LSUHSC School of Medicine - Office of Medical Education Research and Development

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

When the Academy was first initiated, an Academy Advisory Group (AAG) was established within each of the LSUHSC-NO professional schools to provide a school-level group of Academy members who could serve as a liaison between their school and the Academy at large regarding membership, Academy-related faculty development, and other areas of common interests between individual schools and the Academy at large. In addition, these AAGs were intended to support the first phase of internal peer review for application portfolios and make recommendations to the Academy Executive Council. The original, school-level Academy Advisory Groups established in 2004 were suspended temporarily due to the impact of and rebuilding following Hurricane Katrina. The Academy membership has begun to reach a level when it is feasible to reconstruct the AAGs, as supported by the Academy membership within each school. As of March 2009, the Academy Executive Council decided to re-create an AAG for the School of Medicine and a second AAG to represent the other four professional schools. As Academy membership increases sufficiently in each of the other four schools, an AAG will be re-created until all five AAGs exist once again. The Chair of each AAG shall also serve as a member of the Academy Executive Council. Each AAG and its composition of Academy member leaders will be posted here.

Membership in the Academy reflects active engagement in this inter-professional community of educators. The Academy can only thrive through members’ direct involvement and contributions. To this end, several teams have been established to lead various aspects of the Academy, governance and activities. The Academy truly is its membership. Below are the links to the various Academy Teams:

Sixty-three faculty members are currently members of the Academy and include 30 Fellows, 19 Master Teachers, and 14 Teaching Scholars. By school, membership represents the following: 7 in Allied Health Professions, 2 in Dentistry, 43 in Medicine, 5 in Nursing, and 6 in Public Health. Please click the link below to see the current 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:

Noon lecture is open to all members of the LSUHSC-NO academy community. Please see details in the link below. Academy members will have their spring business meeting and symposium faculty development workshop immediately following the noon lecture. Please click on the Academy member agenda link below for all details.

The Academy Educational Enhancement Grant (EEG) program is available through the LSUHSC-NO Academy for the Advancement of Educational Scholarship and the second annual call for project proposals has been issued. The deadline for proposals has been extended to 4:00 p.m., Friday, May 1, 2009. The program description and the Call for Proposals is linked below. Successful proposals will funded for implementation starting July 1, 2009 and completion by June 30, 2010. 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. A fourth project category was added for the 2009-2010 project period, Faculty Development Travel Awards.

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. Faculty Development Travel Awards are available to only Academy Members. 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, May 1, 2008. All submissions are peer-reviewed and funding is determined on a competitive basis. No exceptions to the guidelines or additional 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), Dr. Jack Scott (jscot1@lsuhsc.edu) or any member of the Academy Executive Council if you have questions. You may also call 504-568-2140 or email omerad@lsuhsc.edu to obtain more information or answers to your questions.

All LSUHSC-NO faculty are invited. Complete details are included in the Fall issue of the Academy Bulletin (Volume 1, Number 2). The Bulletin is available as a PDF from this webpage (scroll up to find link).

All Academy Week activities will be held in the Isidore Cohn, Jr. Learning Center, LSU-Lions Building, Sixth Floor

The complete Academy Week program is included in the Academy Bulletin, Volume 1, Number 2 (Fall 2009)

The Call for Membership Applications now reflects an open submission schedule. New application portfolios for membership may be submitted at any time during the year. Applications received by March 15, June 15, September 15, and December 15 will undergo peer review during the quarter immediately following each of these dates. Upon notification of acceptance, new members will be eligible for full participation and benefits. One annual induction ceremony held at the conclusion of Academy Week (October) will be maintained to recognize and formally induct new members.

Applications reflect a portfolio format. Please start early to allow sufficient time to reflect on your activities and accomplishments and prepare an effective application. You are also encouraged to take advantage of faculty development workshops, consultations, and resource materials described below and in the Call for Membership Applications. Enlisting a trusted colleague or Academy member to review materials and provide feedback can be a tremendous help in preparing an effective application portfolio. 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. Below is the Academy program description and Call for Membership Applications, as well as the necessary forms and additional resource materials:

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.

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 or 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.

Members in the Academy are expected to remain active and continue their professional development in teaching and education. One means to demonstrate continued developments and achievement is through a required annual update report. These annual reports are peer reviewed and feedback is provided. Annual reports also contribute to renewal application portfolios completed by members every five years.

A staggered deadline for annual reports has been established to facilitate effective peer reviews and feedback. Annual reports for founding members (i.e., inducted 2007) are due June 30, 2009 and those for members inducted in 2008 are due September 30, 2009. New members subsequently accepted will submit annual reports on the yearly anniversaries of their notification dates. Additional details are available on the information sheet available at the link below. The report template is also available at the link below. Of course, if you have questions or would like assistance, please email omerad@lsuhsc.edu or call 504-568-2140.