Gonzaga University

New Teaching and Advising Center

By Marny Lombard

Excellence in teaching and advising has always crowned Gonzaga’s reputation. Every generation of students comes to admire the beloved professors of their time – William P. Ilgen, Franz Schneider, Dan Brajcich, and so many others.

            Now the University has founded a Center for Teaching and Advising to foster a new level of excellence in teaching and advising, through mentoring, collaborating and bringing outside sources of expertise to campus.

            “I think that the biggest benefit of the center will be something that is not tangible, and that is that the Center will foster a much-needed culture of conversations on campus about what it is we do as teachers and advisers,” said Teresa Derrickson, CTA director and assistant professor of English. “The main goal of the center, in my opinion, will be to jumpstart those kinds of formal and informal conversations.”

            Biology professor David Boose also supports the CTA, which is located in the Foley Center. “I think the Center for Teaching and Advising is going to be a great resource. Actually the resources I us, the faculty. What the CTA can do is give us opportunities to get together and learn from each other, as well as from people outside Gonzaga. It’s a little ironic, but as teachers and advisers, we do the vast majority of our work in isolation from our colleagues,” Boose said.

            “In my experience, whenever you get a bunch of dedicated teachers and mentors in a room together and give them a topic and a little bit of structure for discussion, the dynamic is amazing. Ideas fly, people exchange tools and techniques, opportunities for collaboration appear, and long-term strategies for improving teaching and advising start to form.”

            A center like this has long been sought by Gonzaga faculty. Stephen Freedman, academic vice president, advocated for this resource and established its initial budget.

            In Gonzaga’s earliest decades, advising had not yet become its own entity. But given the complexity of academia – and life today – advising students has become every bit as crucial as teaching. The CTA’s inaugural workshop this fall was geared toward understanding Generation Y, also known as the Millennials.

            Jane Hession, freshman adviser for the School of Business Administration, is grateful to have a new source of professional development. After 20 years on campus, she calls  the University catalogue her Bible. “I think I know a lot. And I’m called all the time by people from all over campus who think I know a lot,” Hession said. “I’ve got a lot of facts and figures and understanding of the institution itself. But I’m always looking for insight and a new twist on things.”

            Paul Nowak, professor of civil engineering and a renowned adviser, says that his advising tool bag includes flow charts of students’ courses and an open-door policy that extends to his home where students are welcome to call or visit. “And it doesn’t hurt to pray for and with them when they have concerns,” Nowak said.

            The CTA has offered workshops and faculty-led conversations on a wide range of topics this fall. Peer consulting services are designed to help faculty share their expertise. A teaching showcase event is planned later this year, and a mentoring program for junior faculty will debut next year.

            The CTA is supported in part by grants and other external funding.