Professional Development Day

Check-In

Resource Fair

Networking & Light Continental Breakfast

Downing Student Union

1st Floor

The Kentucky Graduate Profile at WKU

Rheanna Plemons

This session will introduce faculty and staff to the Kentucky Graduate Profile (KGP) and explore how WKU is embedding its competencies across programs, courses, other campus experiences. Participants will learn what the KGP is, why it matters for student success, and how it is being implemented institution-wide. The session will share definitions and resources, highlight examples of curriculum mapping of the KGP competencies, and invite discussion on opportunities for further collaboration. Attendees will leave with a clear understanding of the KGP and its role in preparing Hilltoppers for life and career success.

Downing Student Union

3003

Partnering with TRIO: What We Can Do Together (Without Adding to Your Workload)

Jimmie Martin, Bethany Smith, & Lindsey Houchin

We know you're busy—really busy. Join us for easy, no-fuss ways to help students thrive without piling on more work. No long meetings, no extra prep! Just quick, simple tips you can use tomorrow to support the students who need you the most.

Downing Student Union 

3007

Getting to Know the New TopNet: What’s New After the Banner 9 Migration

Holli Drummond, Jennifer Hammonds & Marrissa Bryant

Join us for an informative session on the latest TopNet updates, following the IT migration to Banner 9. This session will guide faculty and staff through the new interface, enhanced navigation, and improved functionality designed to streamline academic and administrative processes. Be introduced to and learn how to navigate these updates to enhance your user experience.

Downing Student Union 

3020

Practical AI Literacy: Engaging in Responsible and Creative Use

Leigh Anne Roden

This session explores how AI can be integrated into courses to support learning while preserving student authenticity. Participants will see how students are taught to use AI as a tool for drafting, refining, and exploring ideas. We will also discuss how faculty can encourage AI literacy, design clear course guidelines, and model effective, ethical use. By the end, attendees will leave with strategies for helping students feel confident using AI responsibly and examples of how AI can enhance teaching, learning, and professional preparation.

Downing Student Union 

3023

Stop Talkin' About my Generation: Understanding and Countering Pervasive Ageism

Gigi Petery

Ageism is a complex, multi-level challenge that impacts individuals worldwide, both in society at large and within the workplace. Focusing on the workplace context, this session will highlight common and often socially accepted ageist beliefs and evaluate whether these assumptions are supported by empirical evidence. We will also examine the far-reaching consequences of workplace ageism for individuals, organizations, and society, and discuss evidence-based strategies that managers and leaders can use to recognize, reduce, and prevent age-related bias. The insights gained from this session can also be applied more broadly to classroom dynamics and other social interactions.

Downing Student Union

3025

WKU Employee Onboarding & Compliances

Michaela Daniel

This presentation, hosted by the WKU Human Resources Department, will provide an overview of the essential components of our employee onboarding and compliance processes. We'll begin with a review of the I-9 verification process, including required documentation, key timelines, and employer responsibilities. Following that, we will discuss supervisor onboarding expectations, highlighting the important role supervisors play in creating a compliant and welcoming experience for new hires. We will walk through the timeline of events, beginning with the background check and continuing through Day 1 and beyond. Together, we can create a smooth, engaging, and compliant onboarding experience for new Hilltoppers.

Downing Student Union

3003

Handling with Care: Supporting Non-Traditional & First-Generation Students

Monica Hines

Non-traditional and first-generation students bring valuable life experience and resilience to WKU, but they often face barriers such as navigating unfamiliar academic systems, balancing work and family, and overcoming feelings of isolation. This interactive session equips faculty and staff with practical strategies to support these students while fostering a sense of belonging and persistence. We will explore how misunderstandings or unintentional oversight of the institutional process' students must navigate can create barriers to their success and sense of belonging. Through real student scenarios and guided discussion, participants will practice inclusive and trauma-informed communication, identify hidden challenges, and explore ways to connect students to resources and community.

