We just wrapped up our orientation session for the ACES Fellows cohort 3 and it was terrific. This cohort of Fellows is really impressive and will definitely build upon the foundation laid by cohorts 1 and 2. The group includes Sara Gubala (Political Science), Michelle "Mo" Ozmun (Dance & Theatre) Amy Smith (English & Modern Languages) Julie Wilhelm (English and Modern Languages), and Golden Wright (Dance & Theatre). The Fellows were joined by presenters Tom Matthews, Todd Pourciau, and Randy Smith who were assisted by Rezvan Khoslessen. Provost Steve Doblin also stopped in to thank the group for their courageous leadership and willingness to improve their teaching. We will continue to share updates as the academic year progress about all of our ACES Fellows and their impact on the Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP). Look for ACES Fellows alumni Jeremy Shelton and Cecil Johnson at the Faculty Development Fall 2011 Blastoff event on August 16. They will be presenting sessions about their experiences with course redesign and the implementation of active learning methods. There was an intriguing article on the prospect of conducting interdisciplinary research or collaborating across departments and how that scholarly work is treated during the promotion and tenure process. Just recently, the University of Southern California became one of the first institutions in the country to provide departments and committees with clear and explicit instructions on how to weigh interdisciplinary research and collaborative scholarship when rewarding faculty. USC wants to better support interdisciplinary scholarship largely because it serves a competitive advantage, according to the article.