The mission of the Center for Faculty Excellence is to provide faculty with resources and services that foster and support their success in teaching, research and service throughout all stages of their careers.  The directors and participants of the Center for Faculty Excellence seek to develop a community of teachers and scholars to work collaboratively with all sectors of the University to accomplish that mission. 

 In May 2006, the Faculty Development & Evaluation Task Force and the ad hoc Faculty Development Center Senate Sub-Committee submitted recommendations to the President to create a Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching.  The Committee identified Center program ideas and areas of support including faculty mentorship programs; support to the deans, chairs and faculty as part of the Faculty Development Plan and evaluation process; coaching and consultation to improve teaching efficacy;  strategies to implement active and collaborative learning in the classroom; and resources to support scholarly agendas. 

Committee members invited by the Vice President of Academic Affairs represented a cross-section of disciplines: biology, English, political science, library science, business, history and education.

In June 2008, the Center for Faculty Excellence was established.  Two tenured faculty served as co-directors through May 2010: Dr. Terry Brandt, associate professor of education, and Dr. Michele Simms, associate professor of management.  Dr. Simms continued the role as director until summer 2011. Dr. Rita Coombs Richardson, professor or education, assumed the role as director in fall 2011.    

The Center provides an annual action plan and reports budget matters to the Vice President of Academic Affairs. As a Center “of the faculty and for the faculty”, the CFE consults with and reports annually on the Center’s progress to the Faculty Senate.  All reporting is summative without identification of individual users.  The director maintains faculty confidentiality and is not permitted to speak for a faculty member’s promotion or tenure progress, or annual evaluation. The Center’s operations are guided by an Advisory Board comprised of faculty and staff.