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The Great Lakes Colleges Association is pleased to announce the winners of the 2026 New Writers Award for Poetry, Fiction, and Creative Non-Fiction.  Since 1970, the New Writers Award confers recognition on promising writers who have published a first volume in one of the three genres. This award reflects outstanding literary achievement in the judgment of a committee of scholars-critics-writers who are faculty at GLCA member institutions.  Winning writers visit GLCA institutions by invitation to give readings, participate in discussions, and engage with students and faculty. 

The 2026 winner for Poetry is Tarik Dobbs, Nazar Boy:  poems, published by Haymarket Books. Our GLCA judges note:

Tarik Dobbs’ electric debut, Nazar Boy, is a searing indictment of imperial military surveillance that powerfully explores the intersections of Lebanese Arab experience, queerness, and disability.  Innovating and expanding on concrete and blackout poetry traditions, Dobbs contorts nostalgic nationalism and the sanitized language of state violence into shapes on the page.  His turn to the archival reanimates histories of violent oppression like the eugenics movement, which pathologized and persecuted vulnerable people in ways that ought to have created more solidarity among them. Refusing to forget, Dobbs registers these traumatic pasts in dense typographical palimpsests, revealing how the reverberations of the past in the present challenge any misconception that current political and cultural conditions are somehow “unprecedented”; rather, the accumulated layers of evidence are thick and sedimented in ways that only poetry can begin to slowly unpack. 

Behind these ominous elements, someone grows in touch with life’s violences, someone whose sensitivities become attuned to the world in such a way that they can speak witness to both the violence wreaked Palestine and the violence of immigration, while still reveling in the powers of experimentation with form.  These insightful poems ripple with threat, surveillance and its dangers, and the knowledge of what is wrought in the imbalances of power.  Throughout the book, the speaker makes visible the ableist, homophobic, and racist gazes that shape the contemporary landscape.  Dobbs’ experiments in form dazzle, both as intricate structures and as poems of substance. 

Judges of the Poetry Award were:
Travis Chi Wing Lau (Kenyon College)
Pablo Peschiera (Hope College)
Marlo Star (The College of Wooster)

The 2026 winner for Fiction is Alisa Alering, Smothermoss, published by Tin House.  Our GLCA judges note:

The mesmerizing prose of Alisa Alering’s Smothermoss brings the reader close to two sisters, Sheila and Angie, both social outsiders, and to the living ground of their Appalachian home.  Magical realism juxtaposes with the stark realities of the place – poverty, prejudice, human fragility, and brutality – to make for a lyrical, raw, tender, and sometimes gruesome tale that’s part coming-of-age story, part murder mystery.

In evocative language and striking imagery, Alering explores the relationships between sisters and mother and daughters, queerness, and community, among other topics. With touches of folklore and magical realism, the town of Smothermoss comes to vivid life.  Alering adeptly guides us through grotesque and fantastical enchantments, forbidden desires, and wounds both psychic and physical, in a place out of sight to many but alive with the mysterious forces of the natural world and the ways we are bound to them.  Eerie and beautiful, the novel creates a world that is both familiar and magical.  Smothermoss is a terrific debut from a writer to watch. 

Judges of the Fiction Award were:
Ghassan Abou-Zeineddine (Oberlin College)
Kari Kalve (Earlham College)
Chris White (DePauw University)

The 2026 winner for Creative Non-Fiction is Hala Alyan, I’ll Tell You When I’m Home, published by Avid Reader Press.  Our GLCA judges note:

Hala Alyan’s I’ll Tell You When I’m Home is a gorgeous, poetic memoir of surrogacy and exile that centers around the themes of conception and birth—of humans, stories, and worlds.  The book’s prose is fragmented, poetic, both brutal and tender, at times philosophical, at times mournful. Alyan uses fragments and myth to wend her way through a personal narrative that is inextricable from family and global tales to uniquely reveal a riveting, deeply emotional process of discovery for both the narrator and the reader.  Nothing about the waiting or the story is simple, though, and the threading of catastrophe across the Arab world and in her marriage leads to falling and spinning out and always a return to family, to what could be home. Ultimately, through unwinding and building, again and again, even through terrible destruction and patterns of behavior linked to larger entities, she—and we—are redeemed. 

