This episode explores the transition from faculty member to educational developer, highlighting how past experiences as students and instructors shape approaches to faculty support. They share insights into the challenges of course design, the value of community, and the ongoing learning required in their new roles. The conversation emphasizes how …

Today’s episode features Elizabeth Dickens (University of Virginia) and Nausheen Shafiq (University of British Columbia) in discussion of a manuscript on curriculum developers in educational development, which is under review at To Improve the Academy. This is the fifth episode of the partnership between To Improve the Academy and Centering Centers…

Today’s episode features Bill Pilny, Benjamin Brock, and Stephanie Laggini Fiore in discussion of their recent To Improve the Academy article, “Impacts of campus disruption on educational developers’ role-identity and teamwork.” The authors apply the Dynamic Systems Model of Role Identity (or DSMRI) to the work of educational developers during the …

Dr. Kim Case, Senior Advisor for Organizational Culture to VCU's Chief Diversity Officer and Vice President for Inclusive Excellence. Dr. Case is a tenured professor of psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University and previously served as VCU's inaugural Director of Faculty Success in the Office of the Provost. Dr. Case’s work blends her roles as…

Dr. Liza Bolitzer is an experienced researcher, teacher and project manager dedicated to advancing teaching and learning in higher education. She uses qualitative methods to study how college faculty, institutional leaders, and higher education professionals can advance college students' academic learning. She has shared her work in Higher Educatio…

Adrianna Kezar is the Dean’s Professor of Leadership, Wilbur-Kieffer Professor of Higher Education and Director of the Pullias Center for Higher Education at the University of Southern California. Dr. Kezar holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in higher education administration from the University of Michigan and a B.A. from the University of California, Los Ang…

Today’s episode features Jane Hammons (The Ohio State University), who talks about her recent To Improve the Academyarticle, “Academic librarians as educational developers: Overview, case study, and discussion.” An academic librarian who offers faculty-facing information literacy workshops, Hammons argues that educational developers may have untapp…

For some, artificial intelligence represents the latest development in an age-old series of fantasies about escaping our vulnerable, imperfect, animal bodies. Humans have continuously developed tools to boost our capabilities; in the case of AI, we’re amplifying the speed of cognitive processes. But what capacities remain distinctively human? Dr. S…

Kelly Ferris Lester, Associate Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning, received herBFA in Theatre and Dance from the University of Memphis, her MFA inChoreography and Performance from The College at Brockport (SUNY), and herEd.D. in Higher Education Administration from the University of SouthernMississippi. Lester is a Professor of Dance. Prior to …

In the second of our new To Improve the Academy (TIA) partnership episodes on Centering Centers, Associate Editor, Liz Norrell (Associate Director of Instructional Support at the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at the University of Mississippi), Marina Smitherman (Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Dalt…

Chris Hakala talks with Dr. Leslie Alvarez about her move from psychology to educational development. Dr. Alvarez recounts her work with marginalized students and its impact on her path to faculty development, highlighting the role of equity in teaching. She discusses building a faculty development program and her transition to a director role amid…

Today’s episode features Jovan Groen (Western University), Carolyn Ives (Thompson Rivers University), and Veronica (Roni) Bamber (Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh), who talk about their recent To Improve the Academy article, “Evidencing the value of educational development: Charting a course on the waves and winds of change,” which they wrote w…

Chris Hakala and JT Torres talk about operating a center with very limited human resources. JT is a center of one, and in that role, he is working to build relationships, create educational development opportunities and support faculty and student teaching and learning. He does this by developing relationships. In the episode we discuss how JT is a…

In this episode, Liz Norell shares her educational developer journey and discusses plans for the forthcoming partnership between Centering Centers, a POD Network podcast, and To Improve the Academy, its flagship peer-reviewed journal. Dr. Liz Norell is Associate Director of Instructional Support at the University of Mississippi's Center for Excelle…

In this episode of Centering Centers, Diane Boyd shares howshe guided faculty through the pandemic by first having them connect to their core values before diving into new teaching modalities. She explains how articulating one's values provides an internal compass when navigating challenging situations--keeping you grounded in your strengths and pr…

In this episode of Centering Centers, Co-Chair of the POD Network’s Digital Resources and Innovation committee, Yianna Vovides, engages in a transformative conversation with the POD Network's newly appointed Executive Director, Danielle Gabriel. Danielle Gabriel's professional background encompasses program management in educational and museum sett…

In Episode 53 of Centering Centers, we hear from three brand new educational developers who recently attended the POD Conference in November of 2023. Grouped in the "getting started" two day workshop, these new PODsters share their takeaways and reflections on their experience. This conversation will be of interest to those who are new to an educat…

