The University Teaching Council (UTC) at Kent State University is prepared and committed to provide Kent State’s second century of high-quality, lifelong learning. In conjunction with the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL), the UTC supports teaching and curriculum development to engage faculty and students in the learning process and provide excellence in scholarship.
Establishing the UTC
In 1992, Kent State University's Collective Bargaining agreement developed provisions for the support of teaching. Those provisions ultimately led to the establishment of the University Teaching Council (UTC). A contractually initiated committee to study faculty professional development (Faculty Professional Development Study Committee) wrote the enabling legislation for the UTC and guided it through the Faculty Senate. The study committee was composed of six people (two Faculty Senate representatives: Mary Lou Holly, Ph.D.; Jerry M. Lewis, Ph.D.; two administrators: Larry Andrews, Ph.D., and Thomas J. Barber, Ph.D., and two association members: Stephane Booth, Ph.D., and Michael Lee, Ph.D.).
The enabling legislation for the University Teaching Council was modeled on the structure of the University Research Council (URC). Parity with the URC in the form of financial support was sought. Although that parity was not obtained, provisions for additional kinds of grants (for travel, for learning and summer teaching projects among others) were designed. These included provisions for curriculum development as a key area for support as it relates to teaching and an annual conference to help build a community around the scholarship of teaching. Thus, the Celebrating College Teaching Conference was designed to identify, recognize, promote and celebrate the many positive teaching-related activities going on at Kent State.
LEARN MORE
If interested in more information about the UTC, please contact Vic Perera, UTC Chair.
