Saint Mary's College supports faculty in their professional development as teachers by funding proposals for developing new courses, improving and updating existing courses, and developing new areas of competence related to teaching.

Application Guidelines Guidelines for Evaluation Previous Award Recipients •  Apply


Application Guidelines:

Eligibility:

  1. All full-time faculty are eligible. Part-time faculty who have taught for five semesters are also eligible. Persons on terminal contracts are not eligible, nor are faculty who resign their appointments.
  2. Faculty members of all ranks from all departments are encouraged to apply.
  3. Former recipients may apply. If the committee must choose between two applications of equal merit, then it will give preference to the applicant who has not received monies in the recent past.
  4. An award cannot be used to complete a degree.
  5. If applicants receive funding for the same project from other sources, they must inform the committee.
  6. Faculty may apply for only one CFAI Faculty Development grant in the same academic year.
  7. Some CFAI grant funds have additional eligibility restrictions reflecting donors' wishes.

 

Funding:

The grant amount is $2,500. The purpose of these grants is to support teaching. Funds are disbursed as a stipend. The money is added to the recipient's paycheck and taxed as income.

Deadline:

The grant deadline is announced annually by the Center for Academic Innovation Director. Ordinarily the deadline is February 15, or the following Monday if February 15 happens to fall on a weekend.

Administration and Review:

  1. Guidelines and applications are reviewed annually by the CFAI Grants Committee in consultation with the Center for Academic Innovation Director.
  2. Grants are awarded by the Dean of Faculty on the recommendation of the CFAI Grants Committee.
  3. Recipients are announced at the President's Dinner.

The Application Process

Proposal

Applicants should complete this form. The proposal narrativve and all supporting materials should be submitted as email attachments to cfai@saintmarys.edu. All materials must be received by the proposal deadline (ordinarily February 15).

Responsibility of the Recipient upon Completion

  1. The recipient must send a written report to the Senior Vice President and Dean of Faculty, with a copy to the Center for Academic Innovation director by May 31 of the year following reciept of the grant. This report must indicate what the recipient accomplished as a result of the grant.

  2. Saint Mary’s College, and if applicable the donor, must be acknowledged in any published report, article, exhibit, etc., made possible by the grant.


Guidelines for Evaluating Faculty Development Teaching Grant Proposals

Each proposal is read and evaluated by all members of the Center for Academic Innovation Grants Committee. The Committee emphasizes the following points during discussion of a proposal's merit:

  1. Specific Aims
    1. How well conceived, defined and organized is the proposal itself?
    2. Are the project and its objectives clearly stated in language accessible to the non-professional? Are the arguments for the needs and value of the proposed work developed thoroughly? Remember that the members of the committee will not be familiar with the methodology and technical jargon of all the disciplines.
  2. Method
    1. Is the project methodology solid?
    2. Is the project design appropriately scaled for the proposed project duration?
  3. Significance of the Project
    1. Will the project benefit the applicant's pedagogy?
    2. Are the benefits clearly stated in the proposal?
    3. How will these benefits manifest themselves so that the outcome of the proposed activity can be evaluated?
  4. Previous Work
    1. Does the applicant's experience demonstrate a good foundation for the proposed project?
  5. Pertinent References
    1. Does the bibliography identify the best sources for the proposed project?
    2. Is the bibliography up-to-date and clearly pertinent to the proposal?
  6. Format
    1. Did the applicant adhere to the application guidelines?
  7. Recommendations
    1. The Committee must receive at least one letter of support for the proposal from someone who can provide an informed judgment of its merits.
    2. The applicant's department chair must also sign the proposal, indicating that she/he endorses it.

Faculty Development Teaching Grant Award

2015 Teaching Grant Awards

Dionne Bremyer, English. “From Tourist to Traveler: Re-Imagining Travel Writing.”

Emily J. Rose McManus, Music. “Redesigning “Global Music” (MUS 275) to be Representative of an Increasingly Globalized World.”

Sonalini Sapra, Political Science. “Teaching Feminist Methodologies.”

Sandra Schneider, Communication Sciences and Disorders. “Adult Acquired Communication Disorders.”

The Paul and Mary Dahm Kearney Teaching Grant is awarded to the best teaching development grant proposal in any discipline.

