At the Spring 2018 Provost’s Meeting, in honor of Harper’s 50th Anniversary, the Academy overviewed the many engagement opportunities available to faculty in their adaptation of “50 Ways to Leave Your Office” performed by Joe Wachter, Chemistry. The slideshow and “50 Ways” listed below contain the links to descriptions and registration information for each item included. Enjoy!

50 Ways to Leave Your Office this Semester:

  1. Attend the 50th Anniversary Faculty Retreat (more)
  2. Sign up for the “Helping One More Student Stay” Project (more)
  3. Attend an Escape Room demo or borrow the Escape Room Classroom kit from the Academy (more)
  4. Learn how the Office of Student Conduct and Harper Early Alert Team (HEAT) can assist in the classroom (more)
  5. Join us at the Communities of Practice Open House Lunch (more)
  6. Catch the island spirit at Take 5’s tropical getaway (more)
  7. Welcome students at the Snowboard Lodge with Live Band Karaoke, Indoor Snowboard Simulator, and more (more)
  8. Learn how to make the 4 Connections in your classroom (more)
  9. Sign up for a 1:1 Academy consultation to discuss a classroom opportunity or challenge (more)
  10. Attend the webinar: Accommodating Diverse Learners (more)
  11. Learn how to engage Generation Z in your classroom (more)
  12. Volunteer at Community Day (more)
  13. Become an OSCQR Peer Reviewer (more)
  14. Adapt/Adopt/or Author OER for your Classes (more)
  15. Partner with the Library and Writing Center to provide a writing workshop about citing/plagiarism (more)
  16. Learn how to build an ePortfolio in Blackboard (more)
  17. Attend a DeafTEC Seminar – Writing Strategies for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students (more)
  18. Participate in the Faculty Development Festival (more)
  19. Stop by the ReUseIt Room for some free office supplies (more)
  20. Submit your favorite teaching strategy/tool/tip to the Academy website (more)
  21. Help end student hunger. Drop off non-perishable and personal hygiene items to Student Involvement, Building A, Room A336.
  22. Attend the 50 Years of Harper’s History in Diversity & Inclusion program (more)
  23. Register for a Graduate Equivalency Course (GEC) on Pedagogy or Social Justice (more)
  24. Apply to join the Harper Leadership Institute (more)
  25. Submit an Academy Workshop Proposal (more)
  26. Attend a workshop on Deconstructing Gender (more)
  27. Take a Teaching Online Successfully Course (more)
  28. Support the Harper Hawks at an upcoming sporting event (more)
  29. Meet with your library liaison to learn how to access online journals, ebooks, and digital videos (more)
  30. Support the Harper College Speech & Debate Team at Comedy Night and Night Before Nationals (more)
  31. Grab a friend and take a walk around campus (more; click on “Tours” for walking paths and Campus Art Collection Tour)
  32. Sign up for a Peer Classroom Visit (more)
  33. Gather some co-workers and grab lunch at the Harper College Dining Room (more)
  34. Write an article/blog post for the Academy News (more)
  35. Attend Harper Ensemble Theatre Company’s Anna in the Tropics or Language of Angels (more)
  36. Shop Local: Visit Studio V (more)
  37. Check out the new sound-proof recording studio space in Building F at a demo (more)
  38. Take 5 minutes to attend a 50th Anniversary Take 5 Committee event (more)
  39. Stop by an Adjunct Faculty Shared Workspace (more)
  40. Enjoy music from the Harper Symphony Orchestra, Cultural Arts Concert Series, and more (more)
  41. Stop by the Art Exhibition Space in Building C, Room C200 (more)
  42. Attend a Board of Trustees Meeting (more)
  43. Join a Community of Practice (more)
  44. Gather items to add to the 50th Anniversary Time Capsule (more)
  45. Check out the new Academy space in Building F (Room F320) after Spring Break
  46. Get involved in a Shared Governance Committee (more)
  47. Attend the HLC Rally (more)
  48. Volunteer as a One Million Degrees Coach (more)
  49. Participate in the 50th Anniversary TedxHarperCollege Event (more)
  50. Congratulate your students at the Graduation Ceremony (more)

“50 Ways to Leave Your Office” adapted from Paul Simon in honor of Harper’s 50th Anniversary
From the album Still Crazed for Education after All These Years
Adapted by The Academy for Teaching Excellence
Performed by Joe Wachter, Chemistry

The problem is all inside your head, she said to me
The answer is easy if you utilize the Academy
I’d like to help you in your struggle to teach
There must be fifty ways to leave your office

She said it’s really not my habit to intrude
Furthermore I hope my meaning won’t be lost or misconstrued
So I repeat myself, at the risk of being cruel
There must be fifty ways to leave your office, fifty ways to leave your office

Just slip out to lunch, and munch, make a CoP plan, if you can
Help a Student Stay, Another Day, just listen to me
Hop on the 4 Connections bus, you’ll need to check-in much
Generation Z is the key, you see, and it’s all free

Blackboard’s got a cool tool, Fool, make a new lesson plan, Man
Be a good peer, dear, just listen to me
Hop on the Web, instead, don’t need to get dressed much
Just join a CoP, see, and get some stuff free

She said it grieves me so to see you with so much strain
I wish there was something I could plan to make you smile again
I said, I appreciate that, then would you please explain about the fifty ways

She said, why don’t we both just sleep on it tonight
And I believe, in the morning you’ll begin to see the light
And then she emailed me and I realized she probably was right
There must be fifty ways to leave your office, fifty ways to leave your office

Signing up online’s fine, make an OER text, next
The faculty retreat’s neat, just listen to me
Hop on the GEC bus, you’ll need to discuss much
Engagement’s the key, see, and it’s all free

Questions? Please contact the Academy at 847.925.6174, academy@harpercollege.edu.