Washington State University faculty and graduate students on all campuses are invited to register now for the May 2 ELEVATE conference that will feature a keynote workshop on improving teaching efficiency for better work-life balance, a hosted lunch at each campus, and afternoon showcase sessions to share WSU educators’ teaching successes and innovative ideas.
ELEVATE is the acronym for “Engage Learners. Enhance Voices. Advance Teaching Excellence.” ELEVATE 2025 is the third such event; it was first offered in 2022.
Co-hosted by the Transformational Change Initiative (TCI) and the WSU Teaching Academy, the event will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., held in SPARK G45 at WSU Pullman and livestreamed to watch party locations on the other campuses.
The day will begin with a workshop, “Teaching and Time Management: How to Manage Your Time So You Can Teach Efficiently and Effectively and Have a Life Beyond the Ivory Tower,” delivered in person and broadcast live system-wide by Dr. Lisa Hanasono at 9:00 a.m.
“TCI and the Teaching Academy support strategies to help us, as educators and researchers, to balance our work and home lives, and we look forward to Dr. Hanasono’s informed messaging as well as her first-hand expertise as a fellow faculty member in the workshop,” Associate Vice Provost of Faculty Development and Recognition Erika Offerdahl said.
The interactive session will provide concrete skills and information to enhance teaching efficiency and effectiveness while simultaneously opening new time, energy, and opportunities for better work-life balance. Participants will identify how to align teaching time with institutional and personal priorities; discuss time-saving strategies related to course design; establish ways to prepare for class meetings and effective grading; and offer strategies for accessing resources to support and sustain effective teaching.
Hanasono is a certified campus workshop facilitator and faculty success program coach for the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity, and a professor in the School of Media and Communication at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. She earned Bachelor of Arts degrees in speech communication and psychology and a master’s degree in communication at Miami University, and a Ph.D. in communication at Purdue University.
A noon-1 p.m. working lunch will allow for small group discussions and continued workshop activities at each campus. From 1-3 p.m., a two-session faculty showcase, “Fresh Perspectives to Re-energize Your Teaching,” will feature 10-minute presentations by attendees at each campus. They will be broadcast live via Zoom and will describe one example of teaching success or an innovative idea that would interest other WSU educators.
“The afternoon showcase sessions offer a great opportunity to share one’s creativity, inspire colleagues, and contribute to the collective growth of our vibrant teaching community at WSU,” said Offerdahl. “Whether it’s a new approach to engaging students, a successful classroom activity, or a novel use of technology, we want to hear about it.”
Descriptions up to 250 words of one’s proposed presentation can be submitted through March 21 for consideration. Topical areas include, but are not limited to, implementing active-learning strategies, supporting student engagement, integrating AI, assessing student learning, the reenergizing of teaching in challenging times, and implementing strategies to ensure access for and inclusion of all WSU students.
TCI represents a multi-component initiative for increasing student access at WSU. The aim is to produce transformational change institutionally by creating a university that supports students emotionally, socially, and academically, and individually by producing graduates positioned for lifelong success. A major component of the initiative is to promote faculty development.
In addition to ELEVATE, TCI offers PIT Stops—the acronym for pedagogy, innovation, and technology—a faculty support series, the LIFT Faculty Fellows Program, the Peer Observation in Support of Instructional Excellence (POSIE), and TCI IDEA (inclusion, diversity, equity, and access) grants awards presented to innovative faculty. March 21 is the deadline for new LIFT cohort applications. Applications for the fall 2025 POSIE program will close Aug. 20.
The WSU Teaching Academy works to promote a university culture that values, supports, and rewards excellence in teaching and the scholarship of teaching; drives implementation of academic goals; supports models of teaching and learning; and facilitates the creation of mindsets and practices of students and faculty that drive self-motivated, life-long learning. The system-wide organization hosts a book club, offers a number of supportive awards, hosts TEACHxWSU, and is accepting applications through March 21 for new members.