Teresa Aubele-Futch, Psychology. “Expanding our Neuroscience Curriculum: Adding a Course on Sensation and Perception.”

The Susan Wolsfeld Sociology Teaching Grant

Susan Alexander, Sociology. “Incorporating a Global Perspective on Popular Culture: Redesigning SOC 382 Sociology of Popular Culture.”

The Paula Lawton Bevington Humanistic Studies Teaching Grant

Philip Hicks, Humanistic Studies. “Developing a Course on the History of Famous Women.”

 

2014 Teaching Grant Awards

Tiffany Johnson Bidler, Art, "The Art of History of Film Course Development" 

Colleen Hoover, Mathematics, and Joanne Snow, Mathematics, "A History of Mathematics Course with an Emphasis on Women's Voices" 

Bettina Spencer, Psychology, "Bringing a Study Abroad Course Home: Redesigning Cross - Cultural Psychology" 

Megan Zwart, Philosophy, "Philosophy of Gender: Developing a New L01 Course in Philosophical Worldviews" 

 

The Paul and Mary Dahm Kearney Teaching Grant is awarded to the best teaching development grant proposal in any discipline.

Marc Belanger, Political Science, "Teaching Middle Eastern Politics" 

The Susan Wolsfeld Sociology Teaching Grant

Leslie Wang, "Health, Illness, Medicine, and Health Care: Designing a Medical Sociology Course" 

The Paula Lawton Bevington Humanistic Studies Teaching Grants

Laura Williamson Ambrose, "Course Redesign and New Course Preparation of HUST 323 (Colloquium I) and HUST 321 (Colloquium II)" 

John Shinners, "Redesign of HUST 321 and HUST 322" 

 

Seed Grant

Giannina Reyes-Giardiello, Modern Languages, "Rebels with Cause: Women's Voices in Latin America MLSP 4XX"

2013 Teaching Grant Awards

Tom Fogle, Biology
2011 Paul and Mary Dahm Kearney Teaching Development Grant
Revamping the Foundations of teh Biology 153 Laboratory

 

Mary Ann Kanieski, Sociology
Susan Wolsfeld Sociology Teaching Grant
Diverse Childhoods are Global Childhoods: A Proposal to Revise SOC 350 

 

Janeen Berndt, Nursing
Evidence-based Reorganization of Nursing Foundations

 

Helen Ho, Communication Studies
Course Re-Design: Advertising in Society

 

Jeffrey Jacob, Music
A 50-minute DVD Lecture Performance Examining and Defining the Classical and Romantic Periods in Music, for Use Across the Arts and Humanities Curriculum

 

Frances Kominkiewsicz, Social Work
Increasing Interdisciplinary Student Learning in Mental Health: Developing a Menral Health Issues and DSM-5 Course

 

Nancy Nekvasil, Biology
Developing a First-Year General Biology Non-Lab Course for Intended Nursing Majors

 

George Palacios, Modern Languages (Spanish)
Constructing Contemporary Latin America in a New MLSP Course

 

Sean Savage, Political Science
Lights, Camera, Politics: Developing an Interdisciplinary Course on Politics and Film

 

Umberto Taccheri, Modern Languages (Italian)
Reviving MLIT 340: The Italian Renaissance
Bogdan Vajiac, Math
Redesigning Math 133: The Theory and Applications of Calculus as a Critical Thinking Seminar

 

2012 Teaching Grant Awards

Don Paetkau, Biology
2012 Paul and Mary Dahm Kearney Teaching Development Grant
An Intradepartmental Tandem in Developmental Biology 

 

Susan Alexander, Sociology
Susan Wolsfeld Sociology Teaching Grant
Updating the Social Construction of Gender: Linking Student Learning Outcomes to New Course Material

 

Mary Ann Merryman, Business
A Margaret FitzGibbons Higgins Faculty Development Grant
Reconnecting with the Principles of Financial Accounting Course

 

Jennifer Zachman, Modern Languages
NEH Teaching Grant
Exploring Pedagogy and Practice in MODL/EDUC 445: Teaching Modern Languages

 

Robert Morse, Modern Languages
NEH Teaching Grant
Redesign of MLIT 360: Italian Cultural Studies

 

2011 Teaching Grant Awards

 

Chris Cobb, English
2011 Paul and Mary Dahm Kearney Teaching Development Grant
Integrating Social Science Methodologies and Humanistic Analysis in an Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies Course

