Drexel University’s Teaching and Learning Center and Universidad del Sagrado Corazón’s Pedagogical Innovation Unit have received a DEI grant from the Professional and Organizational Developers Network (POD). Grant funds will support the incorporation of equitable and inclusive teaching practices at Sagrado and expand Drexel’s Teaching and Learning Center’s impact by drawing on its experience and expertise building new teaching centers and programs.

Universidad del Sagrado Corazón (Sagrado) is a private, non-profit, higher education institution accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), and located in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Sagrado is a Hispanic-serving institution (HSI), with 100% of students identifying as Hispanic and a significant proportion qualifying as low-income. Sagrado offers Associate, Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees and professional certificates in five academic units. Sagrado is the oldest private continuing educational institution in Puerto Rico.

In the 2021-22 academic year, the Teaching and Learning Center collaborated with the Graduate College, Online Learning Council, and Office of Postdoctoral Affairs to pilot a Certificate in College Teaching. This non-credit program provides Drexel University graduate students and postdocs with the experience and key materials to help them become more effective instructors in higher education. The flexible asynchronous online structure of the program helps participants to develop pedagogical skills, learn best practices, and formally document their professional development. The completion of the program recognizes participants' commitment to effective teaching and culminates in the development of teaching philosophy or teaching portfolio.

The Teaching and Learning Center (TLC) and Office of Faculty Advancement (OFA) have teamed up to launch the New Dragons Faculty Learning Community (FLC). The New Dragons FLC supports faculty who started in a full-time position at Drexel University within the previous three years. Participants explore the crucial role faculty play in supporting Drexel’s mission to prepare graduates of diverse backgrounds to become purpose-driven professionals and agents for positive change.

This past winter term the Teaching and Learning Center launched two new ongoing programs; The Thank a Teacher program and the Drexel Institute for Inclusive and Equitable Teaching, through a partnership with Office for Institutional Equity and Inclusive Culture.

Beginning in January 2021 Valerie Klein, Associate Clinical Professor and Program Director for the teacher certification pathways within Drexel’s School of Education (SoE) will serve as the Teaching and Learning Center’s Interim Associate Director. Klein’s previous experience includes working for the Math Forum where she implemented professional development workshops, both in person and online, that provided support to teachers as they worked to develop their own mathematical thinking and implement meaningful problem-solving experiences for students in their classrooms.

The Teaching and Learning Center is thrilled to announce the first annual Drexel Teaching Academy (DTA) will be held in the 2020 Spring Term! The Drexel Teaching Academy ignites faculty leaders to be champions for excellence in teaching across the university. In this 10-week program, faculty from across the university explore a wide-range of literature and research on teaching in higher education. 

Inman served as Director of Instructional Technology, and previously as Assistant Director, for Temple University’s Center for the Advancement of Teaching. Inman brings significant experience in several areas critical to launching a new teaching and learning center, including creating and facilitating a wide range of events and programs, mentoring faculty from disciplines and ranks across Temple’s seventeen schools and colleges, and coordinating and managing a 6-credit Teaching in Higher Education Certificate. Inman is also an active member of the Professional and Organizational Development (POD) Network and has presented extensively at both regional and national conferences on teaching in higher education.