Nation’s first teaching center celebrates 40 years of achievement at U-M ANN ARBOR—The first teaching center of its kind—the University of Michigan’s Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT)—celebrates 40 years of success with an afternoon celebration on Friday, November 8, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Michigan Union Ballroom. Author Parker Palmer, well-known in higher education for his research and commentary, will deliver the keynote address. The event is free and open to the public. U-M President Mary Sue Coleman, Provost Paul Courant, and Senior Vice Provost Lester Monts will deliver remarks to begin the program. The celebration also includes a presentation by the CRLT Players, a theater troupe whose performances are designed to help faculty and graduate student instructors improve student learning. Based on interviews with award-winning U-M faculty, the performance will focus on the inspirations and challenges of teaching at the University. The program concludes with a teaching fair, highlighting innovations in teaching and learning. Faculty from the schools and colleges will be present to discuss and showcase their projects. While teaching centers are now common at most colleges and universities across the country, CRLT was the first teaching center in the nation, according to Constance Cook, director of the Center. It was founded in 1962 by the U-M Regents in response to a request from the Faculty Senate for assistance in offering instruction of the highest quality. Now 40 years later, says Cook, the original goals of the core mission still hold strong: partnering with faculty, administrators and graduate student instructors to create a culture that values and rewards teaching, respects and supports individual differences and encourages the creation of a learning environment in which diverse students can learn and excel. "As CRLT marks its 40th anniversary, the University of Michigan celebrates its accomplishments," said Monts. "Through four decades of change in higher education, the Center continues to help the University community harness its resources, support exceptional faculty and create an intellectual community in which diversity and educational excellence lead the nation." Highlights of CRLT accomplishments:

·  A program on Multicultural Teaching and Learning, established in 1995, and conducted in conjunction with the CRLT Theatre Program since 2000 ·  Coordination of national projects such as Greater Expectations, a current, multi-year initiative of the Association of American Colleges and Universities to improve undergraduate education ·  Memo to the Faculty, a monthly publication published from 1963-1982 with an international mailing list, that announced and analyzed new developments in instruction ·  Development at the U-M in 1974 of the first software for online discussions and email ·  A growing number of University- funded grants, offered competitively, that support faculty initiatives to improve teaching and learning at U-M Keynote speaker Palmer is a writer, teacher and activist, who works independently on issues in education, community, leadership, spirituality and social change. His work spans a wide range of institutions, including colleges and universities, schools, community organizations, churches, corporations and foundations. He serves as Senior Associate of the American Association of Higher Education, Senior Advisor to the Fetzer Institute and founder of the National Teaching Formation Program for K-12 Teachers. He received a B.A. in philosophy and sociology from Carleton College and a Ph.D. in sociology from University of California at Berkeley. His 1998 book, The Courage to Teach, has been a bestseller in the academic community. His most recent books are a meditation on listening for the "voice of vocation," entitled "Let Your Life Speak," 1999, and "Stories of the Courage to Teach," 2002, an expansion of his earlier work. Palmer travels widely giving workshops, lectures and retreats and has often been cited as a "master teacher." The New York Times, the Chronicle of Higher Education, Change Magazine, CBS-TV News, National Public Radio and the Voice of America have featured his work. For more information about the 40th Anniversary celebration or CRLT, see www.crlt.umich.edu, or call Matthew Kaplan at (734) 764-0505. Additional links:

CRLT helps professors develop device that measures student understanding >>

CRLT Players offer lessons through theater >> E-mail: jseguine@umich.edu