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The midpoint of a semester tends to arrive without ceremony. By the time midterm grades come due, there is enough of the term behind us to feel its accumulated weight, and enough still ahead to keep the finish line at a distance.

I find it helps to treat midterm grades as information rather than obligation: they signal which students might benefit from outreach while there is still time to make a difference, and they offer early evidence of how a course is actually landing. When something isn't working as well as hoped, the midpoint still leaves time to adjust for the second half of the semester. And whatever the grades reveal, the patience faculty extend to their students is worth extending to themselves. Most of us are tired by October; that is less a failure than a predictable feature of the academic year.

In that spirit, CAT+FD's October programming continues through the month. Ongoing weekly gatherings remain on the schedule—Coffee & Chat, Walking Club, and the Faculty Writing Group on Mondays, and Quarter of Quiet on Wednesdays. Xavier faculty and staff can find current times on the CAT+FD Calendar.

Talking About AI

Prompt & Response: Faculty Discussions about AI

Input & Output: Staff Discussions about AI

AI Ready Webinar: AI as an Accessibility Tool

Workshops & Webinars

  • CAT Talk: Efficient Feedback, Tuesday, October 6, 3:00 PM (more info)
  • Mindful Check-in, Thursday, October 15, 11:00 AM (more info)
  • CAT Talk: Course Design for Accessibility, Tuesday, October 20, 3:00 PM (more info)
  • #LEX Advanced: Customize Your Course Homepage, Thursday, October 21, 3:00 PM (more info)

For New Faculty

  • Second-year Faculty Lunch: Advising at Xavier, Thursday, October 1, 11:30 AM (more info)
  • First-year Faculty Lunch: Culture of Teaching at an HBCU, Thursday, October 22, 11:30 AM (more info)