Qualters named CELT director

Donna Qualters on Jan. 3 was appointed the new director for the Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching (CELT). The center, which was founded by Former Dean of Arts and Sciences Robert Sternberg in 2006 and is part of the Office of the Provost, works with and supports university faculty in pioneering new and innovative teaching methods through initiatives such as the Academic Leadership Development Program and the Faculty Fellows Seminar, which helps faculty hone their skills as teachers. 

Qualters was selected from a nationwide search following the departure of former CELT Director Linda Jarvin. She previously held the position of director of the Center for Teaching Excellence at Suffolk University where she was also chair of and associate professor in the Education and Human Services Department.

Experience in the field makes Qualters a good fit to lead CELT and her legacy of encouraging research opportunities for the faculty at the previous institutions in which she has worked adds to her credentials, according to CELT Associate Director Annie Soisson.

"Donna brings to CELT a depth and breadth of experience working in faculty development and has, in the last two institutions where she worked, created teaching and learning centers," Soisson said. "She has also published research on teaching and learning in higher education, which made her a compelling candidate."

Assistant Dean for Faculty Development at the School of Medicine Maria Blanco added that Qualters' multidisciplinary perspective in the field of education made her a good candidate.

"I think that one of the things that I really liked from Donna when we got to know her as a candidate is that she has the multidisciplinary perspective to education that we need for a university," Blanco said. "I think she's bringing a strong experience in professional education and graduate and undergraduate education from different fields and different perspectives."

Soisson emphasized Qualters' interest in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, a program which encourages faculty to publish educational research, as a key reason for Qualters' appointment to the post. Soisson added that encouraging faculty to conduct and publish research on educational methods would improve standards of teaching within the higher education milieu.

"She has a track record for highlighting opportunities for faculty using innovative teaching methods to share them through conducting educational research," she explained. "Publishing Tufts faculty research on teaching and learning will mean that we can have an impact on a wider audience in higher education and contribute to innovative thinking about how we can better help students learn. This is a logical next step for CELT, and one that Donna is very ready to lead."

Qualters plans to uphold CELT's current programming and aims to develop her plans for the center during this semester. 

"The CELT has a wide variety of programming going … we work with the faculty on many areas of teaching and leadership," she said. "We're thinking about getting more involved in the schools." we work with the faculty on many areas of teaching and leadership.

Qualters also plans on incorporating educational research into faculty programming.

"I see faculty development as the faculty life-cycle and I'm hoping that if we talk to the faculty, there will be some interest in scholarship writing, bringing together faculty groups so they can be writing and conducting research around their tasks," she added.

Soisson also cited several of Qualters' project proposals, including a green initiative, as reasons for bringing her on board.

"CELT has developed a network of faculty who are committed to continuously improve and develop innovations in their teaching, and with Donna's guidance, we can add to our support of these efforts," she said. "In addition to the already solid offerings of the CELT Faculty Fellows, reading groups, consultations and the Academic Leadership Development Program, co-sponsored with the Office of the Provost and Human Resources, Donna hopes to pilot a faculty mutual-mentoring program and a green-course initiative."

Soisson also mentioned that she and Qualters aim to create a program that would tackle the issue of diversity within the classroom.

"[We] also hope to develop a long term effort to ensure that faculty can effectively teach in diverse classrooms," Soisson said. "Addressing diversity in the classroom is an increasingly important issue, and one that will require our focused attention."