Integrating and enhancing teaching and learning support

Dear Colleagues,

In a move to consolidate strengths, Ohio State is combining the University Center for the Advancement of Teaching (UCAT) with the University Institute for Teaching and Learning (UITL).

The merger, which took effect Jan. 1 and will unfold over the next several months, comes as Ohio State continues to integrate, focus, and enhance resources that support the teaching and learning pillar of the university’s strategic plan. The combined enterprise will operate under the UITL name and be led by the institute’s director, Kay Halasek.

UITL was established in 2016 in response to a call from President Drake that Ohio State become an exemplar of teaching and learning success through the use of innovative, evidence-based approaches that improve student outcomes. The institute initiates, coordinates, promotes, and sponsors ongoing efforts in policy discussion and research on teaching and learning at Ohio State, elevating the visibility and importance of these enterprises for both internal and external audiences.

UCAT traces its roots to the Instructional Development and Evaluation unit, which was created in 1980 as part of the Office of Learning Resources. In 2000, Alan Kalish was named director of the unit, then called the Office of Faculty and Teaching Associate Development and later renamed the University Center for the Advancement of Teaching. As it evolved, UCAT focused on long–term professional development for faculty, staff, and graduate teaching associates, as well as on the scholarship of teaching and learning.

Alan will move to the Office of Academic Affairs now, where he will serve as an assistant vice provost under Randy Smith, the university’s vice provost for academic programs. Please join me in thanking him for his work at UCAT and in wishing him success in his new position.

Sincerely,

Kay N. Wolf, PhD
Vice Provost for Academic Policy and Faculty Resources