Previous Mission Statements

While CAT has always focused on the advancement of teaching, there have been some changes in the precise wording of our mission. Here's a list of our previous mission statements.

1994-1997

The Center for the Advancement of Teaching:

is committed to enhancing teaching at all levels and across disciplines by providing resources to revise pedagogy in innovative ways, particularly through the integration of technology
coordinates all opportunities for faculty development
conducts the orientation for first-year faculty

provides:

support for curriculum revision projects and workshops in pedagogy
special assistance to the education department
mini-grants to faculty from the partner schools to support curriculum development projects
financial assistance to students interested in teaching careers
financial support to the Teacher Education Research Initiative.

1998-2000

The Center for the Advancement of Teaching is an interdisciplinary, collaborative academic unit that seeks to focus the University's efforts aimed at advancing the art of teaching at all levels. The services and facilities of the Center are available to faculty of all colleges at Xavier University and to the Center's three partnership schools in the New Orleans Public School System: Mildred Osborne Elementary School, Thurgood Marshall Middle School, and McDonogh #35 Senior High School.

2001-2005

The Center for the Advancement of Teaching...

coordinates faculty development initiatives at Xavier University.
is an interdisciplinary, collaborative academic unit that seeks to focus the University's efforts aimed at advancing the art of teaching at all levels.
creates opportunities for Xavier faculty to develop new teaching strategies and to incorporate the use of technology in educationally effective ways.
supports Xavier faculty collaboration with preK-12 schools or teachers.

2006-2014

Mission

The Center for the Advancement of Teaching is an academic resource for Xavier University's faculty and the broader educational community. Our mission is to advance the art and science of teaching and learning.

Program

The intellectual work of faculty, staff, and students in teaching, scholarship, and service is the means by which the art and science of teaching and student learning are advanced. Our faculty development program must enable this work.

Enabling this work requires that we have channels of meaningful and effective communication within and outside the University; advanced and comprehensive facilities and resources; sufficient funding; creative and relevant initiatives and projects; and expert staff.

Values

The Center is committed to promoting effective teaching and deep and lasting student learning, and to the University's mission of creating a more just and humane society. In so doing, we are an organization that:

promotes a nonjudgmental, safe, collaborative, and supportive environment for faculty to experiment, learn about pedagogy, think and work in creative and diverse ways, and explore all aspects of faculty development
models and promotes life-long learning and development
values the teacher as scholar
respects the expertise, skills, gifts, interests, and experiences of each person
provides constructive, confidential feedback to faculty to improve teaching and student learning
values assessment as a means to improved teaching, student learning, and the work of the Center
fosters collaboration among Xavier faculty, students, staff, and the broader educational community
values broad-based involvement of Xavier faculty and Center staff in our decision-making process
promotes effective programmatic and fiscal planning, implementation, and assessment
values making public our policies, processes, and outcomes of our work

Last, the Center adopts, as part of our ethos, the guidelines of the Professional and Organizational Development (POD) Network in Higher Education, the premier faculty development organization in the U.S. The POD Network's guidelines — the Ethical Guidelines for Education Developers — were established "...to inform the practice of professionals working in educational development roles in higher education."