Sean Savage, Political Science
The Rise of American Politics and the Fall of the Politics of American Democracy

Zae Munn, Music
Bringing Relevant Technology to Music Majors: Creating a Music Technology Course

Gwen Pursell, Psychology
Lifespan Psychology for Education and Health Professionals

Laura Ambrose, Humanistic Studies
2011 Margaret Fitzgibbons Higgins Faculty Development Grant for Teaching or Research
Developing a Critical Thinking Seminar for Humanistic Studies 103 (Lives and Times)

Phil Hicks, Humanistic Studies
2011 Paula Lawton Bevington Humanistic Studies Grant for Teaching or Research
Christian Culture and Modern History: A Revision of HUST 461 and HUST 462

 

2010 Teaching Grant Awards

 

Robert Hohl, Librarian
A Guide to the Rare Book and Special Collections of the Cushwa-Leighton Library

Renee Kingcaid, Modern Languages
Studying Religious Diversity in France

Daniel Party, Music
2010 Kearney Teaching Grant
Updating MUS 242 and Redesigning it as a Women's Studies Course

Susan Alexander
2010 Wolsfeld Sociology Teaching Grant
Consumer Society: Rethinking Hyper-consumption after the Stock Market Crash of 2009

Leslie Wang
2010 Wolsfeld Sociology Teaching Grant
Social Inequalities in Education: A Course for All Students

Laura Williamson-Ambrose
2010 Paula Lawton Bevington Humanistic Studies Teaching Grant
New Course Preparation: Medieval Literature

 

2009 Teaching Grant Awards

 

Karen Chambers, Psychology
Poverty and Psychology: An Experiential Learning Course

Mary Ann Merryman, Business Administration and Economics
2009 Kearney Faculty Development Teaching Grant
Incorporating CFE Examination Material into the Fraud Examination Course

Ewa Misiolek, Mathematics
Redesigning CPSC 315 Simulation: Theory and Application

Doug Tyler, Art
Animation Nation: Advanced Approaches to Teaching New Media

 

2008 Teaching Grant Awards

 

Susan Alexander, Sociology
2008 Wolsfeld Faculty Development Teaching Grant
Sociology, Course Development: "Contested Masculinities"

Nancy D'Antuono, Modern Languages
Renaissance and Baroque Masterpieces

Stacy Davis, Religious Studies
Redesigning RLST 306: Biblical Theology

Nano Farabaugh, Nursing 2008 Kearney Faculty Development Teaching Grant
Integrating choice theory/reality therapy into Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing course

Cindy Iavagnilio, Nursing 2008 Kearney Faculty Development Teaching Grant
Integrating a new Simulation Framework into the nursing curriculum

Mary Ann Kanieski, Sociology 2008 Wolsfeld Faculty Development Teaching Grant
Data Driven: Designing and Preparing Data for an Applied Sociological Statistics Class

Catherine Pittman, Psychology
Bound: New Clinical Training Exercises

Inela Selimovi?, Modern Languages
MLSP 429: Revisitng Contemporary Latin American Women's Writing

Nancy Turner, Education
New Course Development in the Special Education Program: Methods for Exceptional Learners

Jennifer Zachman, Modern Languages
Page, Stage and Screen: Twentieth and Twenty-first Century Spanish Literature and Film

 

2007 Teaching Grant Awards

 

Linda Berdayes, Communication and Performance Studies
Developing a course in Communicating with New Media: An Exploration into Shifting Sensibilities

Peter Checca, Modern Languages
A course on the Italian Novel of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries

Ann Clark, Philosophy
2007 Higgins Teaching Development Grant
Introductory Philosophy/World Civilization 103

Mana Derakhshani, Modern Languages
Developing a French Cinema Course

Astrid Henry, English/Women's Studies
2007 Bevington Teaching Development Grant
Transforming "Introduction to Women's Studies" into a "W" Course

Krista Hoefle, Art
Beyond Object--exploring use of microcontrollers and Adobe/Macromedia Flash (hardware and programmable software used to create interactive installation environments)

Laurie Lowry, Communication and Performance Studio
2007 Kearney Teaching Development Grant
Dance Literacy: Integration in Dance Courses

Edith Miguda, History
2007 Higgins Teaching Development Grant
World Civilizations 103 - Tandem with Philosophy 110

