Thomas More University has launched the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship (CTLS) creating a space where faculty, students, and the community can address community needs, deepen students’ civic and academic learning, and enrich the University’s scholarship in respectful collaboration.
“With the creation of The Center for Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship, the University seeks to create intentional space to provide valuable resources that support our faculty in their continued development as teacher-scholars,” says Joseph L. Chillo, LP.D., president of Thomas More University.
“This center is one way in which we act on our commitment to provide a mission-driven, Catholic education to our students.”
John Ernst, Ph.D., leads the new effort and also serves as director of the Benedictine Library at Thomas More.
Ernst has been an integral part of the University since 2005, including serving as the founding director of the Thomas More University Success Center. In line with Thomas More’s mission, Ernst prioritizes student success as he is working to constantly improve programs through evidence-based practice and research.
“The Center for Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship is an incubator studio for knowledge creation,” says Ernst. “Students, professors, and staff work together to integrate learning and research with service. Students benefit through enhanced engagement in the classroom and the experiences they gain doing research with faculty.”
Ernst will be joined in the CTLS with an instructional designer and an academic grants officer. Together these positions will ensure that ideas brought forth in the incubator are put into place at the University, propelling Thomas More forward with informed programming. Partnerships created through the Center’s work allow the University to ensure an intellectually diverse learning environment on campus while also supporting the outside community.
The work of the CTLS reflects Thomas More’s integrated approach to learning, service, and scholarship.