The Consortium for the Advancement of Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship was formed by a group of faculty who felt the university was at a hopeful crossroads, with the influx of new faculty, the inspiration of new ideas about teaching and learning, and the good will of the campus community. The goals of CATLS are to provide an infrastructure within which larger conversations can take place; to provide resources to faculty to help them to fulfill their multiple roles; and to connect the sometimes disparate activities and initiatives that faculty already engage in.
Our early initiatives have focused on these goals by:
- Providing ways for faculty to display their research and other work through this website, the faculty profiling system, and faculty luncheons.
- Orienting new faculty to UMass through the New Faculty Institute.
- Sponsoring Cross-Disciplinary conversations about Sustainability and Eportfolios.
- Building community through gatherings such as the New Faculty Tea.
We have also co-sponsored and partnered with several groups on campus, including:
- Hosting Randy Bass with The Center for Teaching Excellence.
- Constructing the Faculty Database with the Internet Development Team.
- Planning The Hope Dialogue with the Community Service Center.
- Creating a Faculty Panel and discussion series with The Grants Office.
We have recently moved into a suite of offices and conference rooms (Group I, suite 370) which we share with the Center for Teaching Excellence and the Education Department library. Several discussion groups have begun to meet regularly and we encourage faculty to suggest others. Visit us or call 508-910-6484.