Isabel Sanchez, Chemistry/Physics
2007 Kearney Teaching Development Grant
Teaching Guided - Inquiry Organic Chemistry

Umberto Taccheri , Modern Languages
MLIT 410. Dante, Petrarca e Boccacio

Leslie Wang
2007 Wolsfeld Teaching Development Grant
Asian American Women: Identities and Cultures

 

2006 Teaching Grant Awards

 

Ted Billy, English
Transforming 'Introduction to Film Studies' into a Course on Film Criticism

Susan Latham, Communicative Disorders
2006 Kearney Teaching Grant
Speech Language Pathology: It's More than "R's, L's and S's" Development of the Evaluation and Intervention Courses

Max Westler, English
Seeing Twentieth Century American Poetry From a Woman's Point-of-View

 

2005 Teaching Grant Awards

 

Kurt Buhring, Religious Studies
Renewing Faith in Action

Stacy Davis, Religious Studies
2005 Kearney Teaching Grant
RLST 390: Reading and Interpreting Hebrew Bible Prophets

Christopher Dunlap, Chemistry/Physics
Developing a Course in Environmental Chemistry

Mary Ann Kanieski, Sociology
2005 Wolsfeld Teaching Development Grant
The Sociology of Childhood: Designing a New Course

Claude Renshaw, Business Administration and Economics
International Accounting: It's Been a Busy Ten Years!

 

 

2004 Teaching Grant Awards

 

 

Susan Alexander, Sociology
Consumer Society: New course development

 

Theodore Billy, English
Reinvigorating Expository Writing

 

Kitty Green, Education
The Challenge of Diversity and Community: Preparing Teachers to Teach for Understanding and Democracy

 

Astrid Henry, English
Development of a New Course: "Reading Whiteness"

 

Renée Kingcaid, Modern Languages
Matriarch: Presenting Simone de Beauvoir to Today's WOST Students

 

Donald Miller, Mathematics
Stochastic Models

 

Bill Svelmoe, History
2004 Kearney Teaching Grant

The Development of American Views of Foreign Cultures

 

Umberto Taccheri, Modern Languages
Italian Cultural Studies

 

Mary Ann Traxler, Education
Every Teacher a Reading Teacher

 

Nancy Turner, Education
Improving Literacy Development in Struggling Readers and Writers

 

Susan Vance, Business Administration and Economics
Incorporating Technology in International Business Law

 

 

2003 Teaching Grant Awards

 

 

Phil Bays, Chemistry/Physics
Times are a Changin': How Shall We Teach Introductory Chemistry to Science Majors?

 

Tom Bonnell, English
Kearney Teaching Grant

Revamping of ENWR 319 Classical

 

Kitty Green, Education
Kearney Teaching Grant

Making the Good Better: Strengthening the Secondary Education Program at Saint Mary's College

 

Carla Johnson, Writing
Kearney Teaching Grant

Program Addressing a Widely-Perceived Problem: ENWR 201W

 

Linn Vacca, English
Low-Vision Modifications of Current Courses

 

Mary Wcisel, Nursing
Merging Informatics and Nursing Education: Preparing Graduates for the 21st Century

 

Max Westler, English
Kearney Teaching Grant

Establishing an Introductory Course for Students Interested in Professional Writing

 

 

2002 Teaching Grant Awards

 

 

Ted Billy, English
Establishing a Foundational Course in Film Studies at Saint Mary's College

 

John Fotopoulos, Religious Studies
RLST 290: Special Topic: Introduction to the New Testament

 

Anita Houck, Religious Studies
Tricksters and Tellers of Strange Tales: Myth in a Tandem Course in Religious Studies and English

 

Annette Johnson, Nursing
Palliative Care Nursing

 

Patrick Pierce, Political Science
Developing the Comprehensive Seminar in Political Science

 

Julie Storme, Modern Languages
Creating and Maintaining Computer Assisted Reading Materials for French and Italian

 

Jennifer Zachman, Modern Languages
Spanish Women Writers

 

 

2001 Teaching Grant Awards

 

 

Karen Chambers, Psychology
Advances SPSS

Insook Chung, Education
Implementing Constructivist Instructional Method in Mathematics Education Classes

 

