The iSchool has formalized a new initiative committed to the professional development and personal growth of all faculty, with the mission of fostering a dynamic and committed teaching and learning community across all distances and disciplines.
It’s the Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning! Now located in Suite 206 on the second floor of Hinds Hall, you’ll find a new training area/faculty lounge, staff offices, and an informational resource lending library.
The FCTL is designed to provide iSchool faculty members and adjunct faculty with the needed resources and support to excel in your teaching and instructional design and to thrive personally, in order to benefit all students at the iSchool. Especially given today’s diverse and rapidly changing education environment, we hope you’ll take advantage of the wide range of services and resources available.
The FCTL’s scope is to provide one-on-one, small-group, and whole-faculty support for effective course design, technology assistance and instruction, promotion of evidence-based teaching methods, and means of assessment for all iSchool instructors, including faculty, professors of practice, adjunct instructors, Ph.D. students, teaching assistants, and students.
The Center aims to:
•Support faculty professional development within a rapidly evolving profession and
teaching/learning environment.
•Respond to new ideas and trends in teaching and learning.
•Create an ongoing, coherent discussion of pedagogical practices in and out of the
classroom, with the FCTL coordinating faculty development activities, resources, and
information.
•Foster a safe space for honest, productive dialogue informed by scholarship and
experience from all disciplines, ranks, and full-time and part-time faculty members.
•Promote communication and collaboration across disciplines by providing a hub that fosters a dynamic and committed cross-discipline community.
•Assure that the iSchool remains up-to-date in current pedagogical thinking.

The Center is led by Director Peggy M. Takach and Jeff Fouts, Director of Instructional Technology.
The FCTL will coordinate a strategic group of School faculty and staff members who will collaborate on operational functions. (This includes the School’s curriculum program directors, director of online education, director of instructional quality, and Assistant Dean for IT Services and Facilities.) Dr. Barbara Stripling, Senior Associate Dean, will oversee the center, and the staff team will work closely with the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Art Thomas.
Please stop by Suite 206! Or contact Center staff as follows:
Peggy M. Takach
Director of the Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning
pmtakach@syr.edu
315-443-9370

Jeffrey L. Fouts
Director of Instructional Technology
jlfouts@syr.edu
315-443-8144