This was celebrated in a big way during the 20th anniversary of the��. The weeklong conference held in February 2026 brought together faculty and staff to share ideas, explore new teaching strategies and learn from one another. Hosted by the��, attendees participated in more than 40 peer-led professional development sessions offered in multiple formats, including in-person workshops, virtual sessions and on-demand videos.

During a reception and award ceremony, President Gerry Bradley reflected on the transformative power of education and the importance of the university’s teaching community.

“If we’re going to continue to make the impact on our students –��on how they discover, how they can contribute and how they will engage with this ever‑changing world beyond our campus, the skills learned here really important,” he said. “Teaching matters, learning��matters. All of you deserve our greatest thanks and my thanks.”��

Provost Katie Cardarelli emphasized that human connection is at the heart of learning and the university’s mission. ��

“Retention and graduation do not only improve through policy. They improve because educators are committed to creating learning experiences that are rigorous,��supportive��and deeply human – something unique in this ever-evolving, AI��technology‑driven culture. This ceremony recognizes that commitment and the sustained effort that faculty invest in students often quietly and consistently, semester after semester,” she said.��

During the reception,��Senior Vice Provost��Gail DePuy announced the����This award��honors educators who have��demonstrated��a commitment to students with one or more innovative teaching practices.

The honorees include:��

• Devin Burke, School of Music, for his work reimagining music history through the use of multimedia timelines that encourage both chronological and geographical understanding.��
• Sarah��Fauque, College of Arts & Sciences, for her work to make quantitative, ecological models more engaging for students��through the use of��active, multimodal workshop series.��
• Karen Turner, School of Nursing, for developing Student Centered Interactive Learning Stations (SCILS) for graduate students building advanced clinical decision-making skills.��

In addition,��the ceremony recognized the 2025 Faculty Favorites and educators who��engaged in the Delphi Center’s professional development��cohorts. These opportunities include��Teaching Onboarding, FIT��Program��and Ascend Champions.����

Educators can keep the momentum going by joining upcoming����events or scheduling a consultation to further support student success.��

See the����from the 2026��.

By��Vanessa Karem,��

“Don’t think of memory as a place to put information but rather as the capacity to support the pursuit of goals,” advised the conference’s keynote Michelle Miller. Miller, who is also an author and University of Arizona educator, presented on “Learning at the Intersection of Cognition, Motivation, and Technology.”

She shared how cognitive and motivational research can support effective teaching strategies and provided examples of successful technology-enhanced activities that educators could apply across online, in-person or blended classrooms for their students. The keynote also was attended by select Jefferson County Public School teachers, thanks in partnership with the J.B. Speed School of Engineering’s T2E program.

A highlight of the conference was the recognition of the many outstanding educators at UofL. The SGA recognized ��the “Top 5 Faculty Favorites”: Khaldoun Almousily (College of Arts & Sciences), Tony Arnold (Brandeis School of Law), Kristie Ennis (College of Arts & Sciences), Elizabeth Gentry (Speed School of Engineering) and Tony Okafor (College of Business). Faculty Favorites are student-led recognitions honoring educators who have made a lasting impact on their learning experience at UofL. Lucian Rothe, assistant professor of German and the Delphi Center’s 2024/2025 Faculty Affiliate, announced the 2024 TILL Teaching Innovation Award winners. The honors educators who have demonstrated a commitment to students with one or more innovative teaching practices. The 2024 winners were:

• Angela Thompson and Campbell Bego (Speed School of Engineering) for their work to address the ethical use of generative artificial intelligence with first year engineering students.
• Michael Metz (School of Dentistry), Cynthia Metz and Jeff Falcone (School of Medicine) for combining a system-based approach with active learning strategies to improve outcomes on national board exams and clinical practice.
• Ray Chastain (College of Business), David Johnson (School of Public Health and Information Sciences), Benne Holwerda and Breanna Ausbrooks (College of Arts & Sciences) for their work to study the relationship between flipped classroom design, gender and DFW, or “drop, fail, and withdrawal,” rates.

The conference featured a motivational lineup of speakers throughout the day including former President Kim Schatzel, former Provost Gerry Bradley, Vice Provost Kelvin Thompson and Student Government Association (SGA) President Allie Rose Phillips and Academic Vice President Macy Waddle. Attendees also engaged in peers’ sessions showcasing their inspiring teaching strategies and best practices within UofL throughout the day.

Bradley concluded the event by reflecting on the importance of the annual conference, “It was an enriching and inspiring day. Whether it’s undergraduate, graduate or professional education, [this conference is] really a unique opportunity for us all to learn. This is a journey – we are always continuing to be better.”

UofL remains dedicated to educational excellence, cultivating an environment where educators can collaborate, innovate and shape the future success of their students through teaching and learning.

See more about the��and view pictures from the event on . Educators may continue the conversation for student success strategies with upcoming events or consultations.

The 2022 award recipients are Danielle Franco, associate professor in chemistry; David Johnson, assistant professor in health management and systems sciences; Daniela Terson de Paleville, associate professor in health and sport sciences; and a group submission by Natalie Christian, Rachel Pigg, Mikus Abolins-Abols and Jeffery Masters in biology.��

Now in its second year, the TILL Teaching Innovation Award grants winners $1,000 and an invitation to share their work at the annual Celebration of Teaching and Learning conference.��

��“I continue to be impressed by the innovative methods our faculty are investigating to help students learn,” said Marie Brown, interim associate provost for teaching and innovation. “At the Delphi Center, we see first hand how much work instructors put into designing their courses. We want to recognize those who are exploring new ways to meet student needs.”��

“By its nature, teaching is an iterative process,” Christian added. “We always learn from our successes and our failures in the classroom, and can use that information to make our courses better.”

Christian was recognized with colleagues Abolins-Abols, Masters and Pigg for their work restructuring the intro biology curriculum to include course-based undergraduate research experiences.��

For Terson de Paleville, who won for designing active learning course activities centered around the flipped classroom and team-based assignments, teaching innovation is critical to creating an inclusive classroom.

“One size does not fit all in education,” she said. “The same material can be presented in many ways, or even better, can be discovered and understood by students of all ages, cultural, ethnic, and previous academic backgrounds, students with disabilities, neurotypical and neurodiverse students.”��

Franco found that going the extra mile to provide students with new ways to engage with course material, such as the virtual reality simulations she created for her chemistry course, made the concepts more accessible to students.

“The most rewarding part of implementing this innovation is the feedback from students,” she said. “They thought that the simulations were very engaging and helpful.”��

One of the criteria used by the award selection committee is the potential for other instructors to adopt the teaching strategy across diverse academic disciplines. Johnson won for such an innovation, the development of a versatile assignment and evaluation rubric using the principles of the Paul-Elder model of critical thinking.��

“Our hope is that by celebrating innovation in teaching faculty across campus will be empowered to explore new strategies in their own courses,” Brown said. “It’s an exciting time for instructional innovation, and I look forward to seeing what strategies, tools and practices our talented faculty implement in the year ahead.”��

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Story written by Brooke Whitaker, marketing manager at UofL’s Delphi Center.��