Doctor Nathan's Monthly Faculty Letter

January 5, 2026

Dear Colleagues,

I trust each of you had a restful holiday break as we closed out 2025 and welcomed the new year. I am grateful for the many ways you, our faculty, engaged across campus this past fall, and I look forward to a productive spring semester.

In the coming months, Auburn will commemorate the 250^th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence through a variety of events, including a signature speaker series that will bring distinguished scholars and thought leaders to our campus. Alongside numerous programs being planned in the colleges, I hope these events will foster broader dialogues about our beginnings and evolution as a nation. More details are forthcoming, so please stay tuned.

In preparation for the start of this semester, I am reiterating a few updates from my December newsletter that impact our spring teaching and reflect our broader commitment to fostering a robust academic environment.

As you may recall, last month, my office launched a brief training module, Instructional Awareness for SB-129 and Faculty Guidance, in Canvas as a follow-up to the syllabi and course review. This module takes only a few minutes to complete and provides additional guidance to support faculty as you prepare syllabi, assignments, and classroom discussions. To date, nearly half of faculty have completed or are in the process of completing the module. As a reminder, the deadline for completion is before classes begin on January 7, but no later than January 30.

Also, late last semester, the Student Government Association (SGA) partnered with the Provost’s Office to develop optional syllabus language regarding students' use of Artificial Intelligence in their coursework. This guidance is intended to help faculty clearly communicate expectations for student use of AI tools in ways that align with course objectives and disciplinary norms. The SGA formally adopted its statement at its final meeting in December, and faculty are encouraged to consider incorporating the optional language into their spring syllabi. Additionally, Auburn’s updated Academic Integrity Policy took effect on January 1. While the policy continues to prohibit academic dishonesty, it also places an increased emphasis on student prevention and education, including clearer guidance related to the use of emerging technologies such as generative AI. The revised policy also establishes clear and consistent processes for addressing potential violations, and faculty are asked to update syllabus language to reflect the revised policy.

Our ongoing review of the Core Curriculum reflects a similar commitment to our efforts to strengthen student learning. With the first phase of listening sessions now complete, co-chairs Dr. Chase Bringardner and Dr. Jeff LaMondia recently shared an updateon insights gathered from members of our campus community. In addition to providing thoughtful perspectives on how the Core supports learning across our majors, participants also noted numerous opportunities for improvement. Key themes included the Core’s connection to every department/program, its role in preparing students for advanced coursework, and opportunities to improve experiences for transfer students. The steering and advisory workgroups are synthesizing this input alongside data and peer comparisons, and a summary of their findings will be shared for feedback later this spring. Again, I thank you for your strong engagement and continued contributions to this important process.

We also continue our efforts this semester to support Digital Accessibility in alignment with federal regulations. As I mentioned last fall, our efforts focus on helping faculty ensure course materials, such as syllabi, slides, PDFs, and videos, are provided in accessible formats for all students. For many faculty, this involves adopting practices that include using accessible document formats, providing captions for video content, adding alternative text for images, or ensuring screen reader compatibility. Additional guidance and resources are available on Auburn’s Digital Accessibility website. As a reminder, the Biggio Center’s instructional technology support team remains available to assist faculty.

As we look ahead to the semester, we are already preparing for those students who will complete their degrees and graduate in the coming months, many of whom will receive academic honors and recognition through distinguished societies. Following renewed efforts last fall to strengthen Auburn’s chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, I am pleased to share that our chapter welcomed an impressive number of new initiates. This spring, we will build on that momentum by reactivating Auburn’s chapter of Phi Kappa Phi, our nation’s oldest and most selective interdisciplinary honor society. Like Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi recognizes academic excellence across numerous disciplines and reinforces our shared values of academic excellence and service beyond the classroom. I have asked Dr. Mark DeGoti, our Accreditation Liaison in the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, to lead this effort.

Lastly, I am pleased to share that Dr. Tiffani Chidume, Associate Clinical Professor in the College of Nursing, has been named a Fellow of the Class of 2026 of the Society for Simulation in Healthcare. The Society honors those individuals who have made significant and sustained contributions to healthcare simulation through scholarship, education, and service. Dr. Chidume will be formally recognized at the International Meeting on Simulation in Healthcare later this year. Please join me in congratulating her!

As always, I thank you for all you do for Auburn University and look forward to another productive year ahead.