Alyan elegantly weaves the threads of her family line—through war, displacement, alcoholism, and infertility—in an exquisite work of storytelling. The book is a patchwork of stories, identities, and lives that come beautifully together through Alyan’s poetic language.  Its beauty has been haunting us long after we finished reading the memoir. For us, this is a clear winner.

Judges of the Creative Non-Fiction Award were:
Marin Heinritz (Kalamazoo College)
Agata Szczeszak-Brewer (Wabash College)
Angela Zito (Albion College)

For more information on the New Writers Award, please contact Colleen Monahan Smith ([email protected]) or visit:  GLCA New Writers Award.

The GLCA is excited to announce the selection of a cohort of ten Arts and Humanities faculty who will serve as Academic Leadership Fellows.  

This program was established in August 2025 and the Fellows will serve through the 2026-27 and 2027-28 academic years.  They will hold a titled administrative position on their campus throughout the Fellowship, working on a specific project and/or overseeing a portfolio of academic administrative responsibilities. Additionally, the cohort of Fellows will meet regularly to foster their professional and leadership development grounded in self-reflection and strategic self-awareness while sharing their learning and their successes and challenges on their project and administrative responsibilities with each other.

The Fellows are: 

  • Albion College, Peter Valdina, Stanley S. Kresge Associate Professor in Religious Studies
  • Allegheny College, Michael Mehler, Professor of Theatre
  • DePauw University, Jennifer Adams, Professor of Communication and Theatre
  • Hope College, Matthew Farmer, Professor of Dance, Dorthy Wiley DeLong Endowed Chair of Dance
  • Kalamazoo College, Babli Sinha, Professor of English
  • Kenyon College, Pashmina Murthy, Associate Professor of English
  • Oberlin College, Corey Barnes, Robert S. Danforth Professor and Chair of Religion
  • Ohio Wesleyan University, Andrea Colvin, Associate Professor of Spanish
  • Wabash College, Adriel M. Trott, Professor of Philosophy, Andrew T. and Anne Ford Chair in the Liberal Arts
  • The College of Wooster, Ibra Sene, Associate Professor of History

Learn more about the Fellows here

TEACHING and LEARNING

Teaching: Are grading practices ‘out of whack’? (Beth McMurtrie, The Chronicle of Higher Education, November 6, 2025)

A Way to Save the Essay (opinion) (Lily Abadal, Inside Higher Ed, November 7, 2025):  We can encourage slow thinking by reimagining the essay as a scaffolded, in-class—and AI-free—assignment.

Agentic AI Invading the LMS and Other Things We Should Know  (John Warner, Inside Higher Ed, November 07, 2025):  A Q&A with Marc Watkins, director of the AI Institute for Teachers.

5 Reasons Why Faculty Should Collect Class Data (opinion) (Keenan Hartert, Inside Higher Ed, November 12, 2025). 

Faculty Lead AI Usage Conversations on Campus (Ashley Mowreader, Inside Higher Ed, November 11, 2025): Survey data shows a majority of college students are aware of appropriate AI use cases in the classroom because their instructors—not administrators—set the expectations.

TODAY’S STUDENTS

New Thinking in College Student Mental Health (Marjorie Malpiede, Learning Well, November 11, 2025):  An interview with Alexis Redding: psychologist, researcher, and faculty co-chair of Higher Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education .

The Other Engagement Problem (Colleen Flaherty, Inside Higher Ed, November 10, 2025):  A third of students don’t participate outside of class. What can be done to boost campus involvement?

