Celebration, recognition, gratitude: The Center for Teaching and Learning celebrates 25 years of educational innovation
On Friday, Nov. 1, the Center for Teaching and Learning celebrated its 25th year as UNC Charlotte’s primary resource for faculty development and educational innovation. With the theme “Celebrating the Past, Inspiring the Future,” CTL honored its history, accomplishments, founding faculty and staff, and referenced new educational technologies that will guide future work.
Among the reasons to mark the award-winning CTL’s quarter-century milestone, noted by Kiran Budhrani, the center’s director of teaching and learning innovation, is the University’s consistent investment in Charlotte’s “dedicated and innovative faculty” — and, by extension, the success of students.
“The Center for Teaching and Learning always has been at the forefront of educational innovation, inspiring teachers, who are also learners,” said Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Jennifer Troyer, whose career in higher education started at UNC Charlotte at about the time of CTL’s founding. “Through a vast array of workshops, professional development opportunities and other programs for Charlotte faculty, the center has made a tremendous impact on the entire University community.”
Recognition and gratitude
In addition to honoring the contributions of its late founder Sallie Ives and spotlighting past and current center leaders, CTL recognized 25 faculty members with Trailblazer Awards for their openness to and enthusiasm for applying technology and similar innovations to teaching and learning, and willingness to share knowledge and expertise with their peers.
Those acknowledged are Dean Adams, theatre; Kathy Asala, chemistry; Tonya Bates, Farzana Ferdous, Shankari Somayaji and Sam Suptela, biological sciences; Deborah Beete, epidemiology and public health sciences; Kim Buch, psychology; Hilary Dack, Lan Kolano, middle, secondary and K-12 education; Kristin Davin, foreign language education; Kevin Edwards-Knight, Amy Peters, social work; Bobby Hobgood, languages, culture and translation; Wan Rabiatul Hountondji Wan Othman, Lee Rinker, Jennifer Reed, mathematics and statistics; Cat Mahaffey, writing, rhetoric and digital studies; Nadia Najjar, computing and informatics; Harini Ramaprasad, computer science; Tracy Rock, reading and elementary education; Megan Smith, sociology; Jamie Strickland, geography; Meredith Troutman-Jordan, nursing; Coral Wayland, anthropology.
Shaping what’s next
Also highlighted at the event were the overall growth of online programs at UNC Charlotte and CTL’s leadership regarding the future of teaching and learning. As part of Charlotte’s School of Professional Studies, CTL collaborates with faculty to build engaging online courses and programs. In addition, the center is leading efforts across the UNC System to responsibly integrate cutting-edge technologies such as AI into classrooms to assure students are prepared to enter the workforce when they graduate.
“Over the last five years, nearly half of the University’s overall enrollment growth has been fueled by students enrolled in UNC Charlotte Online programs, which wouldn’t exist without the CTL’s talented instructional designers and media specialists,” said Asher Haines, associate provost for SPS. “Thanks to the innovative work of our entire team, UNC Charlotte students are experiencing more intentionally designed learning experiences and technology-enhanced classrooms where we are pushing the frontiers of teaching and learning.”