In this Edition: **Chair Office Hours Spring 2024, Department Meeting Agenda, Self-Study External Reviewer Itineraries, Small Grants Program, January Events: Conversations about Ai – Matteo Di Michele Presentation**

Dear colleagues, 

Happy New Year and welcome to the Spring 2024 semester.

Note: If you see a link at the bottom of this email which says “Read Full Message” please click that to view all content. Or view the content online here.

Dates and Events this Week

Wednesday, January 10

• First Day of Classes
• 1:25-2:15 pm Placement Test, LRC 

Friday, January 12

• 9:05-9:55 am Placement Test, LRC 
• Nomination for Bonnie E. Cone Early-Career Professorship in Teaching 
• Nomination for Provost’s Award for Excellence in Teaching

Looking Ahead

Dates and Events

January 19, 2024

• Department Meeting 2:30-4:00 pm, LRC (Title IX Presentation), Draft Agenda

January 23, 2024

• All Day: Candidate – Campus Interview

January 25, 2024

• All day: Candidate – Campus Interview

January 26, 2024

• Due Date for Annual Evaluation Forms (complete them in your personal Google Folder)
• LACS Presentation Series – Conversations about AI – Matteo Di Michele, “AI and Ethics”, 2:30-3:30 pm, LRC and Zoom

January 30, 2024

• All day: Candidate – Campus Interview

February 5-6

• External Reviewers Visit for Self-Study

February 9, 2024

• Department Meeting 2:30-4:00 pm, LRC 

February 16, 2024

• SEACS Conference, 4th floor Mebane Hall 
• LACS Presentation Series – Conversations about AI – Chris Mellinger and Jeff Killman, “AI in the Language Industry”, 12:30-2:00 pm, panel at SEACS, LRC and Zoom

February 17, 2024

• SEACS Conference continues, 4th floor Mebane Hall

February 22-23, 2024

• 10:00 am-6:00 pm. 2024 Heritage Language Learning Symposium, Register 

March 15, 2024

• Department Meeting 2:30-4:00 pm, LRC 

March 29, 2024

• LACS Presentation Series – Conversations about AI – Manuel Perez-Quinones, “Conversational Systems and AI”, 2:30-3:30 pm, LRC and Zoom

April 12, 2024

• Department Meeting 2:30-4:00 pm, LRC 

April 19, 2024

• LACS Presentation Series – Conversations about AI – Bobby Hobgood, “AI in the Language Classroom”, 2:30-3:30 pm, LRC and Zoom

April 30, 2024

• Department Meeting 10:30-12:00 pm, Party 12:00-2:00 pm 

Congratulations

Congratulations to Sandra Watts for being awarded a New Ventures scholarship from Charlotte’s School of Professional Studies. This scholarship covers half of the tuition for the new Instructional Design Certificate, which she is obtaining.

Announcements & Updates

Search Update

Please see your email for information on the search.

Self-Study Update

The external reviewers, Sonia Colina and Carrie Collenberg-Gonzalez, will be in the department on Monday February, 5 and Tuesday, February 6. Please find the itinerary here: External Reviewers Itinerary. 

Please sign up to escort the two reviewers. Note when your presence is requested for a scheduled meeting. Please make sure you attend those meetings. If you teach at the time, please cancel class and assign online work or find a substitute. A Self-Study happens every 10 to 12 years, and it is vitally important that we all participate. 

Please find the final version of the Self-Study as submitted to the external reviewers here: 2023 LACS Self-Study 

Please find a Module in our Department Canvas with all relevant information regarding the Self-Study and the visit of the external reviewers. 

LACS Presentation Series – Conversations about AI  

Matteo Di Michele, “AI and Ethics”, Friday, January 26, 2:30-3:30 pm, LRC and Zoom

Matteo Di Michele is a global technology and operations executive with 20 years of international experience across a variety of functions such as law, supply chain management, environmental sustainability, and artificial intelligence. He published Artificial Intelligence: Ethics – Risks – Opportunities in 2023.

CHESS Small Grants Program 

The CHESS Small Grants Program supports faculty research projects that require additional funding. These funds are designed to facilitate the completion or enhancement of ongoing projects. Faculty seeking support for new research projects should apply through the annual Faculty Research Grants Program. Documentation of IRB approval is necessary prior to expending funds for any research that includes Human Subjects. In 2023-24, the CHESS Small Grants Program is prioritizing requests for funding to support the last steps toward publication (indexes, illustrations, etc.). Open access publication costs will be considered only after a faculty member seeks funding through the Atkins Library Open Access Publishing Fund. These “last mile” requests will be considered as they are received. Requests for funding for other research expenses (travel to archives, datasets, etc.) will be collected and reviewed after January 31, 2024. Applications received by January 31, 2024, will receive full consideration. Requests submitted after that date will be considered depending upon the availability of funding. Funds must be expended by June 30, 2024.

The Best of FLANC 2024 Spring Conference 

Interact with the best presenters from the Fall 2023 conference and WL & DL/I presentations on March 2nd and DL/I site visits on March 1st! Connect with your colleagues and engage in professional development sessions! For more information visit the FLANC website or Register here!

If you missed an event, information about a deadline or workshop or just want to refresh your memory, please find here all past “This Week in LACS” newsletters for your reference. The recent issues can be found on the Department website under the News feature on the Home Page. 

As always, thank you for everything you all do. Please consider submitting more events/news via the This Week in LACS form for next week’s issue.

I wish you all a good start of the semester and a great first week of classes. We have exciting events coming up and I look forward to Spring 2024. 

All the best,

Anabel