Belmont University
PA-7: Support for Future Faculty Diversity

Belmont University has helped several faculty members in underrepresented groups complete terminal degrees with release time and/or financial support.

Belmont University’s Teaching Center is dedicated to improving the teaching skills of faculty. Established in 1994, Belmont’s Teaching Center grew out of the belief that teaching is a craft requiring much effort and reflection. The goals of the center are to:

 Create an atmosphere where teaching is valued
 Promote teaching as a primary form of scholarship
 Encourage, assist and support faculty in their efforts to improve as teachers, to become active learners and to foster active student learning

To work toward these goals, the center sponsors a variety of activities and programs throughout the academic year and during the summer. For example, the center sponsors or supports:

 Luncheon discussion groups
 A newsletter called The Art of Teaching, published approximately four times a year
 A year long orientation for new faculty, including the faculty mentor program for new faculty and a new faculty seminar
 Individual teaching consultations
 Midcourse formative feedback from students
 Teaching time-out grants
 Travel grants to attend conferences relevant to teaching
 The use of instructional technology
 A peer mentoring program
 The use of teaching portfolios
 Teaching workshops in
 Faculty retreats
 National faculty teaching and learning award nominations
 Faculty Interest Groups, affectionately known as FIGs.
 Book discussion groups