In 1996, the Center for Teaching opened its doors in two retrofitted hotel rooms in the Iowa Memorial Union.  

Twenty-five years later, the center—now one of four units in the Office of Teaching, Learning, and Technology—has grown to include five full-time staff members, four graduate teaching fellows, and two graduate research assistants. 

“We’re excited to celebrate the center’s mission to advance teaching and learning excellence and promote a university culture that values exceptional teaching,” says Anna L. Bostwick Flaming, director of the Center for Teaching.  

As advocates for effective, evidence-based, reflective teaching, staff at the center are collaborative partners in sparking and shaping conversations about higher education. As experts in educational development, the staff utilize research and theory to design and lead programs that center equity and excellence in teaching and learning. These programs support faculty, graduate students, and structural development and include campus-wide and departmental workshops as well as popular institutes on course design, transparency in teaching and learning, and more. 

“I worked with the Center for Teaching several times, discussing numerous topics related to teaching and learning and available class resources, and the staff has always been a great source of support for me,” says Leslie Locke, associate professor in the UI College of Education. 

Notable projects  

Throughout its 25-year history, the Center for Teaching has been a thought leader and collaborator on many transformative projects at the UI. 

The faculty development component of the TILE (Transform, Interact, Learn, Engage) Program is internationally recognized for its support of instructors transforming teaching practices through lively interaction, active learning, and faculty/student engagement. More than 10 years since its inception, over 500 UI instructors have participated in TILE faculty development, which now consists of TILE Essentials—a two-part workshop focused on active-learning pedagogies in TILE classrooms.  

This year the Early Career Faculty Academy, designed to support first-year, tenure-track assistant professors, welcomed its seventh cohort. To date, more than 175 faculty members from 66 departments have participated in the academy.  

“I participated in the Early Career Faculty Academy when I first arrived at Iowa, and later in the Course Design Institute,” says Locke.

“Both programs were fantastic and allowed me to gain significant traction in terms of boosting my teaching abilities and enhancing my pedagogical strategies. They also allowed me to do some important networking with other faculty across the university."

The Center for Teaching also develops robust programming for graduate student instructors, including the Graduate Teaching Fellows program and New Teaching Assistant Orientation attended by 400 new teaching assistants each fall.   

The center continues its efforts to generate conversation in higher education, growing programs for DEI in Teaching Practice, the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), and launching new faculty learning communities. It is also partnering in several P3-funded initiatives.   

“This anniversary is an opportunity to pause and reflect on the collaborative work we’ve engaged in with partners across campus,” says Flaming. “As we celebrate these accomplishments, we’re envisioning how the Center can continue to spark conversations and support teaching and learning through another transformative time in higher education.”