UNCP faculty embrace the role they play in students’ lives–they welcome students into challenging disciplines of study, they mentor and advise students toward their professional goals and they connect students to community and professional networks.

They do so not only as a matter of professional responsibility but, more important, as a matter of personal commitment and institutional pride.

This year’s Celebration of Teaching & Learning – now in its third year – features interviews with 17 faculty from across UNCP’s campus who are making an impact in students’ lives inside and outside the classroom. Those interviews are accessible via the Office of Online Learning’s YouTube channel (link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNfmKDmiNSQHENGIe-rEhfA/featured), and the Teaching & Learning Center will spotlight one interview each day on its social media, Facebook and Twitter, @uncptlc, during April.

“At UNC Pembroke, excellence in teaching and learning is a matter of mission,” said Scott Hicks, director of the Teaching & Learning Center and professor of English. “These conversations are testimonials that despite all of the trials and challenges that 2020 has thrown at the world, great teaching matters – and it’s happening in classes across campus and online every day.”

The faculty spotlighted in this year’s celebration are testaments to individuals who are paying forward the lessons and skills that good teachers have imparted to them, showing compassion and flexibility even as they themselves deal with life in a global pandemic, and who are finding memorable, creative ways to keep students engaged, learning and growing.

Participating faculty include Hannah Baggott Anderson, Charles Beem, Joshua Busman, Peter Grimes, Laura Hakala, Jane Haladay, James Hudson, Mary Ann Jacobs, David Nikkel and Sam Wilson of the College of Arts & Sciences; Phillip McRae of the School of Business; Camille Locklear Goins, Laura Staal and Jennifer Whittington of the School of Education; Shenika Jones and Nicole Stargell of the College of Health Sciences; and David Young of Mary Livermore Library.

Hicks hopes that viewers will come away with renewed inspiration and new ideas to bring to the classroom. “UNCP faculty and students continue to work together, share knowledge, develop key skills, and prepare for the future, all while staying true to our campus’s commitment to changing lives through education,” he said. “I hope you’ll be reenergized by thinking about the teachers who have made a difference in your life, and I hope you’ll reach out to these faculty and learn more about the creative and transformative ideas they’re using in their courses.”