How does the Dr. Mei-Yau Shih Professional Development Fund provide enhanced opportunities for faculty to further their knowledge of teaching and learning?
Spring 2026:
Access Friction: What Can We Learn From Situations in Which Access Needs Differ and Conflict? with Sarah Silverman
Even instructors who are very committed to inclusion and accessibility experience friction in their practice: one student may be highly sensitive to the volume of amplified sound while another is hard of hearing. One instructor may communicate most effectively in writing while one of their students is dyslexic and prefers face-to-face conversation. In this session, participants will explore the idea that inclusive teaching is not only implementing specific inclusive strategies but also navigating complex learning situations in which there are multiple competing needs. Instead of assuming that we can easily include all students with a few simple strategies, we expect and constructively engage with the friction that is part of our inclusive teaching journey.
Spring 2025:
Embracing AI as Essential Learning: Preparing Students for Life Beyond College, with C. Edward Watson
AI have had a quick impact on the ways we learn, work, think, and create. And it is now clear that AI competencies and literacies must be embraced as essential learning for most colleges and universities. Drawing from his new book, Teaching with AI, Dr. C. Edward Watson will detail the challenges and opportunities that have emerged for higher education, especially in terms of pedagogical practice and student learning.
How does the Dr. Mei-Yau Shih Professional Development Fund support innovative ways to mentor professionals engaged in educational development?
The Dr. Mei-Yau Shih Exchange started in Spring 2025 with:
A collaboration between CTL and the Center for Teaching and Learning Development [CTLD] at National Taiwan University.
In March 2025, Ms. I-Fan Chang, a senior educational developer at CTLD, visited our campus to share ways that her center supports faculty with classroom observations, new faculty orientation and special event programming for senior faculty.
As Deputy Provost Chih-Kang Chiang from the National Taiwan University noted “[Dr. Shih] had a close connection with CTLD and instrumental in helping us build the foundation of our teaching consultation programs. We are truly grateful for the establishment of this fund and believe this partnership will be a fitting tribute to her memory.”
In August 2025, the UMass CTL Interim Director Brian Baldi visited Taiwan and gave presentations on formative assessment at the National Taiwan University and National Cheng Kung University
How does the Dr. Mei-Yau Shih Professional Development Fund celebrate Mei's passion for working with new faculty and her love of books?
New Faculty Book Distribution and Community
We shared all 123 new faculty members in the 2024/25 academic year a copy of the book Small Teaching: Everyday Lessons from the Science of Learning as a welcome gift to their new professional step. And we welcomed them to several community gatherings in the Center for Teaching and Learning.
Dr. Mei-Yau Shih Library
Located at the 7th Floor of the W.E.B Du Bois Library, Dr. Mei-Yau Shih’s library (in implementation) is a space devoted to establishing and supporting a library at the Center for faculty to review reference materials and to provide a casual environment of scholarly exchange and communication.