Downing Student Union 

3007

Designing with Purpose: Systems Thinking, Backward Design, and the Kentucky Graduate Profile

Fabián Álvarez and Wren Mills

Ready to rethink how you build courses and programs? Bring the prompt for a significant paper or project in your course and join us for a workshop that blends systems theory with backward design to help you create curriculum that works. Explore how to see the "big picture" while ensuring every activity and assessment connects to your goals. Learn how to identify which of the Kentucky Graduate Profile's competencies your course or program develops, while spotting alignment gaps and improving flow. Whether updating a single class or redesigning an entire program, you'll leave with practical strategies to make your curriculum clearer, more connected, and more impactful.

Downing Student Union 

3020

Faculty/Staff Work-Life Balance: Strategies for Resilience & Productivity

Bethany Smith & Rita Meredith

Downing Student Union 

3023

Leadership and Going from Good to Great!

Bruce Weisman

Downing Student Union

3025

The Next Chapter for Honors: Campus Collaboration and Future Directions

Lindy Davidson, Naomi Rowland, and Nina Marijanovic

The Mahurin Honors College has weathered significant transition and now stands poised to enter a new chapter of growth and innovation. This session will update the campus community on the current state of Honors: where we've stabilized, what we've learned, and where we are headed. Participants will gain insight into how honors students enrich classrooms across campus, how faculty can engage with honors courses and partnerships, and what it means to contribute to the honors teaching mission at WKU. This forward-looking conversation will celebrate the strengths of our honors community while offering a vision for inclusive excellence that connects honors to the broader university.

Downing Student Union 

3003

Collaborating for Student Success: Supporting Autistic Students Through Accessibility and Inclusion

Peggy Crowe and Peyton Collins

Faculty and staff play a key role in creating environments where all students can thrive. This session, co-facilitated by the Kelly Autism Program (KAP) and the Student Accessibility Resource Center (SARC), will highlight how WKU supports autistic and neurodivergent students through services, accommodations, and inclusive practices. Presenters will outline the unique challenges autistic students may encounter in academic and campus life and share practical strategies that foster belonging and success. Through discussion and case examples, participants will leave with a clearer understanding of how to connect students with appropriate resources and apply inclusive approaches in their own work.

Downing Student Union 

3007

Building Trust to Maximize Student Learning: Strategies for Highly Effective Teaching

Patrick Ledwidge

Highly effective teachers create learning environments grounded in mutual trust and respect to maximize students' success and satisfaction in meeting high expectations. In doing so, these teachers practice humility, authenticity, a commitment to student learning, and connect all work back to meaningful learning objectives. Drawing from the scholarship of teaching and learning, including Ken Bain's studies of effective college teaching, this combined lecture-workshop will offer instruction and concrete strategies for building highly effective learning environments grounded in mutual trust. Participants will be able to leverage these skills to maximize students' deep learning, curiosity, and satisfaction in your courses and offices.

Downing Student Union 

3020

AI Off the Bench: The Ethical Use of AI as the 6th Man in Collaborative Manuscript Writing

Dawn Winters, Janet Tassell, Jeremy Logsdon, and Andi Paganelli

In this presentation, we will discuss how to successfully collaborate with colleagues from within and outside a department while using AI as a "Sixth Man." As with team sports, the sixth man came off the bench to provide critical support - in this case by contributing specific skills during the research and analysis process, as well as in developing a mock-up of a model. We will share the systematic approach we employed to rigorously check AI contributions, modify content through refinement and revision, hold one another to a high ethical standard throughout the process.

Downing Student Union 

3023

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective (Disney) Villains: Leadership Lessons from the Dark Side

Katelyn Durham

Downing Student Union 

3025

12:15 p.m. -

1:30 p.m.

Lunch Break

Complimentary Lunch - Fresh Food Company, Downing Student Union, 1st Floor

Understanding Our Roles: Navigating Employee Relations, Investigations, and Compliance Together

Ena Demir, Quenna Thompson, & Michaela Daniel

This session will provide a comprehensive look at the distinct and collaborative roles of the Office of Institutional Equity (OIE) and Human Resources (HR) in addressing employee concerns, conducting investigations, and ensuring compliance with state and federal law and institutional policies. Attendees will learn how workplace misconduct may be addressed through different but sometimes overlapping institutional processes related to discrimination, harassment, and general misconduct. Also, Attendees will gain clarity on reporting responsibilities, legal obligations, and best practices for fostering a respectful and supportive workplace..

