Welcome to the New Harte Center! Come along for this photo tour of the Houston H. Harte Center for Teaching and Learning, which is now open for collaboration.

By Lindsey Nair
August 18, 2021

The new Harte Center for Teaching and Learning is open for business in Washington and Lee University’s Leyburn Library, where it offers a wealth of resources and lots of inviting space for collaborating and learning.

The center, named in memory of Houston H. Harte ’50, whose generous bequest supports the project, offers faculty the opportunities and resources they need to be the best educators they can be, and it provides students access to experts and resources that will enhance the skills they need for success in a rapidly changing world.

Come along for this photo tour of all the Harte Center’s nooks and crannies. This is likely the last time you’ll see the space looking quiet; it is sure to soon be humming with collaboration!

Click here for more information about the center and to hear comments from its director, Paul Hanstedt.

 

 

Welcome to the Harte Center, which is located on level one of W&L’s Leyburn Library.

 

The Harte Center’s collaboration gallery offers plenty of comfortable, flexible seating and lighting, and anyone in the campus community can book it for use.

 

The presentation space within the collaboration gallery also features flexible seating, as well as all the technology needed to give an informative presentation.

 

The Writing Center is staffed by well-trained student tutors and professional writing consultants with years of experience coaching students in the nuances of effective writing. It offers individual and group tutorial assistance on any college writing task, from papers and lab reports in any stage of completion to resumes and application essays.

 

The Writing Center offers six peer tutoring rooms and two oral presentation practice rooms that allow the user to record themselves, then play back the video to identify areas for improvement.

 

This glass wall, which stands between the collaboration gallery and the Class of 1995 Teaching Hub, can be retracted to expand the size of the Teaching Hub.

 

Outside the Teaching Hub is an extension of the collaboration gallery that is sure to be a popular spot for studying and meeting. Here, as in other parts of the center, there are a plethora of charging stations and lovely views of the greenery outdoors.

 

The Class of 1995 Teaching Hub, which can be used for any number of events, is largely dedicated to faculty opportunities to explore new and best practices in teaching, keeping their work in the classroom sharp, innovative and effective.

 

The high-tech video recording studio is a dedicated space for video projects and can be reserved by anyone in the university community. It features multiple backdrops, including a green screen, and adjustable lighting. Outside the recording studio are three video editing suites, which can also be used for recording audio such as podcasts.

 

Faculty are excited about the innovation classroom managed by Academic Technologies because it will be a space to test new teaching technologies and innovations, such as a smartboard that allows the user to make digital notes on screen content. The classroom has already been requested by many users.

 

The Special Collections classroom provides Special Collections and Archives staff a dedicated space to share materials with students and to prepare new collections. With a door straight to Special Collections, it will provide overflow space when the Boatwright Room is in use.