Center for Teaching Excellence

Annual Programming

The Center for Teaching Excellence will support the following programs in the 2025–2026 academic year:

New Faculty Orientation An introduction to the university’s teaching culture, resources, and community for new faculty members.

Teaching Symposium An annual event at the start of the fall semester that highlights innovative teaching practices and fosters collaboration across disciplines.

Books & Coffee A monthly book club for faculty and staff to build community through shared readings. Each semester begins with a new book selection to guide conversation and connection. Meetings are held on Mondays (in person) or Tuesdays (on Zoom).

Read. Try. Chat. A monthly book club centered on exploring and applying innovative teaching practices. A new book is introduced each semester to inspire classroom experimentation. Meetings are held on Thursdays.

Faculty Writing Group Meets every Wednesday from 2-4 PM in Holy Cross Hall 105 to provide time, space, and community for scholarly writing.

Dedicated teaching sessions Offered throughout the year (listed under CTE Faculty Events) to support ongoing professional growth and classroom excellence.

The Center for Teaching Excellence promotes effective, innovative, inclusive and evidence-based college teaching that fosters sustained learning. The center cultivates a campus culture that values diverse approaches to learning and teaching. It supports faculty in enhancing pedagogical practices and facilitates the exchange of ideas and the development of community among faculty.

The Center for Teaching Excellence focuses on a variety of activities designed to support our mission, which include:

• Advancing new initiatives in teaching and learning
• Supporting innovative, inclusive teaching that enables student learning
• Facilitating a culture of continuous teaching improvement
• Building communities of teaching and learning across campus
• Providing support for faculty at all stages of their St. Edward’s teaching career
• Recognizing excellence in teaching

Established in 1991, the Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) grew from the desire to continually elevate the learning experience for students at St. Edward’s. Through the center, faculty members come together to share ideas and strategies for successful teaching. They learn practical and inventive ways to improve teaching methods and respond to the various learning needs of students.

CTE Fellow in Higher Education Mentorship and Faculty Growth

Mary Dunn, Professor of Management

CTE Fellow in Fostering Student Resilience

Nancy Salisbury, Associate Professor of Public Relations, Sustainability Communication & Social Media

CTE Fellow in Generative AI Literacies and Stewardship

Bilal Shebaro, Professor of Computer Science

• Georgia Seminet, Associate Professor of Languages, Literatures and Cultures; Associate Dean of Arts and Humanities (School of Arts and Humanities)
• Claire Edwards, Assistant Professor Biological Sciences (School of Natural Sciences)
• Natalie Beck Aguilera, Associate Professor of Social Work (School of Behavioral Sciences)
• Mary Zadnik, Professor of Occupational Therapy (School of Health Sciences)
• Natalie Shin, Assistant Professor of Management (Munday School of Business)

Given annually, teaching excellence awards at St. Edward’s University honor faculty for their exceptional talents and dedication to promoting learning in meaningful, engaging and innovative ways. The selection process is rigorous, evaluating candidates’ course offerings, curricular designs, instructional methods, classroom performances and interactions with students.

Five awards are given annually:

• The Sister Donna Jurick Distinguished Career Award is given to one faculty member who has taught at St. Edward’s for at least 15 years.
• The Distinguished Teaching Award is given to two contract faculty members.
• The Outstanding Teaching Award for Adjunct Faculty is given to one adjunct faculty member.
• The Delayne Hudspeth Award for Innovative Instruction honors a faculty member who has designed an innovative course project or teaching method.
• The Champion Award for Mission-Informed Teaching recognizes the St. Edward’s faculty members whose teaching directly supports the St. Edward’s University Mission.

Innovation fellowships support faculty who need time, resources and expertise to include pedagogical experimentation in their courses by providing a stipend, participation in the Innovation Institute, and a community of faculty fellows focused on pedagogical innovation.

Learn about our Innovation Fellows and their projects. 

Read about past fellows.