run. If you have any questions, contact the Director of CELT, Dr. Jamie Landau (jlandau@valdosta.edu, 229-333-6032). If you are a faculty member in business, the arts, or a clinical field such as nursing, CELT is especially interested in creating faculty learning communities that serve the needs of those professional identities so please contact Dr. Landau with any ideas.

One faculty facilitator per FLC each semester will receive $1,500 in extra compensation from CELT, with payment made at the completion of the work. If two faculty co-facilitate an FLC, then they can request to split the $1,500, totaling to $750 each in extra compensation. Faculty with administrative appointments or staff who co-facilitate an FLC are not eligible for extra compensation since this work aligns with their job description.  Whenever possible, CELT's annual operating budget and CELT's VSU Foundation account can offer additional funding for FLC supplies, such as to purchase books and food.

To join a faculty learning community, contact the facilitator(s) identified in the descriptions below to participate in their scheduling poll and then make sure to register for the program through the  once the meeting dates/times are confirmed in the portal.

Registering through the VSU Training Portal benefits faculty because faculty can download attendance data from that portal to include in their Annual Faculty Activity Report and Action Plan (AFARAP) as well as their Promotion and Tenure dossier.   

Congratulations!  You have gone through the FLC approval process and been accepted as an FLC facilitator.  You have also recruited faculty and distributed a doodle poll to determine faculty availability.  It is now time to schedule your FLC.  Follow the Schedule Your FLC link to fill out a scheduling form.  Please be sure to consider your maximum number of participants which will depend on which meeting room or meeting modality you choose.  If you have questions, please contact the CELT administrative coordinator at 229-253-4079 or celt@valdosta.edu.

A faculty learning community (FLC) is an ongoing, active group of faculty who work together to explore new pedagogy, support one another as a cohort when at a similar stage of their career, engage in cutting-edge conversations about a topic in higher education or strategic planning initiative at the institution, research and write together, or share another identity that connects them professionally or personally. By design, faculty learning communities promote collegiality across disciplines, departments, and colleges, and they encourage energy, empowerment, and innovation among participants by providing a unique space to explore new ideas, experiment, and reflect with colleagues.

"Faculty learning communities build communication across disciplines, increase faculty interest in teaching and learning, initiate excursions into the scholarship of teaching, and foster civic responsibility... They change individuals, and, over time, they change institutional culture."                                             -- Milton D. Cox, Miami University, founder of FLCs

FLCs typically involve 8-12 participants and are always facilitated by a faculty member. They are cohort-based or topic-based, or sometimes a combination. The Director of CELT (Dr. Jamie Landau) supports FLCs in a number of ways:

  • Facilitating or co-facilitating
  • Helping to select topics and readings
  • Recruiting members
  • Assisting with promotion and communication
  • Coordinating schedules through Doodle polls
  • Providing meeting spaces at CELT that can be reserved
  • Offering financial support and computer technology whenever possible
  • Reviewing the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) about topics
  • Participating in a group

If you want to facilitate or form an FLC in collaboration with CELT, then please download and fill out this CELT FLC Proposal Form. Proposals are due approximately two months before the start of the semester when your FLC will run. If you have any questions, contact the Director of CELT, Dr. Jamie Landau (jlandau@valdosta.edu, 229-333-6032). If you are a faculty member in business, the arts, or a clinical field such as nursing, CELT is especially interested in creating faculty learning communities that serve the needs of those professional identities so please contact Dr. Landau with any ideas.

One faculty facilitator per FLC each semester will receive $1,500 in extra compensation from CELT, with payment made at the completion of the work. If two faculty co-facilitate an FLC, then they can request to split the $1,500, totaling to $750 each in extra compensation. Faculty with administrative appointments or staff who co-facilitate an FLC are not eligible for extra compensation since this work aligns with their job description.  Whenever possible, CELT's annual operating budget and CELT's VSU Foundation account can offer additional funding for FLC supplies, such as to purchase books and food.

To join a faculty learning community, contact the facilitator(s) identified in the descriptions below to participate in their scheduling poll and then make sure to register for the program through the  once the meeting dates/times are confirmed in the portal.

Registering through the VSU Training Portal benefits faculty because faculty can download attendance data from that portal to include in their Annual Faculty Activity Report and Action Plan (AFARAP) as well as their Promotion and Tenure dossier.   

Congratulations!  You have gone through the FLC approval process and been accepted as an FLC facilitator.  You have also recruited faculty and distributed a doodle poll to determine faculty availability.  It is now time to schedule your FLC.  Follow the Schedule Your FLC link to fill out a scheduling form.  Please be sure to consider your maximum number of participants which will depend on which meeting room or meeting modality you choose.  If you have questions, please contact the CELT administrative coordinator at 229-253-4079 or celt@valdosta.edu.

