August 2020
In this issue:
President's Message
Eastern Region Spotlight
New NACTA Members
#NACTAChat
Upcoming Events
Renew or Become a New NACTA Member
It is mid-August, normally the start of a new, exciting, and promising school year. And yet for many us, 2020-21 will be like no other academic year we have ever encountered. The COVID-19 pandemic and its associated budgetary challenges and required pedagogical shifts will impact us, our institutions, students, and colleagues alike. Indeed, the pandemic will impact many of our families, friends, and communities. This includes our NACTA colleagues.
Plan today to stay connected with your NACTA organization, colleagues, and friends. Browse through the latest NACTA Journal contributions and learn about some of the relevant and exciting advances taking place across all facets of Teaching & Learning, many led by your fellow NACTA colleagues! And yes, as the NACTA Family, reach out to existing and new members, and let them know you’re thinking about them.
These are unprecedented times, and the new school year will be anything but “normal,” so I for one am grateful for my NACTA Family.
J. Marcos Fernandez
2020-21 NACTA President
Purdue University
From an interview with the Eastern Region Director, Dr. Elizabeth Karcher on August 12, 2020.
NACTA has five regions and Region Directors. As Eastern Region Director, what is your role within the Association?
My goal, along with the other directors, is to work on developing relationships with members and potential members. We are thinking about ways we can make people more aware of what NACTA is, what it does and making people more aware of the benefits of membership. Communication is the largest component in the broad sense. Individually, my role is to be the face of NACTA within the Eastern Region.
What area of the US falls within your region?
There are 17 states within the Eastern Region including all of New England from Maine down to Virginia and from the East Coast over to Indiana.
What are your goals for the Eastern Region in the 20/21 academic year?
One of the things we will be doing first is creating distinct Facebook pages for each of the regions so people can ask questions, or we can post highlights and announcements throughout the year. I’d like to share information about teaching events of interest as well as information about NACTA awards and abstract calls for the annual meeting. I’ll also be focusing on reaching out to new members in my area to welcome them to NACTA and keeping up with members when it is time for their renewal.
As a group, the regional directors are currently brainstorming engagement opportunities within the membership and beyond throughout the year. We hope to share more information soon!
What good things are you hearing from the members in your region currently?
I think the most positive aspect of NACTA is that it gives people a space to talk about teaching that they might not be able to find in their specific disciplines. NACTA gives us a chance to talk about the scholarship of teaching and learning, research, pedagogy, etc. In the Eastern Region, we have been lucky. Purdue hosted NACTA in 2017 and it was a great opportunity to expose people to the Association. OSU will be hosting what we hope will be an in-person event in 2021. It creates that excitement that NACTA is coming to them with those opportunities for conversation and engagement.
Is there anything else you'd like to add?
We are excited. This is the first year in a while that regional directors have gotten together as a group on a more consistent basis. I am really excited to work with them each month to see how we can move the positions forward to communicate with the people in our regions, create interest and engage people who may not know what NACTA is all about.
NACTA had 3 new members in the last month. We hope you will join us in welcoming them!
| Lori Moore | Christine Wilson | Deana Namuth-Covert |
We are excited to begin another Fall semester but the *how* seems to look different for everyone. How are you preparing to start school this Fall?
Join the conversation with photos, videos and stories on Facebook and Twitter by using #NACTAChat.
Upcoming Events
Global Summit on Agriculture & Organic Farming
August 17 - 18, 2020 *Webinar
NACTA Leadership Meeting
Tuesday, August 18 at 2pm EDT/1PM CDT *Webinar
15th International Conference on Agriculture & Horticulture
August 24 - 25, 2020 *Webinar
International Conference on Agriculture Sciences and Farming Technology
August 26 - 27, 2020 *Webinar
Renew or Become a New NACTA Member
NACTA is the largest professional development organization that focuses specifically on the scholarship of teaching and learning in agriculture, food and natural resources.
Need to renew your membership? Want to invite a colleague to join? Want to change your membership status? Visit the membership page here.
We appreciate your NACTA membership!
