CAFE: The Center for the Advancement of Faculty Excellence
CAFE, formerly The Center for Educational Excellence and Innovation, provides free resources and support for anyone in a full or part-time teaching role at UVA Wise.
CAFE offers a wide range of free activities and resources designed to improve faculty retention, job satisfaction, expertise, and engagement in academic life. Our mission is 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.
Bookmark our calendar to check out current activities!
October in CAFE
10/6 Master Teacher: Come join Emily Dotson for a friendly, multidisciplinary chat about what is working, what we want to improve, and what is new in the world of teaching at 1 PM in Smiddy 230. Every meeting is different because it is open to any topic you choose in teaching. No registration required: just drop in.
10/7 Apple Pages: Join Instructional Designer Molly Perry to learn about a free word processing and page layout application in the iPad for creating documents like reports, resumes, and digital books at 1 PM in Smiddy 230. This workshop helps you get an Apple badge! No registration required: just drop in.
10/8 How to Escape the Assessment Graveyard: No More Zombie Targets & Skeletal Analyses: Join Neva Bryan at noonin the Chancellor’s Library Conference Room to discuss how to destroy zombie targets (benchmarks), face frightening findings, and flesh out skeletal analyses. *Contact Bryan, Neva Jean (njd8r) njd8r@uvawise.edu by 10/6/25 to reserve your free lunch and spot.
10/8 Alternative Grading: Join Donnie Sorah and explore grading strategies in your class that move beyond traditional points and percentages at 1PM in Smiddy 230. *Contact Sorah, Donald W (dws4w) dws4w@uvawise.edu by 10/6/25 to reserve your free lunch and spot.
10/9 Intro to Exploring Pedagogy: Join Cody Sanders for an interactive session that explores the question: What is pedagogy? We’ll reflect on our own teaching styles and share ideas across disciplines. Through discussion, reflection, and collaborative activities, we’ll gain new insights, practical strategies, and connections to support our growth as educators. Whether you are new to teaching or experienced, this is a welcoming space to explore ideas, ask questions, and spark fresh thinking about how we engage and inspire students at 12:30 in Smiddy 230. No registration required: just drop in.
10/13 Pre-Tenure Organizational Tips: Come learn organizational tips for pre-tenure portfolios from Suresh Mummadi and Marion Young at 1 PM on Zoom https://zoom.us/j/2977863246?omn=94040460705. This workshop is highly recommended for anyone seeking Pre-Tenure. No registration required: just drop in to the Zoom.
10/14 Qualtrics Basics: Join Sabrina Qureshi and Neva Bryan for an introduction to Qualtrics, an experience management program that allows users to collect, compare, analyze, and archive user feedback for improvement at Noon in Library lab room 211. No registration required: just drop in.
10/14 AI as an Assignment: Employers expect graduates to have experience with Generative AI, while most Faculty are concerned about learning outcomes, critical thinking, and students doing their own work. How can these apparently oppositional concerns be addressed? Join Librarian Cirrus Gundlach to discuss some quick and easy ways to integrate AI into a course without sacrificing student thought and effort at 1Pm in Library Room 509 (by Books and Brew). Free B&B Coffee provided. No registration required: just drop in.
10/15 Tenure and Full Professor Organizational Tips: Come learn organizational tips for tenure and full professor portfolios from Karen Carter and Donnie Sorah at 1 PM on Zoom https://zoom.us/j/2977863246?omn=94040460705. This workshop is highly recommended for anyone seeking Tenure or a Full professorship this year. No registration required: just drop in to the Zoom.
10/20 Student Belonging and Postsecondary Literacies: Drawing on lessons learned at the Modern Language Association's Institute for Reading and Writing Pedagogy at Access-Oriented Institutions, Erin Yanota will share evidence-based and cross-disciplinary strategies for fostering student belonging through expansive models of literacy at 1PM in Smiddy 230. No registration required: just drop in.
10/29 International Faculty Coffee and Conversation: Come join Suresh Mummadi for free coffee and conversation at 1Pm in Library Room 509 (by Books and Brew). No registration required: just drop in!
10/29 IRB Come learn the basics of IRB: Join Robert Arrowood for great info about the IRB process at 1PM in Smiddy 230. No registration required: just drop in!
Pumpkin Spice Coffee and Tea available at every Smiddy meeting!
Go to the calendar page.
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.
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.