Indi Dieckgrafe, Dance
Activate: 20th Century Dance History and Aesthetics

 

Joyce Lucas Hicks, Business Administration and Economics
From Ho-Hum to Hubba-Hubba: Renovating the Marketing Research Course

 

Anita Houck, Religious Studies
Heaven and Hell: Developing an Interdisciplinary Elective in Religious Studies

 

David Richmond, Sociology
World Populations

 

 

2000 Teaching Grant Awards

 

Ted Billy, English
From Fiction to Film: An Interdisciplinary Inquiry into the Art of Adaptation

Nano Farabaugh, Nursing
Integration of Liberal and Fine Arts into the Nursing

 

Laurie Lowry, Dance
Stott Pilates Conditioning

 

Donald Miller, Mathematics
Stochastic Models

 

Susan Vance, Business Administration and Economics
Reality Bites: Legal Literacy for Professional and Personal Success

 

 

1999 Teaching Grant Awards

 

 

Marc Belanger, Political Science
Teaching Gender and Politics

 

Joseph Bellina, Chemistry/Physics
Using Computer Models of Real World Situations to Encourage the Reconstruction Of Students' Personal World-views in Introductory Physics

 

Vicente & Linda Berdayes, Communication Dance and Theatre
Developing a Multimedia Component For COMM 210

 

Ted Billy, English and Karen Chambers, Psychology
Inner Space: Perception, Memory, and the Irrational

 

Phyllis Kaminski, Religious Studies
Ways of Doing Theology New and Old: A Course Design for Student Learning and Assessment

 

Jerry McElroy, Business Administration and Economics
From ECON 251 (3cr) to ECON 251W (4cr): Transforming Introductory Macroeconomics Into a Writing-Intensive First-Year Experience

 

Peter Smith, Mathematics
Preparing a New Course (CPSC 308) Electronic Communications

 

Katie Sullivan, Communication
Oral Interpretation: Creating a Class for the Inter-Dance and Theatre Disciplinary Department

 

 

1998 Teaching Grant Awards

 

 

J. Philip Bays, Chemistry
Collaborative Learning in Organic Chemistry

 

Theodore Billy, English
Developing a Biographical and Critical Context for a 400-Level Course on Henry James and Edith Wharton

 

Karen Chambers, Psychology
Understanding Cognitive Psychology Through Community Service

 

Joseph Incandela, Religious Studies
The Evaluation and Use of Web Conferencing Software for Religious Studies Core Courses

 

Donald Miller and Mary Porter, Mathematics
Foundations of Higher Mathematics

 

Nancy Nekvasil, Biology
Problem-Based Methodology in Pathophysiology

 

Marcia Rickard, Art
Southeast Asia Field Study for Art 293, Asian Art Survey

 

David Sever, Biology
Integrating the Teaching of Human Anatomy with Resources available through the Internet: New Ways to Teach an Old Subject

 

Julie Storme, Modern Languages
Integrating the Internet into French Courses

 

 

1997 Teaching Grant Awards

 

 

Jeffrey Jacob, Music
Survey of Non-Traditional Teaching Methods and Materials for All Levels of Studio Piano

 

Patrick Pierce, Political Science
Developing the Survey Course in Political Theory

 

Mary Porter, Mathematics
Numerical Analysis: A New Course in Mathematics

 

Isis Quinteros, Modern Languages
Latin American Women Writers

 

Julie Storme, Modern Languages
A New Course in French Studies: French Colonization: History, Interpretation and Aftermath

 

Susan Vance, Business Administration and Economics
Rethinking the Business Law I Course

 

 

1996 Faculty Teaching Awards

 

 

Vicente Berdayes, Communication, Dance and Theatre
Intercultural Communication

 

Joyce Lucas Hicks, Business Administration and Economics
Buyer Behavior

 

Renée Kingcaid, Modern Languages
French 111-112: Deja Vu All Over Again

 

Zae Munn, Music
Participate in College Music Society’s Center for Professional Development in Art of Teaching Music in Higher Education

 

Kathy Ornish, Art
An Art Class for an Art Class

 

Jane Perry Philips, Nursing
Bereavement — How Do We Cope with Loss

 

Nancy Turner, Education
Strategies for Inclusive Environment Middle School/Secondary Classroom

 

 

1995 Faculty Teaching Awards

 

 

