Guiding our plenary will be:

Dean Valerie Kinloch of the School of Education, will open our plenary, framing the challenges we face in maintaining excellence of teaching in higher education, to best serve our students and extended communities.

Vice Provost Nathan Urban will focus our attention on Goal #1 of the Plan For Pitt, which calls on us “to be a university that prepares students to lead lives of impact through a supportive environment focused on a holistic and individualized approach to learning inside and outside the classroom.” In particular, he will address efforts to personalize the student experience at Pitt.

Dr. Douglas Landsittel, Professor of Biomedical Informatics and Co-Chair of the Senate’s Educational Policies Committee as he addresses “changing models of education” such as online, hybrid, MOOCs, and “stackable degrees,” and the impact on a practice of undergraduate and graduate teaching.

Dr. Lauren Collister, ULS Scholarly Communications Librarian, a long-time advocate of Open Educational Resources (OER) will share the current state of this movement and the possibilities this approach offers our university going forward.

Provost Patricia Beeson, who will offer commentary on teaching in higher education and how we can continue to build on teaching and learning initiatives underway at Pitt.

There will be ample opportunities for discussion about these issues and others.