On Sept. 5 and 6, more than 90 faculty members in either their first or second year of teaching attended the lunch and learn "Beyond the Content: Building a Teaching Identity that Captures Your Dreams for the Classroom." The presenter for this session was professor Molly Rapert of the Marketing Department in the Sam M. Walton College of Business.

Rapert leads the Walton Center for Teaching Effectiveness, a collaborator for this event. She is a member of the Teaching Academy and a strong advocate in helping to expand teaching expertise on the U of A campus. She has won numerous teaching awards including the Charles and Nadine Baum Excellence in Teaching Award, the Arkansas Alumni Outstanding Teaching Award and the Marketing Management Association's National Outstanding Teaching Award.

During the session, Rapert shared tips on setting expectations, matching assessments to goals, establishing the proper classroom environment that fits a faculty member authentically and creating a syllabus that matches goals for learning. Based on crowdsourcing from 30 award-winning professors on campus, Rapert walked participants through a process of identifying and implementing the aspects most relevant to each individual to help participants structure their teaching around their personal strengths. 

New faculty luncheons are held during six time periods per year, usually the first Tuesday and Wednesday of each month, with three in fall and three in spring. Announcements are sent via email from the Cordes Teaching and Faculty Support Center and are featured in the Arkansas News. The next new faculty luncheons are scheduled for Oct. 3 and 4.