Why Competitive College Students Feel They’re Falling Behind Before They’ve Even Begun (Scott Carlson, The Edge, Chronicle of Higher Education, November 6, 2025):  How the fear of falling behind affects competitive college students.

AROUND THE GLCA

Ohio Wesleyan University receives a 10 million gift to endow the Smith Center for Faculty Excellence.

Editor: Colleen Monahan Smith ([email protected])

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TEACHING AND LEARNING

How to Restore Joy to the Classroom  (Beckie Supiano, Chronicle of Higher Education, October 29, 2025): Sometimes, it means fixing what’s broken.

AI Has Joined the Faculty (Beth McMurtrie, Chronicle of Higher Education, November 4, 2025): More instructors are teaching with it. Is it making their courses better or dragging the profession down?

View: How Teacher Evaluations Broke the University (View) (Rose Horowitch, The Atlantic, September 12, 2025):  “We give them all A’s, and they give us all fives.” (subscription required)

EXTRA CREDIT READING

The Edge: Faculty and administrators are on the same side (Guest essay by Ian F. McNeely, Scott Carlson, The Edge, Chronicle of Higher Education,  October 30, 2025):  Service obligations to the university should be seen as an authentic form of management, our guest columnist writes.
Anatomy of the Research Statement (opinion) (Letitia Henville, Inside Higher Ed, November 4, 2025):  When it comes to promotion and tenure, don’t just describe your research—explain and quantify its impact.

The Enrollment Cliff Is Worse Than We Think  (Beth Kania-Gosche, Inside Higher Ed, October 27, 2025):  The challenge is far greater if we pay attention to college-readiness data.

Universities Can’t Pursue Truth Without Viewpoint Diversity  (John Tomasi and Jonathan Haidt, Inside Higher Ed, October 29, 2025): This is what we wish critics of the concept on both the left and right would understand.

What’s Lost When Liberal Arts Schools Close (opinion) (Kevin Carey, New York Times, October 22, 2025)

AI Is the Future. Higher Ed Should Shape It. (Opinion) (Ted Underwood, Chronicle of Higher Education, November 4, 2025): To stay at the forefront of knowledge production, we must fit technology to our needs.

NYTimes: To Avert Crisis, Talladega College Sells Its Art Treasures (Arthur Lubow, New York Times, October 29, 2025): An H.B.C.U.’s remarkable Hale Woodruff murals commemorating Black history have been bought by an art museum and two foundations. But the college says it is not completely letting go.

Around the GLCA

DePauw University announces major gift:  DePauw University Announces an $80 Million Gift to Build New Athletics Performance Center DePauw University proudly announces a landmark $80 million philanthropic commitment from an anonymous donor, an alumnus of the university. (see also:  $50 Million To Stanford, $80 Million To DePauw University For Athletics (Forbes, Michael T. Nietzel, October 4, 2025)

American University in Bulgaria:  Fulbright Science of Disinformation Symposium Call for Proposals.  AUBG’s Center for Information, Democracy, and Citizenship is hosting an online symposium in February and is currently accepting proposals.  More information here. 


Editor: Colleen Monahan Smith ([email protected])

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CTL Event

What brings you joy in your work? As a new academic year begins, how do you plan to maintain your work/life balance?  What is one small thing you do each week to care for your well-being?

These questions are more important than ever as faculty face increasing demands and the risk of burnout. We invite you to join us for a practical and energizing online session: You Deserve Joy! Strategies to Avoid Burnout and Enhance Well-Being led by Alice Teall, Senior Director of Wellness at Kenyon College September 10th at Noon (EDT). 

In this session, we will explore the cognitive and physiological roots of burnout and well-being, and learn evidence-based strategies to restore meaning, strengthen resilience, and enhance joy in your professional life.  Practices such as gratitude, goal reflection, and connection-building will be shared as simple tools to support your personal and professional flourishing. 

