Agenda, New Faculty Foundations for Tenure-track Faculty, Aug. 13 & 14, 2026

Time

Session 

Presenter(s) 

8:15–9:00 am 

(45 min) 

Breakfast, Registration, and Networking, Headshots 

Campus Catering 

9:00–9:10 am 

(10 min) 

Welcome to New Faculty Foundations 

Dr. Sarah Macdonald  

Interim Director, CTLT  

9:10–9:25 am 

(15 min) 

Welcome to Cal Poly 

Dr. Teshia Roby, Associate Provost of Academic Innovation & Programs 

9:25-9:40 am 

(15 min) 

Academic Personnel: Supporting Faculty Career Development and Professional Success 

Dr. Simone Aloisio,  

Associate Vice Provost for Academic Personnel  

9:40-10:05 am  

(25 min)  

Interactive Activity to Prepare Questions for Today’s Student and Faculty Panels 

Dr. Sarah Macdonald   

Interim Director, CTLT  

10:05–10:20 am 

(15 min) 

Break and Networking 

10:20—10:40 am 

(20 min) 

Supporting Student Success: Who Our Students Are 

Dr. Susan Cheng, 

Associate Provost for Student Success 

10:40-11:15 am 

(35 min) 

Student Voices, Student Experiences 

Student panel, moderated by Dr. Susan Cheng  

11:15 am–12:00 pm 

(45 min) 

Student-Centered Active Learning Workshop 

Dr. Ariel Setniker 

12:00–1:00 pm 

(60 min) 

Lunch and Headshots Opportunity 

Campus Catering & 

Heraldo Creative Studios (HCS) 

1:00–1:20 pm 

(20 min) 

Faculty Success 

1:20–2:30 pm 

(70 min) 

Faculty Panel: Thriving at Cal Poly 

Dr. Jennifer Teramoto Pedrotti, Facilitator 

2:30—2:45 pm 

(15 min) 

Break and Networking  

2:45-3:00 pm 

(15 min) 

Culture and Institutional Excellence at Cal Poly 

Dr. Beya Makekau, Associate Vice President, Culture & Institutional Excellence; 

Dr. Jennifer Teramoto Pedrotti, Associate Vice President for Culture and Faculty Success 

3:00–3:30pm 

(30 min) 

Building Community and Creating an Inclusive Learning Environment  

Dr. Sarah Macdonald   

3:30-4:15 pm (45 min) 

Engaging Students from the Start (The Syllabus and First Day Activities) 

Dr. Dianna Winslow, Assistant Director and Writing Instruction Specialist 

4:15–4:30 pm 

(15 min) 

Wrapping up Day 1 and outro to the social event 

Dr. Sarah Macdonald   

4:30-6:30 pm 

New Faculty and Families Welcome BBQ 

Campus Catering  

Time

Session

Presenter(s)

9:00–9:45 am

(45 min)

Breakfast, Registration, and Networking; I-9 Completion

Campus Catering;

HR & Payroll

9:45–9:55 am

(10 min)

Welcome to Day 2

Dr. Sarah Macdonald

Interim Director, CTLT

9:55-10:25 am (30 min)

Support for Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities (RSCA)

TBD, Office of Research

10:25-11:00 am

(35 min)

Accessible Learning and Course Materials

Tonia Malone, LMS Administrator 

Dr. Sarah Macdonald

Interim Director, CTLT  

11:00-11:10 am

(10 min)

Break

11:10-12:10 pm

(60 min)

Canvas Workshop/Design Plus Template

Tonia Malone, LMS Administrator & Instructional Designer

12:10-1:00 pm

(50 min)

Lunch

Campus Catering

1:00-1:30 pm

(30 min)

California Faculty Association (Union Overview)

CFA Representative

1:30-2:00 pm

(30 min)

Teaching in the Age of AI

Catherine Hillman, CTLT Instructional Designer

2:30-3:00 pm

(30 min)

Aligning Learning Objectives, Activities, and Assessments

Dr. Dianna Winslow, Assistant Director and Writing Instruction Specialist

2:30-3:15 pm

(45 min)

Supporting Student Success and Wellbeing

Dr. Sarah Macdonald, Introducing representatives from:

·       DRC

·       Office of Writing and Learning

·       Dean of Students

·       Advising

·       Health and Wellbeing

3:15-3:30 pm

(15 min)

Closing and Survey

Dr. Sarah Macdonald

3:30-5:00 pm

(75 min)

Campus Partners Resource Fair;

I-9 Completion; Ice Cream

Campus Partner Tables;

HR & Payroll;

SLO Mama Sweets