Academic Advising 

Facilitated by Dorothy Abruzzo-Klumpp (abruzzoklumpp@rowan.edu), Associate Director, University Advising Services

Advisors play a critical role in student success, but the demands of the job often leave little time for reflection, growth, and collaboration. This PLC offers a dedicated space for academic advisors to come together regularly to discuss best practices, explore emerging trends, and share innovative strategies. Through intentional conversations and peer support, participants will enhance their professional skills, build community, and develop solutions to common advising challenges. Whether you're a new or seasoned advisor, this is an opportunity to engage in meaningful dialogue that supports both your professional development and the students you serve. Let’s learn, grow, and lead—together.

We will be meeting virtually on the following Fridays (note the change of day & dates) from 11:00-12:15:

Developing in Graduate Student Mentorship

Facilitated by Tabbetha Dobbins (dobbins@rowan.edu), Dean, School of Graduate Studies and Jennifer Blaylock (blaylockj@rowan.edu) Assistant Professor, Department of Radio, Television & Film

Mentorship shapes the graduate student experience in lasting ways—but mentors rarely have time to grow their own skills. This PLC offers faculty, graduate program coordinators, and others the space to explore and apply best practices in mentoring using the Mentor Guide released in September 2024. Together, we will discuss strategies, share challenges, and implement tools that enhance thesis, dissertation, and capstone mentorship. Whether you mentor directly or support faculty who do, this PLC will help you strengthen relationships, foster student success, and truly change lives.

We will be meeting on the following Fridays from 11-12:15:

Cross-Institutional Collaboration to Remove Barriers for Transfer Students in STEM Majors

EduSEL in Higher Education: Wellness & Academic Integration for Student-Facing Faculty & Staff

Join us for a unique Professional Learning Community (PLC) that centers faculty and professional staff well-being and relational teaching through Educator Social Emotional Learning (EduSEL). In this PLC, participants will experience and reflect on evidence-based SEL practices tailored to higher education contexts. Faculty and professional staff will explore the intersections between wellness, identity, emotional regulation, and their role as relational educators. Sessions will include experiential activities, personal reflection, research-informed resources, and collaborative discussion around embedding SEL practices into pedagogy, advising, and mentoring. This space is designed to support your own well-being while fostering a more connected, compassionate, and inclusive campus culture. [This PLC serves best those committed to attending all of the bi-weekly sessions.]

We will be meeting on the following Tuesdays from 11:00 – 12:15:

Feminist Reading Group

Facilitated by Jennifer Blaylock (blaylockj@rowan.edu) Assistant Professor, Radio, Television & Film and Corianne Tatariw (tatariw@rowan.edu), Assistant Professor, Environmental Science 

As bell hooks tells us, “Feminism is for everybody.” So is this Feminist Reading Group PLC. Feminist methodologies can be applied to academic research across disciplines. Feminist approaches can inform our pedagogy in the classroom. And Feminist scholarship can help us understand how axes of identity and power shape our professional lives within and outside of the University. If you are interested in gaining a deeper grounding in feminist thought through cross-campus discussions in a supportive community to reflect on how you might apply feminist theory and practice to your scholarship, teaching, and/or professional life, this PLC may be for you.

We welcome all faculty and staff to come together to read and discuss foundational and contemporary feminist texts in a supportive community of learners. Our task for the year will be to create a shared reading list of feminist texts, read and discuss readings once a month, and annotate our reading list with insights from our discussions throughout the year.

We will be meeting on the following Fridays from 10:00-11:30:

The number of international faculty members/employees across Rowan campuses continues to increase and this PLC helps to bring them together. Our PLC provides a place for international faculty to discuss issues individual faculty members/employees might face and organizes a spa to offer support. We work together to understand how Rowan's communications and policies do and do not apply to these faculty members so that we can reduce added stress and feelings of isolation, especially if faculty members/employees had to leave most of their social support system behind in their home country. 

If you identify as an international faculty member or employee, we encourage you to join us. All faculty and staff are welcome, including those who do not identify as international but value cultural exchange, mutual support, and collegial connection.

What will it take to make Rowan University a sustainable university? What are best practices when it comes to integrating the principles of sustainability across campus life and in our departmental operations? How can we best communicate the value of sustainability to stakeholders from across the university, and to make the case to administrative leaders and university decision-makers? Join the Sustainability at Rowan PLC to engage on these and other topics with a group of faculty, staff, and students from a wide range of departments and professional backgrounds. Together we will build community, share strategies, and develop tools for greening campus operations – key focus areas will include food procurement and food recovery, recycling, buildings and energy use, and campus advocacy.  

This PLC runs in Fall 2025 only, and will be meeting on the following Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:15 - 3:30: 

Sustainability at Rowan: Teaching in an Age of Political Polarization facilitated by Garrett Broad (broad@rowan.edu), Associate Professor and Provost's Fellow for Sustainability, Communication Studies and Robin Bayes (bayes@rowan.edu), Assistant Professor, Political Science and Economics 

Do you believe that Rowan has an important role to play in educating students about the principles and practices of sustainability? Do you struggle with how to navigate sustainability education in today’s political environment, when science and the environment are increasingly polarized? Join the Sustainability at Rowan PLC to engage on these important issues with other faculty, staff, and graduate student teachers from a range of departments and professional backgrounds. Together, we will (1) reflect on how sustainability principles can inform and improve the content of our teaching, (2) read theoretical perspectives on how to teach politically contested issues like sustainability against a backdrop of polarization, (3) formulate our own pedagogical orientation toward teaching such issues, and (4) share best practices on managing challenging moments in the classroom. 