 

Faculty Learning Communities for Fall 2026 

 

Enhancing Faculty Productivity and Pedagogy with AI 

Facilitator: Dr. Forrest R. Parker III  

This faculty learning community explores the potential of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools, such as D2L Lumi, ChatGPT, Notebook LM, Google Gemini, and Microsoft CoPilot, to enhance faculty work across teaching, scholarship, and service. Participants will experiment with AI tools to increase productivity in writing scholarly articles, streamlining service tasks like committee work or email communication, and supporting students through personalized advising, reference letter writing, and pedagogical innovation. Ultimately, participants will have a collaborative space to explore these AI tools, share best practices, reflect critically on ethical considerations, and generate a list of practical resources with key takeaways for campus-wide use.   

This FLC is facilitated by Dr. Forrest R. Parker III, Associate Professor of Teacher Education.  The FLC will gather for one hour, six times during the Fall 2026 semester in person at CELT (102 Georgia Avenue) or virtually via Teams video conference. To join this FLC and participate in a scheduling poll that will determine the specific meeting dates/times that fit best into faculty schedules, please e-mail Dr. Parker (fparker@valdosta.edu) by July 31, 2026. Then later register through the . 

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FUEL (Faculty Uplift through Education and Learning) 

Facilitator: Dr. Haley Sherman 

FUEL (Faculty Uplift through Education and Learning) is designed specifically for junior faculty to navigate and thrive on the path to promotion and tenure at VSU. This community will provide a supportive, interdisciplinary space for early career VSU faculty to explore a range of topics and activities, including grant writing and publishing, preparing for the next promotion, mentoring undergraduate researchers, motivating disengaged students, tips for BlazeVIEW, faculty wellbeing and burnout prevention, and opportunities to attend fun events together both on campus and off. Participants will share experiences, learn from peers and guest speakers, and socialize as a cohort, ultimately developing the knowledge, skills, and connections needed for a smoother transition through this career stage and beyond. 

This FLC is facilitated by a junior faculty member, Dr. Haley Sherman, Assistant Professor of Psychological Science. The FLC will gather Mondays or Wednesdays at 1 p.m. for an hour, six times during the Fall semester at CELT (102 Georgia Avenue), via Teams video conference, and gather in-person on campus and off to attend events together. Most of the meetings will be in-person to foster relationships. To join this FLC, please e-mail Dr. Sherman (hsherman@valdosta.edu) by July 31. Then later register through the . 

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Faculty Writing Circle 

Facilitator: Dr. Jamie Workman 

This is a writing group for faculty to make progress on writing and maintain their research agendas with the support of one another across disciplines. Given heavy teaching loads during the semester, it can be a struggle for faculty to fit writing into their daily routines. Research in faculty development shows that writing groups have significant benefits. They help with motivation, goal-setting, time-management, and accountability. They are an opportunity to receive encouragement and feedback about current research projects. They help faculty be more prepared for performance reviews. And they foster interdisciplinary relationships among faculty, such as by forming writing buddies. 

The Faculty Writing Circle is facilitated by Dr. Jamie Workman, Professor Higher Education Leadership. The FLC will gather on the following six Tuesdays from 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. during the Fall 2026 semester at CELT (102 Georgia Avenue) and virtually via Teams video conference:  Aug. 25, Sept. 15, Sept. 29, Oct. 20, Nov. 10, and Dec. 1.  Faculty can join this FLC by registering through the .

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New Faculty Learning Community 

Facilitator: Dr. Jamie Landau 

This year-long cohort-based faculty learning community is designed to support faculty in their first year at VSU whether they are limited term faculty, lecturers, or on the tenure-track. Gathering every few weeks throughout the academic year, this group fosters cross departmental connections and provides a supportive space for new faculty to engage in professional development tailored to their early career stage. Sample topics include best pedagogical practices for student success in face-to-face classes and online courses (e.g., active-learning, experiential learning), strategizing service, collecting and responding to student feedback, and preparing for the first-year review. The facilitator conducts a needs assessment of participants to determine which topics to offer including whether to invite guest speakers for specific sessions and when to incorporate them into the schedule.

The New Faculty Learning Community is facilitated by Dr. Jamie Landau, Director of CELT and Professor of Communication Arts.  The FLC will gather for one hour, six times during the Fall 2026 semester in person at CELT (102 Georgia Avenue). To join this FLC and participate in a scheduling poll that will determine the specific meeting dates/times that fit best into faculty schedules, please e-mail Dr. Landau (jlandau@valdosta.edu) by August 7, 2026. Then later register through the .

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New Faculty Learning Community