In this episode, Joan Zaretti from Bryant University, Karen Hopkins from Auburn University, and Josh Luckens from Wentworth Institute of Technology discuss their experiences creating playful and play-based programs and activities aimed at engaging their campus and building community. They share strategies for cultivating a sense of belonging, purpo…

Josh Eyler, acclaimed author of How Humans Learn, delves into the pivotal role of storytelling in teaching, learning, and educational development and some of the systemic issues around grading practices tackled in his upcoming book, Scarlet Letters. He offers reflections and stories about his own developmental journey leading different CTLs and sha…

Mary Wright is the Associate Provost for Teaching and Learning, Executive Director of the Sheridan Center, and a Research Professor in Sociology. She is a former president of the POD Network in Higher Education. Before joining Brown, she served as Director of Assessment at the University of Michigan's CRLT. She holds degrees in sociology and higher…

How do we optimize our Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL's) organizational structure for maximizing impact and resources? In this episode, Chris Hakala, Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship and Professor of Psychology from Springfield College in Springfield, MA and Bonnie Mullinix, a Research Fellow at th…

In this episode, we speak with Stacy Grooters, the current President of the Professional and Organizational Development (POD) Network in Higher Education. Stacy shares her vision for leading POD, reflects on its history of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, and discusses how educational developers can advocate for higher education. Stacy Groo…

What is the role of a graduate student in a center for teaching and learning? Does it vary by institution or are there predictable patterns that we as educational developers can use to craft job descriptions, direct projects, and provide opportunities for growth through assessment and reflection? This episode is hosted by Yianna Vovides from CNDLS …

In this episode, Holly Parker from the Center for Teachingand Learning at the University of Vermont speaks with Leigh Wright,Associate Professor of Journalism and Mass Communications at Murray State University and Ciera Cornelison, Instructional Designer at the University of Alabama about their experiences and thoughts on alternative grading practi…

What is the role of a graduate student in a center for teaching and learning? Does it vary by institution or are there predictable patterns that we as educational developers can use to craft job descriptions, direct projects, and provide opportunities for growth through assessment and reflection? This episode is hosted by Laura March and Yianna Vov…

Following the Covid-19 pandemic, faculty and students alike have experienced burnout, stress, and disengagement with professional activities. For educational developers, this can show up as dwindling numbers of participants in our programs and services. As developers we know our job is to make our programs relevant and impactful to our academic com…

What is the journey to educational development like? What are the challenges and opportunities that come with starting out as a new faculty developer? This episode is another installment of our PODFest episodes featuring a conversation between April Tallant, Senior Educational Developer at Coulter Faculty Commons at Western Carolina University; and…

How do we make SoTL accessible (and not scary) to new faculty? This episode features a lively and engaging conversation between Maria Gallardo-Williams of North Carolina State University, Nancy Chick of Rollins College, and Erin Garcia of Auburn University on the topic of introducing faculty to SoTL. It was recorded as part of the PODFest event hos…

Professors are expected to have extensive expertise in their fields of study in order to qualify to teach at the post-secondary level, but can graduate coursework in quantum mechanics or X-ray crystallography prepare you to be a supportive advisor and an inclusive educator? Ashley McNeill, Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Springfield College in …

Is it time that your teaching center started its own podcast? That’s the question that brought four POD Network colleagues together in a breakout session at PODFest 2022 to talk about teaching center podcasts. What goals might a teaching center podcast have? How would you know if you were meeting those goals? And how would your center go about plan…

I do not know which to prefer, The beauty of inflections Or the beauty of innuendoes, The blackbird whistling Or just after. --Wallace Stevens, "13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird" In this season of Centering Centers, we are speaking with educationaldevelopers from diverse centers about their inspirations and innovations – whatdrives their work and …

In this episode of Centering Centers, guest host Derek Bruff talks with Jessica Riddell, professor of early modern literature and the Stephen A. Jarislowsky Chair of Undergraduate Teaching Excellence at Bishop’s University in Quebec, Canada. Jessica is also the executive director of the Maple League of Universities, which is not, in fact, a group o…

“I want my people to look like the experts they are, because I want them to be treated as colleagues, even though we are a service organization.” In this episode of Centering Centers, guest host Derek Bruff talks with Shawn Miller, director of Learning Innovation at Duke University. Shawn’s unit combines faculty development, instructional technolog…

In this episode of Centering Centers, we are concluding our trifecta of episodes on the AI disruption by sharing a specific example of how one center is responding to the challenge. Many of us have been benefitted from sharing examples of policies, statements, assignments, and ideas online through the AI for Educators Google group and pod listserv,…