Dr. Alice Teall is the senior director of wellness at Kenyon, where she oversees the Health Services, Counseling Services and Health Promotion teams at the Cox Health and Counseling Center. Passionate about fostering a thriving campus community, Teall leads innovative wellness initiatives, supports services that empower students, and promotes strategies to enhance the well-being of students, faculty and staff.

Register HERE for this virtual event on Wednesday, September 10th at Noon (EDT).  A link will be emailed one day prior.  The session will be recorded.

We look forward to seeing you and beginning the year with a renewed commitment to joy and well-being.

TEACHING AND LEARNING

SUNY Expands Local News Collaborations for Student Learning (Ashley Mowreader, Inside Higher Ed, August 28, 2025): The Institute for Local News provides journalism students with work experience and supports civil engagement.

Math Is Out, Cake Is In: Introducing Students to Rubrics (Faculty Focus, August 27, 2025): Many students, particularly first-years, don’t understand the value of rubrics.

Students Hate Them. Universities Need Them. The Only Real Solution to the A.I. Cheating Crisis (Clay Shirky, New York Times, August 26, 2025): Learning is a change in long-term memory; that’s the biological correlate of what we do in the classroom. Now that most mental effort tied to writing is optional, we need new ways to require the work necessary for learning.

Half of College Students Say Their Mental Health is ‘Fair’ to ‘Terrible,’ Survey Finds (Higher Ed Dive, August 26, 2025): These issues may impact their trajectory, with large shares of learners reporting that they’re considering reducing their classload, transferring or dropping out.

An AI Tool Says It Can Predict Students’ Grades on Assignments. Instructors Are Skeptical (Aisha Baiocchi, Chronicle of Higher Education, August 26, 2025): The “AI Grader” from Grammarly bases its evaluations on rubrics and syllabi submitted by students, as well as “publicly available instructor information.”

Young People See Math Skills as Nonessential. How Can Higher Ed Help? (Ashley Mowreader, Inside Higher Ed, August 25, 2025): Thirty-eight percent of young adults think math is very important in their work life; fewer believe it’s important in their personal life.

On the AHA AI Guidelines (John Warner, Inside Higher Ed, August 22, 2025): A great document to start a conversation, but off the mark for the conversation we need to be having.

Here’s What Happened When I Made My College Students Put Away Their Phones (Ezekiel J. Emanuel, New York Times, August 21, 2025): With nothing else changed, course reviews went up dramatically.

How Do You Manage Class Time When Students Are Unprepared? (Beth McMurtrie, Chronicle of Higher Education, August 21, 2025): Is the only option to require less work out of class? McMurtrie asks some faculty.

A Different Way to Think About AI and Assessment (Bonni Stachowiak, Teaching in Higher Ed, August 21, 2025): A 44-minute podcast with Danny Liu.

FIRST DAY OF CLASS

Paul Hanstedt (Faculty Focus, August 23, 2024): On the First Day of Classes, Begin with Intrigue.

Cornell University’s Center for Teaching Innovation offers a variety of suggestions for “The First Day of Class.” You’ll find them here. And Tony’s Teaching Tips offers two more: Improving Your Next Syllabus (Dec 2024) and Zhuzhing Up Your Syllabus (Aug 2024)

HIGHER ED IN TODAY’S WORLD

Trump Administration Plans to Limit How Long Foreign Students Can Study in the US (Rebecca Carballo, Politico, August 27, 2025): Foreign students have been allowed to stay in the country for as long as they were full-time students making progress in their degrees.

Grant Delays Threaten Cultural and Language Studies Programs (Johanna Alonso, Inside Higher Ed, August 25, 2025): Expected funding for National Resource Centers, which are dedicated to language and area studies education, never came through this summer. Experts worry this could spell disaster for the already-struggling fields.