Jeffrey Breese, Sociology
New Course: Applied Sociology

 

Mary Connolly, Mathematics
C++ The Language of Choice in the First Computer Course

 

Zae Munn, Music
Teaching Tonal Theory at End of the 20th Century

 

Frank Notturno, Business Administration and Economics
Marketing Trends in Retailing, Sports Marketing and Services

 

Thomas Platt, Biology
Biology and Human Values - A Cooperative Approach

 

 

1994 Faculty Teaching Awards

 

 

Susan Alexander, Sociology
Social Problems and Play Analyses

 

Mana Derakhshani, Modern Languages
The Culture of Business in the French Speaking World

 

Philip Hicks, Humanistic Studies
High Society

 

Richard Jensen, Biology
BIOSTAT: A Package of Statistical Programs

 

Ann Loux, English
EnLt 404: Southern Women Writers

 

Catherine Pittman, Psychology
Theories of Personality: Integrating a Multicultural Perspective

 

Billy Ray Sandusky, Art
New Course Development: Book Arts/Artists’ Books

 

Sara Sawtelle, Chemistry
Development of a Consumer Chemistry Laboratory Manual

 

Rebecca Stoddart, Psychology
Etic and Emic "Truths" in Social Psychology: a course revision

 

Katherine Sullivan, Communication, Dance and Theatre
An Interdisciplinary Tandem: Play Analysis and Social Problems

 

 

1993 Faculty Teaching Awards

 

 

Peter Checca, Modern Languages
Twenty Years of Italian Cinema 1945-1965: from "Roma città aperta" to "Uccellacci uccellini"

 

Indi Dieckgrafe, Communication, Dance and Theatre
Incorporating Improvisation into the Dance Curriculum

 

Renée Kingcaid, Modern Languages
Curriculum Reform through CALL

 

Deborah McCarthy, Chemistry
Development of a Thoughtful Approach to Data Acquisition and Data Treatment in Chem Lab

 

Donald Miller, Mathematics
Statistical Applications for the Business Majors

 

Zae Munn, Music
Incorporating Women’s Compositions into Music Analysis and Composition Courses

 

Tom Parisi, Psychology
Reversing "Historical Roots of Modern Psychology"

 

Patricia Pilger, Social Work & Annette Peacock-Johnson, Nursing
Understanding the Older Adult: a Holistic Approach

 

Janis Stewart, Nursing
Information Technology in Nursing

 

Mary Wood, Psychology
Structure Activities in Psychological Research Methods

 

 

1992 Faculty Teaching Grant Awards

 

 

Joe Incandela, Religious Studies
Treasures of a Tradition: Incorporating Medieval Theology into Religious Studies Curriculum

 

Kevin McDonnell, Philosophy
The Philosophy of More Science: Additional Scientific Issues for a Philosophy of Science Course

 

Jerome McElroy, Business Administration and Economics
Computer Simulation in Intermediate Macroeconomics (Econ 351)

 

Donald Miller, Mathematics
Undergraduate Mathematical Programming with Optimization Applications

 

John Pauley, Communication, Dance and Theatre
Women’s Voices: Women in Public Address

 

Marcia Rickard, Art
Flying to Indonesia is Easier than Swimming to Cambodia:
A Far Eastern Component for Survey I and II (Art 241-242)

 

 

1990 Faculty Teaching Grant Awards

 

 

Theodore Billy and Laura Haigwood, English
Transatlantic Romanticism

 

Nancy Nekvasil, Biology
Chemical Dependency and the Biology of Addiction

 

Thomas Parisi, Psychology
Science, Self and World

 

Annette Peacock-Johnson, Nursing
Curriculum Development: Fundamentals of Nursing Care

 

Ann Plamondon, Communication, Dance and Theatre
Arts and Entertainment Law

 

Thomas Platt, Biology
Writing in the Biological Sciences for the Non-Major

 

Bill Sandusky, Art
The Book as Art

 

Lauren Strach, Business Administration and Economics
Gender and Race Issues in Management

 

Mary Ann Traxler, Education
Developmental Reading: The Very Hungry Caterpillar Comes Before Short /a/

 

Jill Vihtelic, Business Administration and Economics
Financial Modeling: Using the Personal Computer in Financial Analysis

 

Karilee Watson, Education
Outside the Academy: Alternative