In our last episode, we learned about ChatGPT with Cynthia Alby. Today we are diving deeper into the ethics of AI and how we as educational developers might best support the conversations happening across our campuses. To guide us in this conversation, we are speaking with Dr. Kevin Yee, Director of the Faculty Center at the University of Central F…

Today on "Centering Centers", we are speaking with Cynthia Alby, who is Professor of Teacher Education and Faculty Director of Georgia College Journeys, in Milledgeville, Georgia, USA. She shares her perspectives on ChatGPT and how it can catalyze needed change in the teaching landscape of higher education. Learning that matters: A field guide to c…

Today on "Centering Centers", we are speaking with Teresa Focarile who is the Associate Director for Educational Development at the Center for Teaching and Learning, and Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Theatre, Film and Creative Writing at Boise State University. We discussed the many-layered approach they are implementing to support adjunct f…

Today on "Centering Centers", we are speaking with Tom Laughner who is the Director of the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center Teaching and Learning center, in Memphis, Tennessee. Our conversation explores his work supporting faculty in the health professions and the successful micro-credentialing program called the Medallion Program. Le…

Today on "Centering Centers", we are speaking with Dana Grossman Leeman who is the Senior Associate Director of the Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning at Tufts University. We discussed her experiences, noticings and wonderings from attending the POD conference in person in Seattle this fall. Episode Transcript…

This is Episode 30 and we are speaking with Cassandra Volpe Horii and Martin Springborg about their new free, open-access book: “What Teaching Looks Like: Higher Education through Photographs.” Click on the title to go to access the book through the Elon University's Series on Engaged Learning website. Cassandra Volpe Horii (@cvhorii) is the associ…

This is episode 29 of the CC podcast. This is the next installment in our chapter on SoEd. Our guest is Dr. Laura Baecher. Laura is an Associate Professor of TESOL at Hunter College (which is part of cuny system) and she is a leader in their Academic Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching. We know Laura as the founder and co-host of the cen…

This is Episode 28 of the Centering Centers Podcast. I’m your host for this episode, Lindsay Doukopoulos. I serve as Associate Director for Educational Development in the Biggio Center at Auburn University. I also serve as co-chair of PODs Digital Resources and Innovations committee. This episode is the next installment in our chapter on the Schola…

Julie Timmermans is a Senior Lecturer in the Higher Education Development Centre at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. Julie is a teacher, researcher, and academic developer with experience facilitating learning in various universities and countries, including Canada, Japan, France, and now, New Zealand. Her research interests focus o…

Should educational development seek to define itself as a discipline? What are the urgent conversations around our research and practice? Is the academy improving? In today's episode, I am excited to share my conversation with Michael Palmer and Lindsay Wheeler, Co-Editors of To Improve the Academy (TIA for short), which is the flagship peer-review…

This is the first episode of our 5th season of Centering Centers which focuses on the Scholarship of Educational Development and I’m thrilled to welcome Laura Cruz today who will give us an overview of the SoED landscape. Laura Cruz is an associate research professor of Teaching and Learning Scholarship At Penn State's Schreyer Institute of Teachin…

This is part 2 of Episode 23 of the Centering Centers podcast. This is the second half of our interview with Dr. Arshad Ahmad, Vice Chancellor of LUMS, which is the top raked university in Pakistan. In part one of our conversation, Dr. Ahmad shared his journey from a professor of Accounting who struggled with his teaching to 3M National Teaching Fe…

This is episode 23 of the Centering Centers podcast. This is the first of a two part interview with Dr. Arshad Ahmad, Vice Chancellor of LUMS, which is the top raked university in Pakistan. In part one of our conversation, Dr. Ahmad shares his journey from a professor of Accounting who struggled with his teaching to 3M National Teaching Fellow - Ca…

This is Episode 22 of "Centering Centers", a POD Network podcast that explores the work of Centers of Teaching and Learning and the vision and insights of educational developers in higher education. We are speaking with Tracy Zou (@ZouTracy) who has worked as an educational developer at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and who has…

In this episode, we speak with Stephanie Doscher, Director of the Office of Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) at Florida International University, and Eva Haug, who works as Educational Advisor for Internationalisation of the Curriculum and COIL in the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. Our conversation focuses on their lead…

This is Episode 20 of "Centering Centers", a POD Network podcast that explores the work of Centers of Teaching and Learning and the vision and insights of educational developers in higher education. This episode features Laura Lukes, Assistant Professor of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of British Columbia (Vancouver Campus…