CAFE: The Center for the Advancement of Faculty Excellence
CAFE, formerly The Center for Educational Excellence and Innovation, offers a wide range of activities and resources designed to improve faculty retention, job satisfaction, expertise, and engagement in academic life. CAFE strives to spotlight UVA Wise faculty excellence, promote research-driven national best practices, introduce new pedagogy, and nurture deep reflection and cross-disciplinary communities of practice in teaching and learning at UVA Wise.
CAFE was created to provide free support and instruction at every level of faculty development for anyone in a full or part-time teaching role at UVA Wise.
Join us at our OPEN House to celebrate our NEW NAME in the CAFE on August 25th 12-2 (Smiddy 230)
Come try a specialty drink from our new coffee maker! Bookmark the calendar to check out current activities!
New at UVA Wise in Fall 2025
- Teaching with Technology: Apple Badges Come join Donnie Sorah, Wendy Martin, Rachel Clay Keohane and Cody Sanders each month and get a guided path through the Apple Badges. Walk out with a different Apple Badge each month!
- Alternative Grading Learning Community: Are you overwhelmed by grading and ready to explore alternative grading strategies next year? Now is the perfect time to come learn more about how alternative grading works and talk to faculty who have been testing this pedagogy in their courses at UVA Wise. Join us the third Tuesday of each month at 3:30 in Smiddy 230 starting August 19th.
- Leadership Learning Community: This group will focus on a variety of useful topics including:
- What makes a Faculty Member successful:
- What do Chairs do and how do you become one: A conversation with Chairs
- How do you balance research and teaching: Tips from the Tenured and Published
Returning to UVA Wise in Spring 2025
- New Faculty Learning Community: New Faculty meet the first Wednesday of every month at 12:30 in Smiddy 230 and with their mentors each month. Review the New Faculty link for more information.
- Tenure and Promotion Learning Community:
- Tenure and Promotion Basics: A great 101 to the T&P process hosted by Dean of Faculty, Bruce Cahoon. Anyone can join this online workshop
- Tenure and Promotion Organizational Tips from the Newly Tenured
- Tenure and Promotion Boot Camp Weekend Organizational Weekend*
- Tenure and Promotion Cover Letter Peer Review*
- *Requires advance registration
- Master Teacher Learning Community: This Faculty Learning Community invites faculty to drop in and discuss teaching with colleagues. Join us on the first Monday and Tuesday of the month in Smiddy 230, starting on Monday, September 1st at 1:00 and Tuesday, September 3rd at 12:30.
- International Faculty Coffee and Conversation: This Faculty Learning Community, hosted by Heather Gordon and Zafar Khan, will meet on the second Wednesday of each month at 1 PM in room 509 of the Library starting February 12th.
- Taco 'bout Teaching Book Club: What the Best College Teachers Do This Faculty Learning Community, hosted by Ray Schweighardt, will meet on the third Thursday of each month at 3:30 at El Dorado starting Thursday, September 18th. *Email Emily to join and get a free copy of this semester's book, What the Best College Teachers Do by Ken Bain What the Best College Teachers Do: 9780674013254: Economics Books @ Amazon.com
- One Thing Better: The Engaged Teacher Experiment: This Faculty Learning Community offers faculty an opportunity to review recent research on best practices in student engagement in their discipline and commit to enacting and assessing one new engagement practice of their choice in at least one class each month. Participants will share their reflections and results each month so monthly attendance (scheduled once we have a list of participants) by zoom or in person is required.* Email Emily ead2y@uvawise.edu by 1/27 to sign up.
- Study Abroad Planning: Join Candice Stadler, the Director of International Programs and Services, for a conversation about new study abroad opportunities with KIIS on Thursday, September 18th at 2:00 PM in the Library room 509 (right next to Books and Brew).
*Registration is required for these events. Email ead2y@uvawise.edu to register or get the Zoom link!
Need Resources or Recommendations?
Access the CAFE Resource page with updated Academic Affairs policies and a variety of recorded workshops, handouts, videos, podcasts, and other materials developed by our own faculty and from national experts to help you with any questions you may face in teaching, service, scholarship, and academic life
Don't see something you need?
Email Emily Dotson at ead2y@uvawise.edu to request a workshop or event.
Want to offer a workshop?
If you would like to offer a workshop to help develop college-wide teaching or professional development, please send your workshop title, a brief description, and proposed dates to Emily at ead2y@uvawise.edu at least 30 days before the anticipated workshop.
Have a Question or Need Individual Attention?
CAFE Director Emily Dotson is always happy to meet privately to discuss your pedagogical philosophy, solve a teaching challenge, or brainstorm ways to live a more meaningful and engaged faculty life. She is also happy to observe your class and provide feedback or survey your students at any point in the semester.
New Recommended Off-Campus Workshops in Fall 2025
Frequently Asked Questions About CAFE
What does CAFE do?
CAFE offers a wide range of activities and programs designed to improve faculty retention, job satisfaction, expertise, and engagement with students.
