Lea Rosenberry, PT Adjunct, Faculty Senate President: The Faculty Senate was honored to be invited to the Academic Forum where we were able to meet as a group for the first time in PG history. We discussed the Faculty Senate and its role in representing all PG Faculty. The highlight of the trip, aside from attending graduation, was meeting our Faculty Senate counterparts from Purdue West Lafayette. We hope to work with the Faculty Senates at West Lafayette and the other Purdue campuses to find new ways to strengthen the Faculty Senate and find new and different way to support PG faculty.

Paige Erickson, FT Faculty, Humanities & Social Sciences: The Academic Forum took place on the Purdue University campus in West Lafayette, Indiana. Speakers presented a strategic vision for PG, including marketing opportunities, Global Track, and improving student satisfaction. There was a collaborative presentation from PG’s School of General Education and Purdue University’s group Convocations (Convos). Convos brings Arts and Cultural performances to the Purdue campus and conducts research supporting the value of these opportunities for students. The PG Gen Ed and Convos team had attendees read a short play and discuss the play's ethical dilemmas. The experience and discussion demonstrated how the Arts and Humanities could be incorporated into curriculum to expand student perspectives, build empathy, and broaden subjects of study.

Tami Tacker, FT Adjunct, Mathematics: The Alumni Meet & Greet event allowed instructors to meet and talk with graduates the evening before graduation. Hearing their stories was heartwarming. I had a remarkable conversation with a particular student that evening. Her high school math teacher told her she would never amount to anything. She was scared to death of taking a math course until she actually got into the course and met the instructor. She commented on how nice the instructor was and how helpful they were to help her understand. She totally rocked her college math class and now she knows she can conquer anything she comes across in life. Both of us were crying by the end of our discussion!

Mark Burlingame, FT Faculty, Composition: The day after a lively Alumni event at Murat Theatre, we welcomed our soon-to-be-graduates, in full regalia and armed with programs, to line up for the ceremony. You may have heard some deans were dancing, and indeed, they nailed it: choreography, high heels, regal robes, smiles bold (some say there’s a video!). What my cadre was responsible for was the tunnel of cheering professors and administrators through which students passed as they approached the auditorium. With many a grin and flourish did they answer our applause. We stood for the anthem, sat for proceedings; speeches were made and names were called, degrees conferred. Thus ended our weekend of faculty meetings and presentations, which I hope future graduations will host again. It was an event!

AWARDS NIGHT SURVEY: For the last seven years, the SoGE Awards night has been a fun and exciting event to celebrate our success and hard work, as well as a great reminder that the SoGE acknowledges and appreciates our efforts. In order to recognize you in the way that you would like to be recognized, we need your help. Please take a moment to share your feedback by completing this brief survey on recognition awards by Wednesday, July 3rd. Survey Link: https://forms.gle/uQWMLH6RHcTiDugB7

The Purdue Global STEM Faculty Journal Club is seeking presenters for their June/July 2019 meeting. The topic is current research on autism. This club is faculty driven so the date and time are up to you. If you have a recent article on autism and would like to share at our meeting, please join us! Contact Amy Smith (asmith7@purdueglobal.edu), STEM Faculty Journal Club Coordinator, for questions or to sign up visit our website: https://sites.google.com/purdueglobal.edu/pgstemjournalclub/home

The 11^th annual Virtual General Education Conference took place April 23^rd – 25^th and focused on the theme of: Explore Beyond: Building for the Future through General Education. The great turn-out from across the university and AGLS enhanced the conference experience for all! There were some amazing presentations but if you missed any, you can visit the conference site and listen to the archives.

One GEC session called Climate reality: Can we change? was presented by Dr. Annissa Furr; a FT faculty member who has been with the Science Dept. for nearly a decade. When asked about her presentation, she shared the following... "As a science professor, I have always been interested in climate change. I often have conversations with students and peers about the urgency for change, and I am active in my community where I work to educate individuals and business owners about sustainability and green practices. However, I wanted to deepen my understanding and take an active role in educating others about climate change, so I applied and was accepted to the August 2018 Climate Reality Leadership training in Los Angeles, CA. The training was one of the most impactful events I have attended in my professional career. I spent three very full days immersed in the reality of climate change. I came away scared, saddened, informed, and deeply hopeful about the future of our planet.

First, we learned about the depth of the impact of climate change on the planet. Wildland firefighters came in off the front lines to describe how wildfires are worsened by droughts and extreme weather brought about by climate change. We heard from teenagers about the impact of living next to an oil refinery in poor neighborhoods in CA and many other stories about climate change and its relation to socioeconomic factors. We embraced the biology of climate change and looked at the impacts from every angle possible. Looking at the collective impact of climate change was difficult and a little overwhelming, but I learned more about climate change than I ever could have imagined.

We were also given a lot of hope. We learned about new developments in clean energy and laws and regulations aimed at cleaning up the environment and implementing sustainable ideas in businesses across the country. I live in Arizona and had the opportunity to connect with climate leaders from across our state. I made new connections learned a lot about the challenges specific to my home state. I also learned ways to initiate a productive conversation about climate change while cutting through the misinformation to convey the facts. I am forever thankful for the information I gained, and I look forward to finding new ways to share what I have learned with the world."

Thanks to Annissa and all of our 2019 GEC presenters for another amazing conference! See you all next year!