CCAC Opens New Center for Teaching & Learning
Pictured in front of the new Center for Teaching & Learning at CCAC (left to right): Frederick Thieman, Member, CCAC Educational Foundation and Co-Chair, Pioneering Pittsburgh’s New Workforce Campaign; Dr. Stephen Wells, CCAC Interim Chief Academic Officer; Dr. Ebony English, CCAC Robert Richard Smith Endowed Professor for Teaching & Learning; Timothy Chesleigh, Member, CCAC Board of Trustees; Dr. Quintin Bullock, CCAC President and Co-Chair, Pioneering Pittsburgh’s New Workforce Campaign
CCAC hosted the official ribbon-cutting ceremony for the college’s new Center for Teaching & Learning at on Friday, May 3.
One of a series of late 19th century mansions that comprised what was once known nationally as Millionaire’s Row on Pittsburgh’s present-day North Shore, historic Chalfant Hall has been transformed into the new home of the Center for Teaching & Learning (CTL). The 17,584-square-foot facility encompasses instructional classroom space, offices for the Endowed Professor for Teaching and Learning and the Dean of the Virtual Campus, as well as a digital learning lab, a testing lab and other specialized spaces.
Designed to engage, empower and inspire teachers, the center serves as an incubator for new ideas, a place where college faculty, staff, students and community members can work in a collaborative environment to create rich, engaging learning and teaching experiences.
“This dedicated space will serve as a platform to promote CCAC's mission of creating innovative and equitable learning environments. It is designed to facilitate faculty-driven initiatives that will pioneer student engagement and energize our academic community. The center's primary objective is to promote faculty collaboration to establish teaching benchmarks that will inspire pride and reflect CCAC's commitment to teaching excellence,” said Dr. Ebony English, CCAC Robert Richard Smith Endowed Professor for Teaching. and Learning.
The CTL building also houses video and audio studios where educators can fine-tune classes offered online. All of this is critical to CCAC’s expanding Virtual Campus. Currently, 33 CCAC programs are offered entirely online, and 25 more are hybrid and can be completed mostly online.
According to Dr. Stephen Wells, CCAC Interim Chief Academic Officer, innovation centers dedicated to teaching and learning are becoming more common on the nation’s top college campuses.
This is an innovative and proactive approach that aims to increase student success, build vital community partnerships, and invite individuals to become members of an intellectually diverse and active learning community. This beautifully renovated space will also offer tranquility for staffers caught up in the winds of a changing educational landscape.