Randall Fowler
The Office of Undergraduate Research, Creativity and Innovation supports the participation of undergraduate students in scholarly research and creative projects through grant funding, hosting the ACU Undergraduate Research, Creativity, and Innovation Festival, and other collaborative initiatives. The office works closely with the Abilene-based University Undergraduate Research Council to support undergraduate student travel to conferences and other academic venues to present their work to external audiences.

This session aims to provide faculty with information to craft effective undergraduate travel grant applications as well as to answer any questions faculty may have regarding this process or undergraduate research broadly. RSVP here or call 325-674-2455.
Research and Scholarship Session

In the current political and cultural moment, courses addressing diversity and social issues can feel especially fraught. This interdisciplinary faculty group will focus on strategies and resources for engaging students in thoughtful, respectful conversations. 

Our discussion aims to explore approaches that honor the complex positionality, backgrounds, lived experiences, and religious traditions of our students—while also remaining attentive to disciplinary goals and learning outcomes.

Together, we will share ideas and practices related to:

• Fostering robust, respectful classroom discussions

• Incorporating current events into courses in meaningful ways that align with learning objectives

Designing activities and assignments that effectively promote student self-reflection and critical thinking around social and diversity-related topics

Amy McLaughlin-Sheasby

Every day, our newsfeeds are filled with reports of violence at the local, national, and global levels. Christians are called to be peacemakers who desire justice while also responding with mercy to those around us. What does Christian nonviolence look like in our context today? Come grab a cup of coffee or tea and join your colleagues as we wrestle with this timely question. 
Spiritual Formation Session

Cliff Barbarick and Scott Hamm

Ever want your students to engage richly in discussion, only to feel like everyone is just going through the motions? Whether your course is online, hybrid, or face-to-face, “discussion” can drift into perfunctory participation - post-and-reply routines, surface-level comments, or uneven voices - rather than authentic dialogue and community-building learning. This session invites you to re-envision how discussions can happen across modalities using real-time Zoom conversations supported by AI, alongside adaptable strategies that translate to in-person, hybrid, and online settings.

Teaching and Learning Session

Amanda Biles and Chris Riley
In this timely book, Christopher L. Eisgruber, constitutional scholar and president of Princeton University, challenges common narratives about free speech crises on campus, arguing that today’s students are not abandoning open inquiry but actively practicing it. He contends that most colleges are getting free speech "mostly right" while navigating a broader civic polarization that extends far beyond higher education. Eisgruber offers a hopeful and practical vision for cultivating civil discourse, mutual respect, and intellectual diversity. Our conversations will explore Eisgruber’s arguments alongside ACU’s identity as a private, Christ-centered university. Together, we will ask what responsible, mission-shaped freedom of expression looks like at ACU and how faculty can model, teach, and steward healthy dialogue in today’s cultural climate.
Teaching and Learning Session