LSUHSC School of Medicine - Office of Medical Education

The Academy for the Advancement of Educational Scholarship is a health-sciences-center-wide initiative of the Chancellor’s Office established to support an interdisciplinary community of scholars that nurtures and recognizes excellence and scholarship in teaching and education. Efforts to establish the Academy began in August 2004, but were significantly interrupted by the effects of Hurricane Katrina. The Academy activities were resumed in July 2006. Administratively, the Academy and its activities and resources are supported by the Office of Medical Education Research and Development and its Director, Dr. Sheila Chauvin (schauv@lsuhsc.edu), who is also the founding Director of the Academy. Dr. Chauvin works closely with the Academy Executive Council that consists of the following Academy members:

School of Allied Health Professions	Kirk Nelson	Room 7D2, Allied Health
School of Dentistry	Dr. Thomas Lallier	Dental School and Room 6121, MEB
School of Medicine	Dr. Robin English	Suite 3308, ACC, Children's Hospital
	Dr. Fred Lopez	Room 7B8, Lions Bldg.
	Dr. William Swartz	Room 6150, MEB
School of Nursing	Dr. Debbie Garbee	Room 3A5, Allied Health
	Dr. Jane Sumner	Room 4A8, Allied Health
School of Public Health	Dr. Mary Lynn Thames	Entergy Building, Room 1541 Poydras Street

ACADEMY MEMBERS: Forty-nine faculty members were inducted into the Academy on October 12, 2007. They represent the founding cohort of Academy members and include 22 Fellows, 17 Master Teachers, and 10 Teaching Scholars. By school, membership represents the following: 6 in Allied Health Professions, 2 in Dentistry, 30 in Medicine, 5 in Nursing, and 6 in Public Health. Please click the link below to see the roster of Academy members:

To learn more about faculty who are members of the Academy and their interests in teaching and educational excellence and scholarship, please click on the link below:

ACADEMY EDUCATIONAL ENHANCEMENT GRANTS (EEG): The Academy Educational Enhancement Grant (EEG) program is available through the LSUHSC-NO Academy for the Advancement of Educational Scholarship for projects that will be implemented and completed between June 1, 2008 and June 30, 2009. Made possible through contributions from the LSUHSC-NO Chancellor’s Office and programmatic support from the OMERAD the EEG program was established to facilitate innovative and sustainable enhancements to teaching, learning, and assessment in health professions education. EEG projects may also target faculty development goals through proposed activities such as study groups and mentorships that are designed to enhance faculty members’ engagement and collaboration in scholarly teaching and educational scholarship.

Only members of the LSUHSC-NO Academy are eligible to serve as Project Directors/Principal Investigators. However, other individuals who are not Academy members (e.g., LSUHSC-NO faculty members, colleagues at other institutions, fellows, residents, and students) may be key participants, as appropriate to the project goals. A total of $50,000.00 is available to fund individual and group projects identified through this initial 2008-2009 Call for Proposals.

All proposals to be considered for funding must be received in the OMERAD no later than 4:00 p.m., Friday, April 18, 2008. All submissions are peer-reviewed and funding is determined on a competitive basis. No exceptions to the guidelines or time extensions are allowed to ensure the fairness of all proposals submitted by interested individuals/groups. Please read the Call for Proposals carefully and contact Dr. Sheila Chauvin (schauv@lsuhsc.edu) or Dr. Jack Scott (jscot1@lsuhsc.edu) if you have questions or wish to discuss ideas for proposed projects. You may also reach Dr. Chauvin and Dr. Scott by telephone at 504-568-2140 or by stopping by the OMERAD in Suite 7B (7th floor) of the LSU-Lions Building.

ACADEMY RETREAT FOR MEMBERS: Academy members participated in their first organizational retreat on March 5, 2008, from 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. in Lecture Room B in the Medical Education Building. Attendance was excellent and members had multiple opportunities to engage in collaborative activities and provide input for setting priorities and planning outcomes and activities for the immediate future.
The following two pre-retreat activities were conducted, with each one offered at both 10:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.:

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATIONS: The Call for Membership Applications was distributed in April 2008 via email to all LSUHSC-NO faculty members and this website. New applications for membership must be received in the OMERAD no later than 4:00 p.m., Friday, June 27, 2008. ** The deadline has been extended until 4:00 p.m., Friday, July 25, 2008. Please scroll to the end of this section to access links to the Call for Applications, required application portfolio forms, and other related resources.

Applications reflect a portfolio format. Please start early to allow sufficient time to reflect on your activities and accomplishments and prepare an effective application. Applications for all membership categories undergo peer-review by members of the Academy (i.e. internal peer review). Applications for Teaching Scholars undergo both internal and external peer review. External peer reviewers are invited faculty members and educational leaders who are recognized nationally for their educational scholarship. Many of these peer reviewers are involved in similar Academy programs at their own institutions and serve as external reviewers for other such programs.

Individual consultations, question-answer sessions for groups, departments, and schools are available upon request. Hands-on workshops pertaining to portfolios, educational scholarship, and teaching/learning effectiveness are offered regularly through the Teaching Excellence Workshop series. Deans, Department Chairs and other interested leaders may contact the OMERAD at any time to request information meetings for their respective faculty members (e.g., as part of a School’s general faculty meeting or a Department’s faculty meeting). Finally, please check the OMERAD website regularly for new offerings and resources.

All interested faculty members may apply for one of following three categories of membership:

Depending on the category of membership, faculty members may select from the following five domains of teaching and education to demonstrate excellence and scholarship:

Each of the membership categories and educational domains are explained in the Call for Applications materials Part I provides information to guide interested faculty members in selecting the most appropriate membership category and the educational domain(s) in which they have their best evidence of excellence and scholarship to support their application. Part II of the Call includes the required forms and format, and specific instructions for completing the membership application portfolio.

An important resource for learning more about the attributes of educational scholarship and the sources and forms of evidence that have been endorsed nationally is a summary report and findings of the 2006 AAMC Group on Educational Affairs Consensus Conference on Educational Scholarship, Advancing Educators and Education: Defining Components and Evidence of Educational Scholarship (July 2007). This 47-page report contains explanations of various educational domains and how accepted criteria of educational scholarship can be applied. The second half of the report (pages 19-34) contains multiple examples and suggestions for ways in which individuals can document their quantity, quality, and engagement with the educational community (i.e., Scholarly Approach and Educational Scholarship) and provide evidence of their achievements effectively for purposes of career advancement. Results of the consensus conference are highly consistent with the LSUHSC-NO Academy and its peer review criteria and process. The complete report may be obtained as a PDF from the AAMC website via the link below:

Questions and requests for additional information can be directed to any Academy Executive Council member, Dr. Sheila Chauvin (schauv@lsuhsc.edu) or Dr. Jack Scott (jscot1@lsuhsc.edu) in the OMERAD or by calling 504-568-2140. Interested faculty members are also encouraged to contact other Academy members for more information or to seek input regarding completing an application for membership in the Academy.

ACADEMY WEEK AND INDUCTION CEREMONY: The next LSUHSC-NO Academy week will be October 6 – 10, 2008. A variety of activities to highlight and recognize educational excellence and scholarship will be included. Activities will also be planned to engaged faculty members and the educational community in topics of interest. The Academy week will conclude with the induction ceremony for new Academy members on Friday, October 10 at 3:00 p.m. with a reception to follow immediately. Please mark your calendars now.