Staff Development Day, the University's unique opportunity for staff to share the breadth and wealth of knowledge within the entire Brown community, returns Wednesday, June 5.
Three-quarters of the 60 or so seminars are new this year, and more than 40 percent of the seminars are being presented by in innovative ways. For instance, participants will head into laboratories to learn about DNA (with Jody Hall in Bio-Med), digital circuit building and design (with Jerry Daniels of engineering) and laser technology (with Nabil Lawandi, also of engineering), and will play with clay in a session about sculpture led by Marlene Malik of visual arts.
Tours - via slide, cyberspace and in person - will introduce participants to a dig in Alaska, virtual reality and the John Nicholas Brown Center. And there are still plenty of opportunities to develop work skills and personal knowledge through such sessions as "Seven Habits of Successful People," led by Samuel Ramirez of EEO/AA, and "Negotiating the New Family: Stepparenting," with Frances Goldscheider of sociology.
A complete listing of the sessions and registration information will appear in the April 19 George Street Journal.
"Staff Development Day provides a great opportunity for staff to get out of their particular departments and jobs and to see other sections of the University," said Karen Sibley, dean of summer studies and co-chair of the event with Sheila Curran, interim director of Career Planning Services. "We hope the faculty presentations allow people to explore some of the very exciting work that goes on here and to sample some of what draws record numbers of students to apply to Brown each year. Each year, Staff Development Day changes, and this is what makes it different from training sessions reflective of the dynamic institution Brown is."
Brown recognizes that staff and faculty have interests and expertise that transcend their current positions, Curran added. Staff Development Day "provides a connection to others in the Brown community and helps to build an enduring web of relationships that goes beyond roles and organizational responsibilities," she said. "The event supplements Brown's on-going training, computing and wellness programs, and gives us the very rare luxury of being able to sit back, reflect and re-engage our minds."