This PLC runs in Spring 2026 only, and will be meeting on the following Fridays from 2:00-3:15 pm: 

Teaching with AI – facilitated by Carla Sbrana (sbrana@rowan.edu), Educational Technologist, Faculty Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning

Embark on a year-long, cross-disciplinary journey as part of our Teaching with AI Professional Learning Community. Open to all who teach—faculty, staff, librarians, and administrators, this PLC explores the transformative potential of artificial intelligence in education. Using Teaching with AI: A Practical Guide to a New Era of Human Learning as our central text, we’ll engage in reflective dialogue, hands-on experimentation, and collaborative inquiry. Together, we’ll deepen our understanding of AI’s role in teaching and learning, while co-creating resources to support fellow educators. Whether you're curious, cautious, or already integrating AI into your practice, this community offers a supportive space for professional growth, interdisciplinary connection, and lifelong learning. Let’s reimagine the future of teaching—together.

We will be meeting on the following Tuesdays from 2:00-3:15: 

9/23, 10/28, 11/25, 1/27, 2/24, 3/24, 4/21, 5/12 

Academic Advising — facilitated by Beth Rey (rey@rowan.edu), Associate Director, University Advising Services

Academic advisors provide proactive, academic support to students from entrance through graduation. Advisors assist students with exploration of career and personal goals, academic interests, and much more. They also regularly make referrals to other offices and departments for additional services and support. Thus, the role of an academic advisor is robust. The Academic Advising PLC will meet monthly and provides a supportive opportunity to engage in current advising literature discussions, share best practices and seek support, discuss advising approaches and more! The advising PLC is open to anyone interested. From those just starting out to those experienced and seasoned, all are welcome. 

Cross-Institutional Collaboration to Remove Barriers for Transfer Students in STEM Majors – facilitated by Jason Heindl (heindl@rowan.edu), Associate Professor, Biological and Biomedical Sciences

We welcome all faculty and staff in the Rowan community to join the HHMI IMPACT STEM Transfer PLC as we collaborate to implement solutions that remove barriers to transfer and create equitable and inclusive transfer experiences for students from diverse backgrounds throughout their educational experiences.

Our goals for this PLC are:

• Build a community of faculty, staff, and administrators committed to inclusive practices in STEM education.
• Focus on removing barriers to baccalaureate degree attainment for community college students.
• Collaborate with colleagues across Rowan and from our community college partners to colleagues to remove barriers to transfer for STEM students.

Delving into Individual Development Plans (IDPs): Developing Toolkits for Excellence in Graduate Student Training and Professional Development – facilitated by Tabbetha Dobbins (dobbins@rowan.edu), Dean, School of Graduate Studies and Stephanie Lezotte (lezotte@rowan.edu), Assistant Dean, School of Graduate Studies 

Do you mentor graduate research? Do you serve on graduate committees? Are you a member of the graduate education support structure (i.e., library, advising, administration)?

If you answered YES—then this PLC is for you! Join us as we build a community of practice focused on excellence in graduate student training and professional development. Together, we will explore the use of Individual Development Plans (IDPs), Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs), and strategies for guiding students to the resources they need to achieve their goals. By building upon last year’s PLC’s Excellence in Graduate Student Mentorship guide, this PLC will equip Rowan’s graduate education community with a practical and comprehensive toolkit for fostering meaningful student training and professional growth.

The number of international faculty members/employees across Rowan campuses continues to increase and this PLC helps to bring them together. Our PLC provides a place for international faculty to discuss issues individual faculty members/employees might face and organizes a spa to offer support. We work together to understand how Rowan's communications and policies do and do not apply to these faculty members so that we can reduce added stress and feelings of isolation, especially if faculty members/employees had to leave most of their social support system behind in their home country. If you identify as an international faculty member or employee, we encourage you to join us. All faculty and staff are welcome, including those who do not identify as international but value cultural exchange, mutual support, and collegial connection.

Peer Observations to Support Professional Growth – facilitated by Rob Wieman (wieman@rowan.edu), Associate Professor & Chair, Content Area Teacher Education

Peer observations have the potential to support us as we work to improve our teaching, but we have found that observations do not always up to their promise of professional growth. The process of observing or being observed is incredibly varied and often disconnected from the problems that we struggle with as teachers – engagement, motivation, effectively supporting the kind of deep learning that we want for our students.

These core beliefs undergird our PLC:

• Teaching is difficult and complex work.
• Engaging in analyzing teaching and learning can help us improve instruction
• Observations that access this kind of analysis do not happen naturally – they require structure and expertise.

In this PLC, we will examine existing models for peer observations, study how we can improve our own observation and feedback skills, and develop tools to help Rowan all faculty engage in observations that result in professional growth and instructional improvement. 

