FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 27, 2008
Contact: Jessica Wong
(662) 329-7119

AT&T grants $25,000 toward MUW Teaching Circles

COLUMBUS, Miss. – A $25,000 gift from AT&T Mississippi will support faculty development at Mississippi University for Women through Teaching Circles. The Teaching Circles are a new initiative developed by Dr. Sandra Jordan, provost and vice president for academic affairs, and MUW President Claudia A. Limbert.

Jordan said, “The Teaching Circles promote the idea that teaching is a scholarly endeavor. Thanks to the generous support of AT&T, we’ll be able to continue this initiative designed to improve teaching, create a community of scholars who value the development of knowledge about teaching and learning and provide opportunity for colleagues to learn from each other.”

C.D. Smith, regional manager for AT&T, said, “AT&T is pleased to provide this support to the Teaching Circles initiatives at MUW.”

The funding will help the initiative with further resources it needs to develop and investigate techniques to improve teaching and student learning.

Money also will go toward advancing and executing inventive approaches to teaching in a more effective learning environment.

Jordan added, “This initiative provides faculty an opportunity to meet in groups to reflect together on a very particular aspect of their teaching.”

The groups consist of various faculty members with a designated chairman over each circle. The chairman is in charge of proposing a written statement to the provost at the end of the semester and presenting the proposal to the MUW faculty.

Information discussed in each Teaching Circle is shared among the faculty community via the MUW website.