This coming week, the Association of American Law Schools will host its seventh week of special summer webinars geared to providing assistance to under-supported law faculty in our current unusual circumstances. The series, dubbed "Faculty Focus," is described in the following way on the program website (which also includes information about upcoming programs):
COVID-19 has affected the normal rhythms of the legal academy in ways that may be particularly disruptive for early-career faculty.
AALS invites tenure-track, clinical, and legal writing faculty to join us on Tuesday afternoons for “Faculty Focus,” a series of weekly webinars organized around issues these individuals may be facing as well as challenges affecting higher education and the profession in general.
Each 60-minute webinar will feature expert advice from law school leaders followed by shared experiences from early career law faculty. The sessions will be structured to encourage conversation and connection, with opportunities for participants to crowdsource solutions and discuss common issues across schools and teaching areas.
Although I am not in the target audience, I have enjoyed several of these programs. Here is a list of the programs held to date:
Week 1: Work-Life Balance and the Demands of Scholarship
Tuesday, June 9, 2020
Week 2: Meeting the Needs of All Students Online
Tuesday, June 16, 2020
Week 3: Excellence in Online Instruction
Tuesday, June 23, 2020
Week 4: Racism, Justice, and Your Fall Classes
Tuesday, June 30, 2020
Week 5: A Perspective from the Dean’s Offices
Tuesday, July 7, 2020
Week 6: Effective Use of Research Assistants
Tuesday, July 14, 2020
Week 6: How to Become an Excellent Teacher While Starting Your Career in a Pandemic
Thursday, July 16, 2020
I was honored to be asked to participate in the panel discussion, convened last Tuesday, on Effective Use of Research Assistants. The recording for that session and the other past programs is available here. This coming week, the session focuses on What Every Faculty Member Should be Doing This Summer. You can register for it here.