Paul Hanstedt elected to new role in Virginia Educational Development Collaborative Hanstedt has been elected the at-large representative for private liberal arts colleges in the Virginia Educational Development Collaborative (VEDC).

By Kelsey Goodwin
August 26, 2022

Paul S. Hanstedt, director of W&L’s Houston H. Harte Center for Teaching and Learning, has been elected the at-large representative for private liberal arts colleges in the Virginia Educational Development Collaborative (VEDC). The VEDC is a newly-established consortium of faculty developers from centers for teaching and learning at higher education institutions in Virginia who meet regularly to collaborate and share best practices. The consortium is a new initiative created through the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), the Commonwealth of Virginia’s coordinating agency for higher education.

Hanstedt will serve in the VEDC role for three years. He has been involved in the development of the group since its initial virtual meetings and hosted the group’s first in-person gathering in the Harte Center in October 2021. Jodi Fisler, SCHEV’s Senior Associate for Assessment Policy and Analysis, approached Hanstedt and other directors from various centers for teaching and learning in Virginia about creating the consortium in 2019.

“Through the partnerships formed by the Virginia Educational Development Collaborative, we intend to strengthen the quality of educational and faculty development programs at higher education campuses that have teaching centers, as well as provide some valuable resources to faculty who would not have access to them otherwise,” Fisler said. “I am grateful for the opportunity to work with Paul on the collaborative’s executive committee. The VEDC, and the Commonwealth generally, are so fortunate to be able to benefit from his expertise and commitment to making the student learning experience the best that it can be.”

Establishing a dedicated, state-of-the-art teaching and learning center — in order to provide comprehensive academic support services for students and professional development opportunities for faculty — was one of the key initiatives in the Washington and Lee University’s strategic plan. The Harte Center’s collaboration with campus partners is essential to developing innovative teaching and learning programs and resources. Hanstedt said he is looking forward to the opportunity to share ideas and compare notes with colleagues undertaking similar work.

“The recognition of the value of higher education centers for teaching and learning evolved over recent years, and they’re becoming more common in Virginia,” Hanstedt said. “This is a really wonderful, hard-working group. It’s nice to have these resources and ideas coming from other institutions.”

Hanstedt regularly travels throughout the country and around the globe to work with faculty and administrators on general education, liberal education reform, curricular design and development, course design and development, and assignment and assessment design. His most recent book is “Creating Wicked Students: Designing Courses for a Complex World.”

Hanstedt holds a bachelor’s in literature from Luther College, a master’s in creative writing from Iowa State University and a doctorate in literature from The Ohio State University. A dedicated teacher-scholar, he has taught courses in literature, creative writing, general education and higher education.

Learn more about the Harte Center here.

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