Transylvania University’s Bingham Center for Teaching Excellence brought together college educators from across the country earlier this week to explore how the liberal arts can help students and faculty flourish.
Titled “Redefining & Celebrating the Liberal Arts,” the inaugural three-day seminar included readings, idea-sharing, discussions and workshops. The program explored practical ways to keep liberal arts teaching vital and engaging in the present moment.
Speakers included professors Cate Denial of Knox College, who led sessions on pedagogies of care; April Baker-Bell of the University of Michigan, who addressed antiracist pedagogies; and Susan Blum of the University of Notre Dame, who focused on alternative assessment.
Participants said they were impressed by the depth of the sessions and quality of the discussions.
The core question of the seminar was: How do the liberal arts help students and faculty excel, engage their curiosity, share community and empower them as scholars, teachers and people?
The Bingham Center’s role in organizing the seminar shows how it can bring national-level faculty development events to Transylvania’s campus. The university has hosted similar gatherings in the past, including a seminar on the liberal arts in the digital age — but this marks the first one run through the BCTE.
The center fosters faculty growth and classroom innovation so students can benefit from professors who continually improve their craft. Supported by the Bingham Fund for Excellence in Teaching, the BCTE focuses not only on faculty development, but also new on teaching approaches and learning environments that strengthen the overall Transylvania experience.
Housed in the library, the BCTE also co-sponsors events such as Creative Intelligence lectures.
The Bingham Fund for Excellence in Teaching was established in 1987 through gifts from Mary and Barry Bingham Sr. and William T. Young. Since 1990, additional support for faculty professional growth has come from the David and Betty Jones Faculty Development Fund.
By sponsoring programs like this Summer Seminar, which drew more than a dozen participants, the Bingham Center continues a commitment to teaching excellence.