Exploring Teaching Careers at Teaching Intensive Universities with CIRTL Alumni
2026-11-09 11:00 - 12:00 (America/Chicago) | Online in Zoom
In this online panel, we’ll hear from CIRTL alumni who now teach at liberal arts colleges. Most undergraduates in the United States are educated at liberal arts colleges and other non-research institutions like community colleges and specialized BS and MS universities, and the faculty who teach them frequently balance teaching, research, and mentorship as dynamic pieces of a rewarding career. Alumni will share what their jobs are like, how they became interested in teaching, what it was like to transition from the research-intensive R1 institutions they studied at to the smaller colleges and universities where they now work, and what growth and progression can look like in these types of career paths. Speakers TBD.
This is the second event in our four-part series “Exploring Career Paths with CIRTL Alumni.”
Event Schedule
This online event meets on Monday, November 9th at 9-10pm Gulf / 12-1pm Eastern / 11am-12pm Central / 10-11am Arizona / 9-10am Pacific. This is the second event in our four-part series “Exploring Career Paths with CIRTL Alumni.”
Audience
This event is designed first and foremost for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in STEM/SBE disciplines exploring potential career paths, but generally relevant to anyone interested in understanding career trajectories within academia and beyond.
Registration
Request a registration reminder
This event has no cap, and registration opens on Monday, August 17th at 10am CT. Once registration opens, it will remain open until the first event begins on Monday, November 2nd.
Accessibility
If you have access needs, please let us know what they are. Contact David Larson (dlarson23@wisc.edu), who is supporting this workshop, to let us know how we can help you have a successful experience. In addition to meeting individualized needs, we will also take measures throughout the workshop to support accessibility for all our students:

Enabling live captioning in synchronous sessions
Incorporating multiple modes of interaction into synchronous sessions

About CIRTL Programming
CIRTL Network programming is designed to develop future faculty committed to implementing and advancing evidence-based teaching practices to create undergraduate educational experiences that are accessible to all learners. Participants can explore our programming in any order, and to whatever extent supports your own teaching development needs and interests. To help participants understand what they can expect across all our programming, all CIRTL programming aligns with four broad learning goals; within those goals, programming might provide participants improving evidence-based teaching.
This event supports the following CIRTL learning goals:

Goal 4: Prepare for an impactful career. See more Goal 4 programming.

Neuro-Affirming Course Design: Designing Courses with Neurodiversity In Mind
2026-11-12 12:00 - 14:00
This event introduces a neuro-affirming approach to course design for graduate students and postdoctoral instructors. Participants will explore neurodiversity, examine how neurodivergent strengths and challenges shape learning, and identify elements of neuro‑affirming instruction. The event highlights practical strategies for creating neuro‑inclusive courses covering syllabus design, course organization, participation structures, and assignment creation and applies the UDL +1 method to help instructors make small, meaningful changes to support all learners. By the end of this event, participants will be able to:

Describe the tenets of a neurodiversity affirming instructional approach.
Explain how neurodiversity impacts learning.
Apply neuro-affirming instructional principles and strategies to course design.

Instructors
Melissa Tamas, Stanford University
Schedule
This one-session online event meets on Thursday, November 12th at 10pm-12am Gulf / 1-3pm Eastern / 12-2pm Central / 11am-1pm Arizona / 10am-12pm Pacific.
Audience
This event is designed for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers looking for an introduction to fundamental academic professional development topics.
Registration
Request a registration reminder
Cap: 75. Registration opens on Monday, October 26th at 10am CT and closes once capacity is reached. Registration will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis and registrants from CIRTL member institutions or alumni of CIRTL member institutions will receive priority. Once registration closes, all registrants will be notified of their enrollment status.
Accessibility
If you have access needs, please let us know what they are. Contact Zoe Zuleger (zmzuleger@wisc.edu), who is supporting this event, to let us know how we can help you have a successful experience. In addition to meeting individualized needs, we will also take measures throughout the event to support accessibility for all our students:

Enabling live captioning in synchronous sessions
Incorporating multiple modes of interaction into synchronous sessions

About CIRTL Programming
CIRTL Network programming is designed to develop future faculty committed to implementing and advancing evidence-based teaching practices to create undergraduate educational experiences that are accessible to all learners. Participants can explore our programming in any order, and to whatever extent supports your own teaching development needs and interests. To help participants understand what they can expect across all our programming, all CIRTL programming aligns with four broad learning goals; within those goals, programming might provide participants improving evidence-based teaching.
This course supports the following CIRTL learning goals:

Goal 1: Develop evidence-based teaching knowledge. See more Goal 1 programming.
Goal 3: Cultivate teaching skills through reflective improvement. See more Goal 3 programming.

Exploring Academic Careers Beyond the Professoriate with CIRTL Alumni in Centers for Teaching & Learning
2026-11-16 11:00 - 12:00
In this online panel, we’ll hear from CIRTL alumni who hold STEM PhDs and work in centers for teaching and learning at research universities. Centers for teaching and learning are an increasingly common office in universities – providing evidence-based support and guidance to faculty and others with instructional responsibilities – and are one of many ways people with PhDs work within higher ed, but beyond the professoriate. Alumni will share what their jobs are like, how they became interested in this unique type of work, how their doctoral training prepared them for their roles, and what growth and progression can look like in these types of career paths.
This is the third event in our four-part series “Exploring Career Paths with CIRTL Alumni.”
Event Schedule
This online event meets on Monday, November 16thth at 9-10pm Gulf / 12-1pm Eastern / 11am-12pm Central / 10-11am Arizona / 9-10am Pacific. This is the third event in our four-part series “Exploring Career Paths with CIRTL Alumni.”
Audience
This event is designed first and foremost for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers interested in learning more about working in a center for teaching and learning, but generally relevant to anyone interested in understanding career trajectories within academia and beyond.
Registration
Request a registration reminder
This event has no cap, and registration opens on Monday, August 17th at 10am CT. Once registration opens, it will remain open until the first event begins on Monday, November 2nd.
Accessibility
If you have access needs, please let us know what they are. Contact David Larson (dlarson23@wisc.edu), who is supporting this workshop, to let us know how we can help you have a successful experience. In addition to meeting individualized needs, we will also take measures throughout the workshop to support accessibility for all our students:

Enabling live captioning in synchronous sessions
Incorporating multiple modes of interaction into synchronous sessions

About CIRTL Programming
CIRTL Network programming is designed to develop future faculty committed to implementing and advancing evidence-based teaching practices to create undergraduate educational experiences that are accessible to all learners. Participants can explore our programming in any order, and to whatever extent supports your own teaching development needs and interests. To help participants understand what they can expect across all our programming, all CIRTL programming aligns with four broad learning goals; within those goals, programming might provide participants improving evidence-based teaching.
This event supports the following CIRTL learning goals:

Goal 4: Prepare for an impactful career. See more Goal 4 programming.
