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Proposal Submissions

Workshop Proposals are now open for FWCA 2024!
Deadline: Monday, October 30, 2023

The Faculty Women of Color in the Academy (FWCA) national conference is calling for workshops that advance the FWCA mission to connect with research colleagues, support aspirations for advancement, and empower growth and transformation.

Successful proposals are ones that:

  • Are relevant to Women of Color across multiple academic disciplines.
  • Represent scholarly perspectives on a project, topic, or initiative.
  • Combine expert advice and broad applicability and replicability.
  • Share promising practices and experiences on the presentation topic.
  • Engage and foster conversation, dialogue, and brainstorming.
  • Align with the conference mission to Connect, Support and Empower Women of Color.

Proposal Template, Example Proposals, and Sample Topics:

Nominations for achievements will open this fall.

These resources for successful proposal submissions may provide inspiration and guidance on how to develop your workshop:

This list includes successful topics that have been proposed for conference workshops. This list is not exhaustive. We invite you to bring fresh perspectives to the FWCA audience! 
  • Advice from Senior Leaders to Junior Faculty or Graduate Students
  • Mentorship; Finding a Mentor vs. Becoming a Mentor; Finding a Sponsor
  • Building Financial Literacy, Saving for Retirement; Closing the Gender/Race Wealth Gap
  • Navigating Graduate School as a Woman of Color; Tips; Resources
  • Entrepreneurship & Academic Side Hustles, Publishing Books, Etc.
  • Setting Boundaries; Saying No, Self Advocacy, Avoiding Burnout
  • Gaining Confidence and Practicing Authenticity in the academy
  • Scholar Activism: Social Justice Work in the Academy, Online, Critical Race Theory, Navigating Anti-DEI Legislation
  • General Career Advice; Salary Negotiations, Tenure, Promotion & Advancements, Getting Space at the Table
  • Becoming a Leader, Leadership Styles for Women of Color, How to Lead a Team Effectively
  • Intersectionality, Identity Politics
  • Worklife Quality: Balancing Motherhood, Being the Ambitious Partner, Time Management, Life/Guilt Management, Quiet Quitting
  • Leadership Programs & Opportunities, How to find Grants & Funding
  • Sister Circles and Affinity Spaces and Supporting Each Other
  • Mental Health and Wellness; Self-Care & Centering Your Needs - Personally and Professionally
  • Strategies for Dealing with Whiteness, Microaggressions, Navigating PWIs, Creating Counterspaces
  • Writing; Tips for Writing your Dissertation, Book Chapters, Articles; Writing for the Public vs the Academy
  • Teaching for Liberation; Bringing Critical Consciousness into the Classroom; Creating Counter-Space in the Classroom

Your workshop proposal will be judged on the following criteria: 

  • Purpose connected to the conference mission of connect, support, and empower.
  • Delivery methods that are interactive, inspiring, energizing, and motivating.
  • Clear content that imparts new insight and wisdom.
  • Relevance to designated conference track.
  • Measurable learning objectives.
  • Relevance and usefulness to audience.
  • Impact in the form of strategies for personal and/or professional development. 
  1. Formatting: Prepare a two-page workshop description (not including references).
    1. Upload a full workshop description in PDF or MS Word format. 
    2. Use Times New Roman 12-point font, double-spaced, 1-inch margin, and 8.5 by 11-inch page setting. 
    3. Limit this description to 2 pages. References do not count toward page usage.
    4. SAVE FILE AS "FWCA24 - Your Workshop Title" 
      Please do not include your name or any identifying information in the title or body of the workshop proposal.  We use a double-blind review process where the reviewer and author identities are concealed from one another. 
    5. A Workshop Proposal Template is available for your use. 
  2. Content Checklist 
    1. Title 
    2. Conference Track
    3. Abstract - 150 words max 
    4. Overview  of Relevant Literature, Theoretical Frameworks & Concepts
    5. Learning Outcomes 
    6. Outline of Presentation (Delivery Methods and Timeframe of an interactive 45-minute session)
    7. References
  3. Select one of the tracks: 
    1. Personal Well-Being
      Includes topics related to self-care inside and outside of the academy, developing healing strategies for coping and self-advocacy, approach towards work-life balance, & building social support systems. 
    2. Career Development
      Includes topics related to mentoring and finding mentors, acquiring skills important for career advancement, writing and publishing, and navigating higher education. 
    3. Scholar Activist
      Includes topics related to issues of social justice, inequality, and exclusion in academia. Theories of intersectional identity and issues of importance to women of color. 
    4. Leadership
      Includes topics on developing leadership competencies and philosophy. Using theory and practice to create strategies for effective leadership in current and future roles. 
    5. Grad Sis Track
      Includes any of the 4 primary tracks and is related to helping women of color navigate the graduate school experience. Also known as Grad Student & Emerging Scholar Development track, we invite women who have a passion for mentoring and developing graduate students. We also see this as an opportunity for our emerging scholars in graduate school to practice presentation and facilitation skills.
Submit Your Workshop Proposal

Be sure to have the names and email addresses of any co-presenters for the submission form.

Join us on October 5 for a Workshop Proposal Webinar:

Tips for Preparing a Successful Workshop Proposal

Date: October 5, 2023
Time: 3PM EST
Register for the Webinar

In this live, interactive webinar, we'll discuss how to develop, write and submit an excellent workshop proposal for your proposal to be considered for the 12th Annual FWCA National Conference.  Conference organizers will provide an overview of the entire workshop proposal process including: submission form, judging criteria, dates and deadlines.  We will also discuss how to select a topic and conference track for your workshop and how to write an engaging abstract description that will appeal to attendees.  The webinar will be recorded with live captions.

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://virginiatech.zoom.us/meeting/register/
tZYtfu2trzIvG9WPAJRWOqNrVGMYsquK8wK8
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email
containing information about joining the meeting.

 

Workshop Proposals for FWCA 2024 will open September 15, 2023

Submit a Proposal

Culture Café

Virtually Audition to Perform in the 2024 Culture Cafe!

We’re excited to announce that the 3rd annual FWCA Culture Café will take place on Saturday April 13, 2024 at the conference hotel. The Culture Café compliments the dynamic daytime presentations by highlighting your culture, talent, and excellence through an arts-based performance. If you have a talent that you would like to showcase for this group of women we invite you to virtually audition by completing this form and sharing a sample of your talent with the planning committee. Artistic talents can include: musical performances, visual arts showcases, poems and spoken word, dance or movement demonstrations, or theatrical vignettes, and more! We will set up multiple small rooms to create an intimate setting to share your talents with other Women of Color scholars.

Whether you're a scholar-artist or a Woman of Color scholar with an artistic talent you wish to showcase, this space is for you! The application process will open this fall.

Deadline: 
December 31, 2023

Audition Form

Direct questions about the call for proposals to: fwca@vt.edu.