A donor who wishes to remain anonymous has made a significant gift commitment to Central Piedmont Community College to support the creation of a new Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence. The center will advance the best practices of impactful teaching at the college to inspire, guide, and support instructors in the key areas of pedagogy, course content and information delivery.

The Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence at Central Piedmont will facilitate the professional development of the college’s full- and part-time faculty, with the goal of enriching students’ learning and overall educational experience, motivating them to persist and complete their programs of study.

The gift to help create the center comes as part of Central Piedmont’s ongoing “Powering a Stronger Future” campaign. The five-year fundraising effort seeks to raise $40 million – the most ambitious and comprehensive campaign in the college’s 56-year history. The campaign will run through June 2022, and has raised more than $23.5 million to date.

The center’s focus areas will include:

• developing pedagogy that is inclusive, equitable, and centered on student learning and success,
• using technological tools and resources to enhance classroom teaching,
• encouraging and supporting instructional innovation,
• furthering the continued growth and instructional effectiveness of all faculty,
• fostering and disseminating strategies that improve classroom experiences for students,
• promoting the ongoing assessment of teaching strategies and student learning, and
• developing instructional content and methods that promote critical thinking and skills needed for careers and further education.

Current programming plans for the center include:

• conducting workshops for instructors,
• sponsoring guest speakers to share best practices,
• providing semester-long orientation and training programs for new instructors and skills-refreshment programs for established faculty,
• establishing mentoring relationships for new instructors with successful classroom instructors,
• conducting training sessions focused on the needs of part-time instructors, and
• sharing scholarly research and articles related to best practices in classroom teaching and learning.

“The Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence will be a permanent resource and catalyst for instructional excellence at Central Piedmont,” said Dr. Kandi Deitemeyer, Central Piedmont president. “The center will be based on Central Campus, but it will serve instructors and offer programming at all of the college’s campuses.  The center will be critical to ensuring outstanding classroom instruction and learning for all of our students.”

The college will hold a ceremony to dedicate the center during the 2020 spring semester.