Teaching at Teaching Intensive Institutions

Many faculty enjoy rewarding careers at colleges and universities that primarily emphasize teaching, including liberal arts colleges, community colleges, and regional comprehensive universities. This free biannual one-day regional conference brings together graduate students, postdocs, and faculty to discuss what it’s like to work at teaching-intensive institutions and how to apply for these faculty positions. Graduate students and postdocs will engage with faculty and deans from a range of teaching-intensive institutions across the New England region through a series of talks, panel presentations, and networking opportunities. Then in the alternating years, we will host virtual panels for graduate students and postdocs in the region. 

Save the Date for this year's virtual conference! October 17, 2025

Mark your calendars for this year's virtual Conference on Friday, October 17, 2025! More details coming soon; we can’t wait to see you there!

Are you a graduate student, postdoc, or recent grad interested in attending? 

All graduate students, postdocs, and recent graduate school alumni - from any college or university - are invited to attend this free conference! 

Are you a faculty member interested in participating?

Are you a faculty member at a teaching-intensive institution who is interested in joining us? Please be in touch with either jyunker [at] umass [dot] edu (Johanna Yunker) or passonno [at] umass [dot] edu (Shana Passonno)! We are always looking for panelists and, for the in-person conferences, folks to join the networking lunch.

Partners and Sponsors

OPD is thrilled to be joined for the in-person conferences by co-organizers Julie Habjan Boisselle, Faculty Development Specialist at WSU, Dr. Samantha Scripture, Assistant Professor in Communication Disorders and Graduate Program Coordinator at WSU (and a TTII conference alumna), and Dr. Emily Soltano, Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at WSU! We are grateful also for all the support from WSU Events and Catering. 

We are so grateful to our sponsors for making this event free for all! A huge thank you goes to Boston University, Brown University, Harvard University, MIT, University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of Rhode Island, and Worcester State University!

History

The TTII conference was started in 2014 by Paula Krebs, now the executive director of the Modern Language Association. Various institutions around Massachusetts hosted us, including UMass Amherst, UMass Boston, Worcester State University, and Westfield State University. 

Questions? 

If you have questions about the conference, please feel free to contact jyunker [at] umass [dot] edu (Johanna Yunker) or passonno [at] umass [dot] edu (Shana Passonno)!