Lynda Goff, vice provost and dean of undergraduate education at the University of California, Santa Cruz, announced today (Thursday, August 1) that Ruth Harris-Barnett has been appointed interim director of the campus's Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE). Harris-Barnett's appointment begins September 1. She replaces Eileen Tanner, the center's founding director, who left the post in June.
The mission of CTE, which was established in 1991, is to enhance the overall quality of instruction at UCSC and to improve students' long-term learning by supporting faculty and graduate students as instructors.
"Ruth is an excellent person to take over CTE during a time of transition," said Goff. "In addition to having taught university-level courses, she has also worked in the corporate world in both management and customer-relations positions, and she has a particular interest in writing courses. I am very pleased to welcome Ruth to Santa Cruz."
Harris-Barnett earned her B.A. in 1980, an M.A. in 1985, and her Ph.D. in English from the University of Washington. She has also taught at both the University of Washington and Western Washington University, and she has worked with a variety of community service organizations in the Seattle area.
CTE sponsors the annual Excellence in Teaching Awards that recognize the most exceptional teachers among the faculty, and an annual Convocation on Teaching that provides a public forum for UCSC faculty to discuss current topics in higher education. CTE also provides instructional improvement grants that fund projects to enhance instruction in undergraduate courses and publishes Faculty Focus, a quarterly newsletter about teaching and learning featuring writing by members of the UCSC community.
