Director

Jennifer Jefferson is the Director of the Center for Teaching Excellence. She comes to this role after being a Visiting Assistant Professor in University Studies at St. Edward's University. Previously, she taught at The University of Texas at Austin and Texas State University. Her educational background is in American Studies and Cultural Studies in Education.

She is committed to providing programming and support that is responsive to the St. Edward's community, and she collaborates across campus to address the complex needs of faculty at a liberal arts university. Some of her areas of interest include inclusive course development, reflective practice, and peer learning communities.
 

Administrative Coordinator

Juanita Servín

Advisory Board

Alex Barron, Associate Professor of University Studies

Arcelia Hernandez, Assistant Professor of Teaching, Learning, and Culture

Stephen King, Professor of Communication

Kate Lopez, Assistant Professor of Accounting

Mity Myhr, Professor of History

Paul Walter, Associate Professor of Mathematics
 

The Center for Teaching Excellence offers a variety of programs to improve teaching at the university, including:

• Consultations
• Books & Coffee Reading and Discussion Group
• Faculty Learning Communities
• New Faculty Support
• Innovation Fellowships and Institute
• Teaching Symposium
• Workshops, seminars, and discussion groups
• Resources, including a library of print books and numerous digital teaching guides and articles
• Programs for departments and schools are also available upon request.

Please visit our blog for more information: http://sites.stedwards.edu/cte/

New Faculty Orientation
(Contracted and Adjunct)
Monday, August 19, 2019
8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m, Fleck 305
Breakfast and lunch will be served. Please RSVP.
New Faculty Orientation Agenda

Teaching Symposium
Thursday, August 22, 2019
8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m, Fleck Hall, 3rd floor
Breakfast and lunch served.  Please RSVP
Schedule and Full Program

Books & Coffee (Wednesday) Reading Group
"Creating Wicked Students: Designing Courses for a Complex World" by Paul Hanstedt
Wednesdays: September  4, October 2, November 6, and December 4
1:00 - 2:00 p.m. in Holy Cross Hall 105

Books & Coffee (Thursday) Reading Group
"Creating Wicked Students: Designing Courses for a Complex World" by Paul Hanstedt
Thursdays: September 5, October 3, November 7, and December 5
3:30 - 4:30 p.m. in Holy Cross Hall 105

Read. Try. Chat.
"33 Simple Strategies for Faculty: A Week-by-Week Resource for Teaching First-Year and First-Generation Students"
Fridays: September 13, October 11, November 8, and December 13
11:00 a.m to Noon in Holy Cross Hall 105

Read. Try. Chat. (FSEM Group)
"33 Simple Strategies for Faculty: A Week-by-Week Resource for Teaching First-Year and First-Generation Students"
Wednesdays: September 11, October 9, November 13, and December 11
1:00 to 2:00 p.m. in Holy Cross Hall 105.

Previous CTE Program Schedules:
2018-2019

Teaching Awards

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.

Four 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.
• The Oustanding 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.

2018-2019 Teaching Winners

Innovation Fellows

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.

Delayne Hudspeth, retired professor of Curriculum and Instruction and Instructional Technology at the University of Texas, was a mentor to several St. Edward's faculty members and scores of other master's and doctoral students. Through the generosity of an anonymous donor, Dr. Hudspeth's contributions to innovation in higher education are honored by this award. 

This award recognizes St. Edward's teachers who create innovative learning environments. One award, in the amount of $500, may be given each year. The winning project is chosen by the Hudspeth Award Committee, a committee of faculty members from at least four of the St. Edward's schools.

All applications for the 2018-2019 Hudspeth Award process are due by the end of the day on January 22, 2019. Applications must be submitted online.

Eligible Course Projects

Who can self nominate? Faculty (full-time, part-time, and staff who teach) of all disciplines and ranks are encouraged to apply. Recipients of the award must wait five years before reapplying.

What course projects are eligible? Self nominations should highlight a specific project, assignment, exercise, teaching method or a new use of technology. They may also focus on the entire course, if the course design itself is novel. 

Instructors may apply for the award based on an innovation planned and implemented in any of the three years previous to the application deadline. This year, projects implemented in any of the following semesters will be eligible:  

• Academic year 2015-16, including Fall 2015, Spring 2016, and Summer 2016,
• Academic year 2016-17, including Fall 2016, Spring 2017, and Summer 2017,
• Academic year 2017-18, including Fall 2017, Spring 2018, and Summer 2018

A focus on innovation: Since this award celebrates innovation, preference will be given to projects that demonstrate the greatest levels of innovation and that clearly present the value of that innovation for student learning.

How to Apply

• Read the guidelines and submit your application
• Read previous winning applications

Note: There is a 2000-word limit on your application's total length, though no single question has a word limit.  Please run a word count on your completed application before submitting it through the online form.

The submission form is designed to allow you to edit your responses even after submitting them. 

Selection Process

The winner(s) of the award will be decided upon by the faculty members of the Innovations in Teaching Committee. The CTE director does not influence or participate in the discussion or the voting.  

The committee follows an established review practice:

• Applications are masked to enable blind review.  This process removes the applicant's name and any obviously identifying information from the application document.
• Masked copies of the applications are circulated to all members of the committee for review. Committee members read each application, complete an evaluation rubric, and rank them, adhering to the application categories and questions.
• The committee then meets and holds an in-depth discussion of the projects, leading to a final consensus decision based on both the scoring and the discussion.
• Currently, only one project can win the Hudspeth Award each year.