Center for Educational Excellence

The Center for Educational Excellence strives to develop and support faculty scholars in the areas of teaching and learning, scholar development, community engagement and service-learning, and applied and experiential learning to provide transformational academic experiences for students. The four pillars of the CEE celebrate faculty excellence and support initiatives include the following: 
 

The Instructional Development and Course Design pillar seeks to promote research-based teaching practices by: 

  • creating and supporting quality faculty development initiatives 
  • providing access to a team of instructional designers who are well versed in academic technology and teaching practices 
  • facilitating a cohort of Teaching Fellows who collaborate with their faculty peers to promote excellence in teaching


The Applied and Experiential Learning pillar supports faculty and staff in facilitating applied and experiential learning opportunities for students by: 

  • providing oversight for the Applied Learning Experience (ALE) program 
  • facilitating study abroad, study away, and National Student Exchange (NSE) 
  • facilitating a cohort of Experiential Learning Fellows 
 

The Community Engagement and Service-Learning (CESL) pillar supports faculty and students by:  

  • supporting, tracking, and celebrating community engagement initiatives 

  • leading Service-Learning Day 

  • providing professional development programs for faculty, including the Engaged Scholars Academy 

  • facilitating a cohort of Community Engagement and Service-Learning (CESL) Fellows 

 
The Scholar Development pillar of the CEE offers early-career faculty training and support towards the development of long-term scholarship agendas, prepares them to exceed tenure requirements for scholarship, and celebrates faculty scholarship. Initiatives include but are not limited to: 
  • facilitating a cohort of Scholar Development Fellows 
  • offering the Faculty Scholarship Cohort program 
  • leading the CEE Podcast, “Cite Unseen” 
  • managing institutional support for Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) 
  • offering the Impact Challenge to enhance scholarship profiles on campus 
  • offering trainings on mentorship, scholarship, publishing, and more 
  • celebrating faculty scholarship 

Dr. Lesley Leach
Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Development
leach@tarleton.edu

Dr. Jim Gentry
Director of Instructional Development and Course Design
gentry@tarleton.edu

Dr. Sharon Bowers
Director of Community Service and Service-Learning
bowers@tarleton.edu

Ms. Soncee Heard
Coordinator of Applied Learning Initiatives
heard@tarleton.edu

Dr. Amber Harris Bozer
Director of Faculty Scholar Development
bozer@tarleton.edu