Mission Statement

The Center promotes excellence and innovation in teaching at the University of Virginia and contributes to national and international conversations on instructional development.

The Center strives for excellence in:

• fostering student learning and effective teaching through creative, innovative, and research-driven approaches, assessments, and technologies;
• advancing and translating the scholarship of teaching and learning for the classroom and beyond;
• building and nurturing cross-disciplinary communities and mentoring networks for scholarly exchange around learning, teaching, and professional growth;
• cultivating life-long learning for current and future faculty at all career stages.

To realize this mission, Center faculty and staff develop world-class programs and collaborate with individuals and units across Grounds and consult with higher education colleagues around the world.

Guiding Principles and Values

We believe that…

• faculty and graduate students care deeply about student learning and want to be the best teachers they can be.
• striving for excellence in one’s teaching is an iterative, dynamic, and scholarly process that spans the faculty career.
• promoting teaching and learning excellence requires a dual focus on efficacy and innovation.
• faculty and graduate students at all levels welcome opportunities for cross-disciplinary conversations about teaching, learning, and professional growth.
• faculty and graduate students enjoy sharing their effective, innovative teaching approaches and discovering research on teaching and learning.
• sustained learning communities, peer and mentoring networks provide excellent vehicles for fostering deep reflection, innovation, and connection.
• when teaching and research are interconnected, they enrich each other.

How we work:

• Our individual consultations are strictly confidential and are driven by the faculty member’s goals.
• We model effective teaching, mentoring and learning practices in our workshops, programs, consultations and services to maximize learning.
• Helping people build community is an integral part of our work.