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CASTL Institutional Leadership Team Page
In Spring of 2006, the Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship
of Teaching and Learning selected Southeast Missouri State
University to participate in a three-year Institutional
Leadership Program. The CASTL Institutional Leadership
Program exists for the purpose of supporting the scholarship of
teaching and learning among and across college campuses, and
membership is based upon a documented commitment to supporting
the improvement of student learning, promoting significant
institutional change, and demonstrating collaborative leadership
in the scholarship of teaching and learning. The program
is divided into 12 themes, and each theme is defined by the work
of its member institutions. Southeast, in conjunction with
Dartmouth College, Kwantlen University College, the Ohio State
University, Queen’s University, Ryerson University, and the
University of Glasgow, constitutes the "Building SoTL
Communities" cluster. Combined, we are committed to the
task of building a sustainable, global community of
teacher-scholars. Southeast's participation in CASTL stems from a 20 year
commitment to the scholarship of teaching and learning under the
leadership of its Center for
Scholarship in Teaching and Learning (CSTL). The CSTL
focuses on both the technical and "purely" pedagogical elements
of effective teaching and learning, and has played a vital role
in establishing an institutional ethos that values, encourages,
and rewards innovation and excellence in teaching. This
commitment is apparent in the Teaching Enhancement Workshops the
Center conducts for new faculty annually, as well as its highly
successful
workshop
series and, most recently and prolifically, its SoTL-based
endeavors. The nexus of teaching and scholarship was explored by the
CSTL's Teaching Associates Committee a decade ago, and its
efforts laid the foundation for the university's adoption of the
Teacher-Scholar Model. This, in turn, set the stage
for the creation of the SoTL
Fellows Program. In its first three years, the Program
has awarded fellowships to 31 faculty representing 18
departments and 6 colleges across campus. The work of the
Fellows has resulted in numerous presentations, publications,
and empirical evidence of enhanced student learning. In
2007, the university awarded a core continuing grant to provide
funding for the Program for an additional five years. The
faculty associated with the CSTL, the Teaching Associates, the
SoTL Associates (an implementing committee that works with SoTL
Fellows), and the Fellows themselves remain active and
innovative teacher-scholars dedicated to building a viable SoTL
community.
CASTL Leadership Team Members
Brian Smentkowski
is Associate Professor of Political Science and
Faculty Associate in the CSTL. As Faculty Associate,
he oversees various elements of the CSTL's
involvement in Teaching, Learning, and Assessment,
as well as the work of the Teaching Associates
Committee, the SOTL Fellows Program and the Teaching
Enhancement Workshops for New Faculty. He was a
member of the Teaching Associates Committee that
authored the Teacher-Scholar Model and authored the
grant that continues funding for the SoTL Fellows
Program. He currently serves as the primary contact
person for the CASTL Institutional Leadership Team.
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