The Springfield College Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship Summer 2025 Conference

Registration is required.

For Springfield College Faculty and Staff:
Registration for Springfield College Faculty and Staff

For external audience registration:
A fee of $25 will give you access to all speakers, breakout sessions, and lunch.
Registration for external community participants

The conference is a celebration of critical thinking, faculty accomplishments, and community. Participants are invited to learn about topics such as questioning techniques, publishing, curiosity, creativity, and more. The conference will also feature a keynote speaker, breakout sessions, a special guest, and lunch.

Keynote Address
“Community is the Antidote: Building Relationships that Deepen Critical Thinking Skills”
Presented by Rachel Jessica Daniel, PhD, Associate Dean of Professional Development and Academic Innovation at Massasoit Community College

Daniel’s presentation will focus on how building and sustaining community can help students enhance their critical thinking skills and social and emotional intelligence. The session will provide strategies for creating thriving classroom environments and empowering students to build community.

Daniel is an author and educator who amplifies liberation narratives of Black people and other members of the global majority.

Special Guest
During lunch, Kevin M. Gannon, PhD, known as the “Tattooed Professor” and author of Radical Hope: A Teaching Manifesto, will present on the topic “Creating Space for Critical Thinking.” Gannon is director of the Center for the Advancement of Faculty Excellence and professor of history at Queens University of Charlotte, in Charlotte, N.C. He writes for the Chronicle of Higher Education, gives frequent talks and workshops, and appeared in the Oscar-nominated documentary 13th, directed by Ava DuVernay.

The conference promises an engaging and interactive experience for all attendees.
Questions? Please contact Chris Hakala at chakala@springfield.edu or (413) 748-4452.