Downing Student Union 

3003

Research Roadblocks: A Guide to Library Misconceptions

Sean Kinder, Brooke Gross, and Todd Seguin

Students are often overwhelmed and anxious when they come to the library to do research for a class.  A group of librarians will elucidate common areas of confusion and frequent obstacles students face.  We will describe how we respond to student inquiries, offer some dos and don'ts for instructors, and reveal some of the tricks and tips we have learned over time.

Downing Student Union

3007

Transferrable Skills: Integrating Workplace Skills into Your Curriculum

Dana Henson

This workshop will focus on the importance and integration of transferable skills within the undergraduate curriculum. Participants will learn about the key transferable skills for the workplace, how they align with academic outcomes, and how to incorporate these skills into courses and programs. By the end of this workshop, participants should be confident in identifying, teaching, and assessing transferable skills to enhance student employability and real-world readiness.

Downing Student Union 

3020

Beyond the Hype: Practical AI for Your Work and the Classroom

Diane McDonald

Join us for an interactive workshop designed to help all WKU employees navigate the rapidly evolving world of artificial intelligence. Whether you're an AI skeptic or a power user, this session will provide you with practical knowledge and tools to thoughtfully understand and integrate AI into your professional work and teaching practices.

Downing Student Union 

3023

The Big Red Buy!

Marci Morehead, Brittney Green, & Pam Davidson

Downing Student Union 

3025

Extending WKU's Reach: A Discussion on WKU's Regional Campuses

Derick B. Strode & Stephanie Prichard

Regional Campuses leaders will overview our five Regional Campus sites beyond the Hill: Elizabethtown, Ft. Knox, Glasgow, Owensboro, and Somerset. Updates on enrollment trends, the Signature Regional Programs initiative, and the Early College Program at WKU in Glasgow will be presented. This will be followed by an open discussion of how WKU's Regional Campuses provide affordability and access to students who otherwise may not enroll with our university. This session is targeted to all faculty and staff who have an interest in reaching learners throughout our region.

Downing Student Union

3003

The CHHS Faculty/Staff Wellness Hour: Encouraging results from a pilot intervention

Tania Basta

Join us to learn about the CHHS Wellness Hour that was implemented in Fall 2023 to allow faculty/staff in CHHS to take a Wellness Hour (paid hour in addition to lunch) to perform a wellness activity.  This session will provide an over of the 10 Dimensions of Wellness and how each of the dimensions can be operationalized to maximize health.  In addition, a detailed overview of the CHHS Wellness Hour will be provided, including guidelines for supervisors.  Finally, evaluation results of the Wellness Hour will be presented along with lessons learned. 

Downing Student Union

3007

After the Award Letter: Tips for Effective Post-Award Grant Management

Steva Kaufkins & Jo Ellen Scruggs

Receiving a grant award letter is exciting but it marks the start of the post-award journey. This session is for grant directors, project managers, and support staff who want to confidently navigate post-award responsibilities. Attendees will test their research administration trivia knowledge while gaining practical insights into compliance, cost monitoring, and sponsor communication. Whether you're new to post-award operations or refining your approach, you'll leave with tools to manage awards effectively from start to finish.

Downing Student Union 

3020

Genernative AI - Productivity, Teaching & Research

Steve Momorella

This forward-looking session introduces generative AI tools and demonstrates how they can be applied in higher education and administrative work. Participants will learn practical ways to use AI for teaching, research support, productivity, and informed decision-making. The focus will be on responsible use, efficiency, and tools that can be implemented immediately.

Downing Student Union 

3023

Stop Tracking Me! Tips for Enhancing Online Privacy

Casey Scruggs

While talking with a friend, you mentioned you want a new pair of shoes. And a few hours later all you see are ads for shoes. You're convinced your phone is listening to you--and maybe it is. But there's a lot more to it than that. Learn what you can do to enhance your online privacy, even when you think you're "offline".

Downing Student Union 

3025

Excel Productivity Tools: Formulas & Features for Efficiency

Susan Thomison

This hands-on session highlights time-saving Excel tools, formulas, and features that improve accuracy and efficiency. Participants will practice using functions, shortcuts, and automation features that streamline everyday tasks. The content is designed for users who want to strengthen their technical skills and apply them immediately to enhance productivity and workflow.

This session requires prior registration to attend please click here to register.

Downing Student Union 

2081