2023 Physics Department Chairs Conference

P1. New Chairs Workshop

The New Chairs Workshop is designed for “new” (or relatively “new”) physics department chairs who would like to learn about frameworks for being an effective chair. The Workshop will focus on best practices gathered from previous New Chairs Workshops and Physics Chairs Conferences, including the APS/AAPT EP3 Guide’s Section on “How to be an effective chair.” Small breakout sessions will allow participants to join in peer-to-peer discussions of scenarios of situations that most chairs will need to deal with.

Lunch on your own

P2. Welcome and Overview

P3. Multi-dimensional Teaching Evaluation

Session Chair: Gabriela Weaver, University of Massachusetts Amherst

The session will share emerging best practices from the TEval Project and give participants the opportunity to reflect on how teaching evaluation practices in their own setting might be improved, as well as to share any efforts they have made in this area.

P4. Improving enrollment in the undergraduate physics program

Speaker: Michael Jackson - New Mexico Institute of Technology

Following a brief overview of the EP3 Guide, participants in this workshop will be provided information (e.g., graduation rates and other student data) on a physics department at a fictitious institution "Stellar University" for which they serve as an external consultant (e.g., external program reviewer). With this information, participants speculate about the issues facing this department, in part by considering their own experiences. Participants will gain experience in using the cycle of reflection and action outlined in the EP3 guide and learn how the EP3 guide could be used to identify potential strategies that may be helpful for this fictitious department to consider (or perhaps their own department). Note: this is a highly abbreviated version of a half-day workshop that is currently under development.

P5. Wrap Up

Dinner on your own

Breakfast

Welcome and Overview Day 2

Speaker:

• James Taylor, Ph.D., AIP, Chief Federation Officer

P6. “Building an Ecology of Student Wellbeing”

Speaker: Rachel Smith - Iowa State

The last several years in particular have taken a toll on students and the institutional personnel who support them. In this session, I will share what we have learned from studies of undergraduate and graduate students’ experiences in terms of how to better facilitate their success in the classroom and on campus. Suggested strategies will focus on the people, practices, and policies that make up students’ support networks and inform their educational sense-making.

Coffee Break

P7. Engaging students with diverse backgrounds throughout the curriculum

Panelists:

• Toni Sauncy (Texas Lutheran University) - Labs
• Danny Caballero (Michigan State University) - Computation
• Owen Long (University of California at Riverside) - Strategies at UCR
• Ben Pollard (Worcester Polytechnic Institute) - Grading

Engaging students in physics classes can take many forms beyond just adding a diversity of topics as part of our classes. What are the structural levers that we can use in our classes and in our programs more broadly to engage and support students from diverse backgrounds? This panel will explore structural approaches to grading, labs, computation, and our programs to support the diversity of students within our physics departments.

Breakouts on engaging students by topic

Lunch

P8. NSF Division Directors Town Hall

Panelists:

• Denise Caldwell - Physics Division Director
• Germano Iannacchione - Materials Research Division Director
• Jean Cottam - Deputy Division Director in Physics

Drs. Caldwell and Iannacchione will each present brief remarks and then open the floor for Q&A.

P9. Graduate Admissions and Retention in the Post-GRE Era

Panelists/Speakers

• Ken Barish, UC Riverside
• Geoff Potvin, Florida International University
• Steve Rolston, University of Maryland
• Brad Conrad, Society of Physics Students

While flawed, pGRE scores generally correlated with performance on qualifying examinations. Additionally, GRE lists allowed admissions committees from less well-known institutions to reach out directly to students who indicated an interest in physics graduate schools. In this session, we will discuss strategies and successes/challenges in this new era. pGREs, GPAs, qualifying exams, and recruitment are interrelated, and we anticipate a robust discussion amongst and between PhD and non-PhD granting institutions.

Coffee Break

Grad Admissions Breakouts - by topics and region

Share-A-Thons by type of institution

Chairs share concerns and successes.

Dinner & Reception at ACP

Congressional Visits Day Briefing
Organized by APS Office of External Affairs

Breakfast

P10. Supporting inclusive environments for hiring, retention, and belonging of faculty members

Speaker: Alexis Knaub, AAPT Program Manager, SEA Change for Physics and Astronomy Program

Panelists:

• Jennifer Ross, Syracuse University
• Martín Hoecker-Martinez, University of Redlands
• Steve Rolston, University of Maryland
• Doug Petkie, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

This session will briefly review recent climate and statistical surveys of physics departments that demonstrate the lack of diversity and the challenges faced by marginalized groups in physics. Following this, we will highlight several initiatives to change the climate in departments and promote inclusive and supportive environments, such as SEA Change. Panelists will provide examples of specific activities and initiatives at their institutions followed by a general discussion.

Coffee Break

Breakout Sessions

P11. Wrap-up and Adjourn

Congressional Visits Day
Organized by APS Office of External Affairs

Congressional Visits Day Debrief
Organized by APS Office of External Affairs