In 2011, the deans of five western colleges of veterinary medicine — Colorado State University, Oregon State University, University of California – Davis, Washington State University, and Western University of Health Sciences — came together to discuss ways in which their colleges might effectively collaborate to address important issues faced by the profession and the colleges. The result was formation of the Consortium of West Region Colleges of Veterinary Medicine. The first initiative of the new consortium was establishment of a Regional Teaching Academy.
In July, sixty faculty met at OSU for the first conference of the academy, where they participated in two days of idea sharing, discussion, and workshops on faculty development. The mission was to disseminate best practices, build collaborations, and encourage scholarship in teaching. “It was really valuable for people working in all arenas to meet and share ideas, from simple everyday solutions to big, sweeping ideas on research and education,” says Dr. Sue Tornquist, CVM Associate Dean.
At the end of two days, the conference yielded two projects for the coming year:
- Develop a set of guidelines for peer review of teaching that will help faculty get appropriate recognition and improve the promotion and tenure process.
- Craft a plan to help new faculty develop excellent teaching skills.