Harvard Is Making Changes Trump Officials Want, Even Without a Deal (Stephanie Saul, New York Times, August 23, 2025): In some cases, students and faculty members worry, the new, Trump-inspired policies may interfere with the freedom of expression that is central to the university’s mission.

Haverford College Faces Education Department Investigation into Antisemitism (Laura Spitalniak, Higher Ed Dive, August 21, 2025): The probe into the Pennsylvania liberal arts college is only the latest in a string from the Trump administration as it seeks to crack down on higher education.

EXTRA CREDIT READING

How to Get Through the Year, and Maybe Even Thrive (Sarah Rose Cavanagh, Chronicle of Higher Education, August 27, 2025): Four ways to nurture academic well-being in these uniquely challenging times.

The Book That Explained the University to Itself (Scott Spillman, Chronicle of Higher Education, August 25, 2025): Laurence Veysey’s 1965 tome remains the most incisive portrait of higher education.

The Typical College Student Is Not Who You Think (Alan Blinder and Steven Rich, New York Times, August 25, 2025): As a fight over the future of elite higher education consumes university leaders and politicians, most college students live in a very different world with very different challenges.

Divided We Fall (Adrianna Kezar and Susan Elrod, Inside Higher Ed, August 26, 2025): To effectively confront external threats to higher ed, campus leaders will need to address an internal one: the faculty-administration divide

What 30 Years of Campus Racial Climate Research Can Teach Higher Ed (Sara Weissman, Inside Higher Ed, August 25, 2025): Three decades of research on campus climate for students of color shows that little about their experience has changed. The authors of a recent paper hope further research can help.

How to Save the American University (Jacob Hale Russell and Dennis Patterson, Guardian, August 24, 2025): As Trump threatens funding and public trust plummets, US schools are in the fight of a lifetime. This is how they can survive – with their souls intact.

Education Department Quietly Removes Rules for Teaching English Learners (Laura Meckler and Justine McDaniel, Washington Post, August 20, 2025: The move is an acceleration of President Donald Trump’s executive order declaring English the country’s “official language.”.

Student Arrivals to US Continue to Plummet, with Asia Hit Especially Hard (K. Oanh Ha, Bloomberg, August 19, 2025): Total arrivals on student visas decreased 28%, the biggest monthly drop so far this year.

EVENTS AROUND THE GLCA – ALL ARE WELCOME!

“Contemporary Attacks on Academic Freedom: Historical and Comparative Perspectives,” a talk by Eve Darian-Smith, Global and International Studies professor from UC Irvine, sponsored by the College of Wooster, September 3, 7:30 PM (Eastern) in person (Gault Recital Hall) or live-stream. This is the first in a series of three events as part of Wooster’s Democracy and Academic Freedom Forum.

Editor: Steven Volk ([email protected])

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GLCA/GLAA Consortium for Teaching and Learning
Co-Directors:
  
   Lew Ludwig ([email protected])
Colleen Monahan Smith ([email protected])

The Great Lakes Colleges Association (GLCA) has been awarded a $1.5 million grant from the Mellon Foundation to establish the GLCA Academic Leadership Fellows Program, an initiative designed to build academic leadership capacity among humanities faculty and expand the breadth of perspectives contributing to institutional decision-making at GLCA institutions.

Through this two-year fellowship, ten humanities faculty from GLCA institutions will engage in immersive leadership experiences tailored to institutional priorities. Fellows will benefit from mentoring, cohort-building, and professional development grounded in self-reflection and strategic self-awareness.

“This program will cultivate the next generation of academic leaders whose humanistic perspectives are essential to ethical, mission-driven leadership in higher education,” said GLCA President Mickey McDonald.

Institutions will nominate promising faculty, and the GLCA will select a cohort representing a range of backgrounds and experiences. The program will begin with a retreat in Spring 2026 with Fellows serving in their campus leadership roles through the 2026-27 and 2027-28 academic years. Summer leadership development workshops will be held in 2026 and 2027 with a closing retreat held in 2028.