Welcome to the Faculty Development Center Website

Mission Statement:

The mission of the Faculty Development Center (FDC) is to support teaching and professional development of faculty. The FDC promotes enhancement of teaching and learning practices by fostering open and ongoing dialogue among all members of the University community in matters pertaining to teaching, learning and classroom experiences.

Overall Objectives:

The FDC supports development in teaching and assessment and their effects on learning in the University, by:

• providing a range of professional development programs, activities and services to support core areas related to university activity - teaching, educational research, and service

• promoting and supporting a community of teacher-scholars where the theory and practice of teaching and learning are shared

• promoting student learning as central to accomplishing the teaching/learning mission of the university

• fostering innovations in university teaching

• sustaining a university culture that recognizes and rewards both scholarly teaching and the scholarship of teaching and learning

• raising cross-cultural awareness within the context of teaching and learning

• encouraging on-gong discussions concerning teaching effectiveness

• assisting academic units in designing, developing, implementing, and evaluating professional development programs in order to meet current and emerging needs

• helping instructors and academic units develop, implement, and assess instructional approaches and methods

• helping individual instructors assess their teaching effectiveness and their students’ learning

• advocating appropriate use of technology in enhancing university teaching and learning