Learning doesn’t stop in the summer — not for Baylor School of Education faculty. While many were teaching, researching, writing and traveling, two SOE faculty members also attended Baylor’s Summer Faculty Institute.

Dr. Brooke Blevins and Dr. Randy Wood spent five weeks in the popular program, conversing with faculty from across campus about teaching, research, service and collegiality.

While many who attend the institute are tenure-track faculty, longtime professor Wood said he still learned a lot.

“No matter where you are in the process of teaching at Baylor, whether first-year or longtime tenured full professor, there is still so much to learn and so many skills to improve — becoming better at research, more creative at teaching, or taking time to be more collegial.”

Blevins said it was a great opportunity to learn from colleagues about how they approach teaching and research in effective ways. “It is also a wonderful way to meet faculty members from across campus,” she said. “This was a great professional development opportunity that helped me grow as a teacher and scholar.”

Dr. Lenore Wright, Associate Professor and Director of Baylor’s Academy for Teaching and Learning, which sponsors the institute, said there is always a long waiting list of faculty eager to participate. “Faculty regularly report how beneficial the Summer Faculty Institute is with respect to learning or reinforcing effective work habits,” she said. “They also gain a broader sense of the community of scholars and teachers at Baylor, feeling more informed and more enthusiastic about the work of colleagues in other disciplines.”

The program started in 1978 and was originally focused on classroom teaching. “The focus expanded beyond teaching to meet the professional needs and expectations of faculty engaged in research and publication,” Wright said.

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