Although all faculty are experts in their disciplinary field, few have professional training in educational pedagogy and practice or other specialized demands of faculty positions at UVA Wise. CAFE was created to fill this gap by providing support and instruction at every level of faculty development.
CAFE develops and promotes teaching and learning resources to spotlight UVA Wise faculty excellence, promote research-driven national best practices, introduce new pedagogy and practices, and nurture deep reflection and cross-disciplinary connection around teaching and learning at UVA Wise.
Who uses CAFE?
Professional development is not just for junior faculty!
In 2024-2025, CAFE offered 16 in-person workshops with 93 participants on campus and 14 faculty workshop leaders, and 8 FLCs with a total of 100 participants and 11 Faculty leaders, for a total of 218 faculty engaged in some way.
Additionally, CAFE advertised 14 virtual workshops at UVA, ACUE, and The Chronicle, which did not track participation. The campus-wide survey showed that 83% attend to collaborate with others and 67% go to get support for their teaching, service, or scholarship. The campus-wide survey also showed a 100% satisfaction rating with CAFE as a program.
In 2023-2024, CAFE successfully planned and promoted 11 Teaching Workshops, 12 Professional Development workshops, 8 Faculty Learning Communities, and 4 community-building events. There were more than 32 faculty presenters, a 23% increase, and a total of 208 participants, a 49% growth in attendance.
In 2022-2023, CAFE hosted 85 workshops with twenty-six faculty presenters and over 150 participants.
What is a CAFE workshop like?
CAFE workshops are free and open to anyone in a full or part-time teaching position at UVA Wise.
CAFE drop-in workshops allow faculty to attend a brief presentation by a topic expert, followed by a Q&A session.
Faculty Learning Communities offer a series of collaborative, multidisciplinary conversations with colleagues in fifty-minute meetings held regularly over an entire academic year.
CAFE promotes UVA CTE and other national academic workshops and events open to us. Registration is required in advance for some workshops and noted in the workshop description.
While some CAFE workshops are open to faculty and staff, CAFE is not connected to Human Resources, so CAFE cannot offer workshops or resources targeted to staff development or involving HR concerns. We encourage you to send any requests for staff development and all Human Resource issues to the Director of Human Resources, Stephanie Perry. See more information about UVA Wise Human Resources.
How do I find out about upcoming CAFE workshops or events?
Workshops are advertised on the faculty listserv and updated on the calendar on this site monthly. Significant notice may not always be possible with events scheduled and promoted by other Colleges, organizations, or people.
Please check your email for updates or changes to dates/times/ locations, or email Emily at ead2y@uvawise.edu to confirm events.
Where are CAFE workshops held?
Because we are an in-person campus, all CAFE workshops are on campus either in the Library in room 509 (next to Books and Brew) or in the CAFE Center, 230 Smiddy Hall, and in person unless otherwise stated.
Can I attend remotely or watch a recorded workshop?
Zoom participation is possible at most workshops if you request this in advance. CAFE makes every attempt to record and post our events. However, please be aware that events hosted by someone other than the Director may not be recorded as the presenter always has the final say in whether their talk or workshop will be recorded or made publicly available. Recorded workshops are made public on the CAFE Resources page.
How is CAFE assessed?
CAFE is assessed annually through a faculty-wide survey on programs and practices. In 2023-2024, faculty reported 96% satisfaction with the diversity, delivery, and timeliness of programs. In addition, individual workshops and learning communities are assessed through additional satisfaction surveys sent to participants. In 2023-2024, all learning communities had 95% or higher satisfaction rates.
Read More in our 2024 Three Year Program Review at https://uvawise.box.com/s/imqygs4evd7eq9ixhnar8mup7bc8ttis
Who is the Director of CAFE, what do they do, and to whom do they report?
The Director of CAFE is Emily Dotson, a Tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Language and Literature. See her bio at https://uvawise.box.com/s/70gb1m7r74p18npja1qiqssfkxadse2l
The CAFE Director is a member of Academic Affairs and reports to the Dean of Faculty and the Provost.
CAFE Director Job Description at https://uvawise.box.com/s/csuv1f4lwrtr0dfq2ezbuph6p7oxe3dn
CAFE Mentor of the Year Award
CAFE is proud to offer one award annually for exceptional faculty mentoring at UVA Wise. This person has shown exemplary connected and collegial service to others and served as a model of the teaching, service, scholarship and academic life we imagine in the very finest of UVA Wise faculty.
Winner of the 2024-2025 CAFE Mentor of the Year Award
Wendy Martin, Instructor in Mathematics
Winner of the 2023-2024 CAFE Mentor of the Year Award
Karen Carter, Associate Professor of Computer Science
Winner of the 2022-2023 CAFE Mentor of the Year Award
Christa Moore, Associate Professor of Sociology
Winner of the 2021-2022 CAFE Mentor of the Year Award
Elizabeth Dotson Shupe, Assistant Professor of Education
Questions?
Contact Emily Dotson ead2y@uvawise.edu for more information.