Provost Charges Faculty Committees With Strengthening Teaching Excellence and Innovation

“One of the proudest moments of my career was when I was received an award recognizing my commitment to and investment in teaching,” Gallimore said. “Training the next generation is our most important obligation, and we can do more to support excellence and innovation in the classroom. As a world-class research university, we have the opportunity to fuse our research and teaching missions to provide a truly exceptional education.”

The ad hoc committees of the Teaching Excellence & Innovation Initiative have been charged with developing implementation plans to realize the ambitious goals laid out by the 2030 Education Working Group. They will also build on the work of previous university initiatives, including the 2018 Tenure Standards Committee, the 2021 Academic Council report on regular rank faculty, and the Trinity Curriculum Development Committee.

The three groups began working in September 2024 and will issue recommendations at the end of the 2024-2025 academic year. These recommendations will be reviewed by faculty governance, as needed, in fall 2025, with implementation to follow.  

The Teaching and Mentoring Excellence Committee is charged with creating an evidence-based rubric to define and evaluate teaching/mentoring excellence; creating a culture that supports and values teaching excellence; revising appointment, promotion and tenure standards to clarify teaching expectations; and creating defined career pathways and consistent titles for regular rank non-tenure track faculty.  

The committee spent the fall semester drawing on research and similar work conducted at other universities to develop a definition for effective teaching grounded in experience and debating recommendations for practical methods of assessing teaching effectiveness.

“Based on our work so far, we expect to offer a holistic vision of what excellent teaching looks like at Duke,” said Bridgette Hard, professor of the practice of psychology and neuroscience and co-chair of the committee. “We want faculty to know what they are striving for and to feel empowered and supported in their efforts to innovate and grow as educators.”

The Cross-School Teaching Opportunities Committee is exploring policies and practices that lower the threshold for faculty to teach across schools, including professional school faculty teaching and mentoring undergraduates as well as teaching exchanges between professional schools.  

During the fall semester, the committee analyzed data to identify current patterns and gaps for cross-school teaching and conducted focus groups with faculty, administrators and students to identify barriers and opportunities.

“Our conversations across the university have highlighted the enthusiasm and eagerness of faculty and students at Duke for cross-school teaching and learning, mentorship, and research,” said David McAdams, professor of business administration and chair of the committee. “The culture of collaboration and intellectual exploration here is strong. But there are obstacles that can get in the way of fully realizing those possibilities, including lack of awareness, institutional frictions and financial incentives. Our goal is to identify ways to bring down some of those barriers and enable new win-win pathways for cross-school engagement, to build on our strength in this area.”

The Adaptable Academic Structures committee is developing ideas for introducing, experimenting with, and assessing options for increased modularity and enhanced modalities in educational delivery.

The committee used the fall to benchmark external practices and research and prioritize interventions with the most relevance to Duke. The committee is also considering options for piloting and assessing a limited number of online courses.

“Duke has had spectacular success in research over the years so it is sometimes easy to forget that we have many world class innovators in the classroom as well,” said Jeff Glass, professor of electrical and computer engineering and co-chair of the committee. “This exciting effort will ensure that we utilize this expertise to enhance a core part of Duke’s mission, the student learning experience. We are determining how to accomplish this through flexible delivery of educational content, using both digital online approaches and customized course modules.”

Teaching & Mentoring Excellence Committee

• Jerry Reiter, Statistical Science, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences (Co-chair)
• Bridgette Hard, Psychology & Neuroscience, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences (Co-chair)
• Aria Chernik, Learning Innovation & Lifetime Education
• Scott Dyreng, Fuqua School of Business
• Rosa Gonzalez-Guarda, School of Nursing
• Tim Johnson, Earth & Climate Sciences, Nicholas School of the Environment
• Esther Kim Lee, Theatre Studies, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
• Heather Mechler, Office of Institutional Research
• Kavin Rowe, Divinity School
• Ann Saterbak, Biomedical Engineering, Pratt School of Engineering
• David Schanzer, Sanford School of Public Policy
• Beth Sullivan, Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, School of Medicine
• Ying Xiong, Learning Innovation & Lifetime Education

Ex Officio & Committee Staff

• Abbas Benmamoun, vice provost for faculty advancement 
• Mohamed Noor, executive vice provost
• Laura Howes, Office of Interdisciplinary Studies

Cross-School Teaching Committee

• David McAdams, Fuqua School of Business (Chair)
• Mark Borsuk, Civil & Environmental Engineering, Pratt School of Engineering
• Kate Bundorf, Sanford School of Public Policy
• Katelyn Cai, undergraduate student representative
• James Chappel, History, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
• Megan Huchko, Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine
• Jacqui McMillian-Bohler, School of Nursing
• Hector Monterroso, graduate student representative
• Chelsea Nielsen, professional student representative
• Charlie Nunn, Evolutionary Anthropology, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
• William Pan, Environmental Natural Sciences, Nicholas School of the Environment
• Jonathan Wiener, School of Law
• Danielle Wiggins, Nicholas School of the Environment
• Norbert Wilson, Divinity School

Ex Officio & Committee Staff

• Ed Balleisen, vice provost for interdisciplinary studies
• Meghan O’Neil, Office of Interdisciplinary Studies

Adaptable Academic Structures Committee

• Jeffrey Glass, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Pratt College of Engineering (Co-chair)
• Emma Rasiel, Economics, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences (Co-chair)
• Frank Blalark, University Registrar
• Jennie DeGagne, School of Nursing
• Didem Havlioglu, Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
• David Johnston, Marine Science & Conservation, Nicholas School of the Environment
• John Klingensmith, The Graduate School
• Sarah Komisarow, Sanford School of Public Policy
• Andrea Marritt-Pabalate, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
• Russ Morgan, Fuqua School of Business
• Daniel Scolnic, Physics, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
• Patrick Smith, Divinity School
• Len White, Neurology, School of Medicine

Ex Officio & Committee Staff

• Yakut Gazi, vice provost for learning innovation & lifetime education
• Noah Pickus, associate provost
• Shana Lassiter, Office of Faculty Advancement