Scholarship of Teaching & Learning (SoTL) — facilitated by Lisa Abrams (abramsl@rowan.edu), Assistant Professor, Psychology

The Scholarship of Teaching & Learning (SoTL) is a scholarly approach to teaching that uses research to answer questions about teaching and learning and to address problems educators observe in the classroom. This PLC invites you to explore how SoTL fits into your current teaching practice and/or research agenda. This group is for anyone who is interested in learning about how they can incorporate SoTL into their work and start to engage in systematic inquiry of student learning. PLC members will spend the Fall 2024 semester learning and brainstorming about SoTL. In the Spring 2025 semester, each participant will apply their new SoTL knowledge to make progress toward a small SoTL project of their own.

Academic Advising — facilitated by Beth Rey (rey@rowan.edu), Associate Director, University Advising Services

Academic advisors provide proactive, academic support to students from entrance through graduation. Advisors assist students with exploration of career and personal goals, academic interests, and much more. They also regularly make referrals to other offices and departments for additional services and support. Thus, the role of an academic advisor is robust. The Academic Advising PLC will meet monthly and provides a supportive opportunity to engage in current advising literature discussions, share best practices and seek support, discuss advising approaches and more! The advising PLC is open to anyone interested. From those just starting to those experienced and seasoned, all are welcome.

Cross-Institutional Collaboration to Remove Barriers for Transfer Students in STEM Majors — facilitated Cristine Mason (masonc@rowan.edu), Undergraduate Advisor, Rowan University Glassboro Campus and Edem Tettah (etetteh@rcbc.edu), Dean of STEM, Academics, Rowan College of Burlington County

We welcome everyone in the larger Rowan community to join the HHMI IMPACT STEM Transfer Cluster (Rowan University, Rowan College of Burlington County, Rowan College of South Jersey- Cumberland, and Rowan College of South Jersey-Gloucester) as we collaborate to identify and implement solutions to remove barriers and create equitable and inclusive transfer experiences for students from diverse backgrounds throughout their educational experiences. Our goals for this PLC are to: 1) Create connections among our RU & RC faculty and staff; 2) Focus on specific STEM and STEM transfer student issues to inform the creation of supports and removal barriers; 3) Find ways to increase the number of students who transfer into STEM majors.

Excellence in Graduate Student Research Mentoring — facilitated by Tabbetha Dobbins (dobbins@rowan.edu), Dean, School of Graduate Studies and Stephanie Lezotte (lezotte@rowan.edu), Assistant Dean, School of Graduate Studies

Do you mentor graduate student research? Do you serve on graduate committee? Are you a member of graduate education support structure (e.g., library, advisors, etc.)? If you answered YES-- then this PLC is for you! We will work together to explore the literature and develop a concise and clear list of best practices for graduate student research mentors. Research mentorship is a key part of the experience of the graduate student. However, very little time is dedicated to helping faculty members to develop as excellent mentors. This PLC will serve to fill this gap in knowledge, understanding, and values surrounding graduate education for our faculty mentors.

Junior Faculty Mentoring PLC — facilitated by Mahbubur Meenar (meenar@rowan.edu), Associate Professor, Geography, Planning, and Sustainability

This PLC will function as a collective support group to help junior faculty through the challenges their early years at Rowan through network building across the Rowan community. Potential topics include: 1) Teaching – active-learning strategies, student interaction, engaging students; 2) Research – how to stay on top of research, how to secure grants; 3) Work and life balance – tips how to be good at teaching, research, and service, but still have time for family; and 4) Tenure & Recontracting – where to find information.

Maneuvering the Academic Workplace as an International Faculty Member/Employees in the USA — facilitated by Nina Krey (krey@rowan.edu), Associate Professor, Marketing and Business Information Systems and Mikkel Dack (dack@rowan.edu), Assistant Professor, History.

The number of international faculty members/employees across Rowan campuses continues to increase and this PLC helps to bring them together. Our PLC provides a place for international faculty to discuss issues individual faculty members/employees might face and organizes a spa to offer support. We work together to understand how Rowan's communications and policies do and do not apply to these faculty members so that we can reduce added stress and feelings of isolation, especially if faculty members/employees had to leave most of their social support system behind in their home country. If you identify as an international faculty member/employee please join us.

Scholarship of Teaching & Learning (SoTL) — facilitated by Lisa Abrams (abramsl@rowan.edu), Assistant Professor, Psychology and Jill Perry (perry@rowan.edu), Associate Professor, Content Area Teacher Education

The Scholarship of Teaching & Learning (SoTL) is a scholarly approach to teaching that uses research to answer questions about teaching and learning and to address problems educators observe in the classroom. This PLC invites you to explore how SoTL fits into your current teaching practice and/or research agenda. This group is for anyone who is interested in learning about how they can incorporate SoTL into their work and start to engage in systematic inquiry of student learning. PLC members will spend the Fall 2023 semester learning and brainstorming about SoTL with the goal of producing a resource for others who are interested in learning about SoTL. In the Spring 2024 semester, each participant will apply their new SoTL knowledge to make progress toward a small SoTL project of their own.