Center for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching appoints director
Peter E. Doolittle of Christiansburg, Va., has been named director of Virginia Tech's Center for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching (CEUT).
In this position, Doolittle will lead the efforts in continuing a broad-based portfolio of support programs for Virginia Tech's faculty members. He will also participate in and provide leadership to numerous university-wide initiatives including, the scholarship of teaching and learning, curriculum planning, facilities design, strategic self studies, technology utilization, and faculty recognition, all of which are a part of the enhancement of the instructional environment at Virginia Tech.
Regarding the future of the center, Doolittle said, "My goals for the Center for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching are to serve the variety of pedagogical needs of Virginia Tech, while simultaneously emphasizing the scholarship of teaching and learning. As both a land-grant and research-based university, higher education pedagogy at Virginia Tech is an enterprise in both practice and research. A central goal spanning both practice and research will be to evaluate, extend, and elevate the level of discourse regarding pedagogy campus-wide, including Virginia Tech's extended campuses."
Doolittle, a native of Severna Park, Md., received his Ph.D., from the The Catholic University of America in Washington D.C., in educational psychology: human cognition. Most recently Doolittle served as an associate professor in the Department of Learning Sciences and Technologies within the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences at Virginia Tech.
Ron Daniel, associate provost for undergraduate education said, "Under Peter's leadership, we look forward to seeing The Center for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching continue a long standing tradition of supporting faculty development and promoting a university culture that supports the scholarship of learning and teaching. With over 15 years of experience in higher education, Peter represents an outstanding addition to an already well established university institution."
