Professional Development Programs

Second Annual AI Showcase Event: March 12, 2026

The Mizzou Professional Development Council hosted our Second Annual AI Showcase Event, on March 12, 2026.

This year’s event, Preparing Students & Ourselves for AI in the New Workplace, was focused on strengthening dialogue between faculty, staff, industry partners, and alumni about preparing students for an AI‑driven workplace.  We explored the AI skills employers are seeking and how organizations and people, including faculty and staff at Mizzou, are integrating AI into their daily work.

If you missed the showcase, you can view a video recording on Panopto.

View a photo gallery of the event

A New AI-Powered Research Assistant

Keenious

The Mizzou Libraries are excited to share access to Keenious, an AI-powered research assistant that helps you find relevant scholarly articles at the point of need. Keenious works both as a web-based tool and a Microsoft Word extension, recommending articles based on your search queries, uploaded documents, or even the text that you’re writing. Linking directly to the Libraries collections, this tool will help you spend less time searching and more time reading and discovering.

Read More About Keenious
Keenious Sticker

Professional Development Programs

MU is committed to the development of its faculty across the career span and in a wide variety of sectors. The Professional Development (PD) Council gathers representatives from units across the university that offer PD for faculty members. The PD Council provides a space for various units to share current and upcoming PD opportunities with each other, communicate to faculty about PD opportunities, and seek input on the changing topics and needs of faculty members to create PD opportunities that are relevant. The PD Council meets monthly during the academic year with Assistant Provost for Faculty Initiatives, Shruti Rana.

 

Click on the tiles at the bottom of the page to find searchable tables with information about upcoming PD opportunities for faculty members. The PD opportunities and supports listed can be used at all stages of a faculty member’s career, although some are geared more towards early or mid-career development. Certain programs are particularly relevant for postdoctoral scholars. Some programs are offered in-person and others virtually. Please reach out to the individual unit sponsoring a PD program to ask questions about each event. If you have or know of a PD program or opportunity from your unit that you would like us to share below, please email Assistant Provost for Strategic Faculty Initiatives, Shruti Rana.

MU Professional Development Council Members

 

  • Shruti Rana, Chair – Assistant Provost for Strategic Faculty Initiatives
  • Linda Blockus – Director, Office of Undergraduate Research
  • Mary Christie  – Senior Director, Education Programs for Health Affairs, NextGen & Education Navigator for the Institute of Clinical & Translational Science
  • Amy Lannin – Director, Campus Writing Program
  • Erin Leuschke – Director, Learning Development, Office of Human Resources
  • Karina Enriquez De la Cruz – Instructional Design Manager, Missouri Online
  • Victoria (Tori) Mondelli – Founding Director, Teaching for Learning Center
  • Jeannette Pierce – Associate University Librarian for Research, Access, and Instructional Services, MU Libraries
  • Amanda Carr – Professional Development Senior Coordinator, Division of Research, Innovation & Impact
  • Sarah Traub – Assistant Vice Chancellor, Office of Extension and Engagement
  • Valli Sarveswaran – Director of Postdoctoral Education, Graduate School

Professional Development Council Inaugural Showcase Event on AI, April 4, 2025

The Mizzou Professional Development Council hosted its inaugural showcase event supporting faculty professional development on April 4, 2025. The keynote speaker was Mizzou Journalism Professor Jared Schroeder, “Drawing a New Map: AI and the Flow of Ideas.” Watch a recording of the keynote here.