History and Mission

History

In 1992 a resolution of the Academic Senate (#RS-92-106) recommended the establishment of a center for the enhancement of teaching, recognizing that faculty professional development programs and activities encompass five broad areas:

1. Research, scholarly activities, and creative endeavors
2. Curriculum development
3. Instructional skills development and pedagogy
4. Community development
5. Institutional development

In 2005, responding to increased demand for training and support in academic technology on our campus, the former Center for the Enhancement of Teaching was reorganized into two units: one unit merged AV/ITV with technology training and support and is now operating under the name Academic Technology. The second unit, now operating under the name The Center for Teaching and Faculty Development, has a renewed mission to support all faculty and continue the broad mission embraced by the original resolution of the Academic Senate. In early 2006, an associate dean was appointed to head the new department.

Mission

The mission of The Center for Teaching and Faculty Development is simple: support and serve the faculty of San Francisco State University, not only in their roles as educators and scholars, but in their lives as human beings. Through a broad range of diverse programs, personalized support services, and the continued development of new opportunities for growth, the Center is dedicated to promoting best practices in pedagogy and serving the needs of SF State's outstanding teachers.

The Center is actively expanding its program of services offered to faculty to support classroom pedagogy and will continue to collaborate with other departments and units across campus to offer workshops, demonstrations, and forums related supporting faculty in their teaching, scholarship and service. In addition, the threefold mission of the Center—supporting all faculty at all stages of their careers in their roles as teachers, as scholars and professionals, and as persons—recognizes the wide diversity of opportunities, challenges and responsibilities those general areas imply.

The First Director of the Center

Pamela Vaughn, 2006 – 2010
Professor, Classics Department

Pam joined the San Francisco State University faculty in 1993. She has served on a number of all-university committees, including two terms as chair of the Academic Senate. She was the chair of the Classics and of the Comparative and World Literature Departments prior to her appointment as Associate Dean of Faculty Development and Director of the Center for Teaching and Faculty Development. Pam joined CTFD as Director in 2006, and oversaw its growth, accomplishments, and stellar success. She returned to her beloved classroom in the SF State Classics Department in 2010.

Major Achievements:

• Oversaw CTFD’s formation and transformation from a unit combined with technological support (CET) to a self-sustaining exemplar of faculty and pedagogical development (CTFD)
• Led and directed the center on faculty development, teaching and pedagogical advancement, chairs’ development programs, faculty awards programs
• Acted as Principal Investigator for several external grant projects: EnACT (Department of Education); Access by Design (NSF), ELIXR digital case stories (FIPSE)
• Invited to serve on the Honorary Degree Committee as a presidential appointment
• Presented at the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, Edmonton, Canada on “The Accessibility Connection: Universal Design for Learning,” with Amy Love (October 16, 2008)
• Presented annually at the UC Berkeley Graduate Student Institute for Preparing Future Faculty
• Served as member of the Steering Committee for the CSU FIPSE grant, as well as for the MERLOT/ELIXR project
• Created the Bridge Initiative, SF State’s campus accelerator plan for the Sloan Foundation awards competition in support of faculty career flexibility (2007)
• Served as a member of jury for proposals for the 2008, 2009. and 2010 POD (Professional and Organizational Development) Conference

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