by:
  Kris Bulcroft,
  Carmen Werder, and
  Glenn Gilliam

  Campus Conversation at Western Washington University (Parts I & II)

When Western Washington University first embarked on the Campus Conversation in fall 1998, a small, but dedicated, group of twenty-five faculty from across the colleges explored the meanings, barriers, and incentives associated with the scholarship of teaching and learning. Entering this national exchange sponsored by the American Association of Higher Education (AAHE) and the Carnegie and Pew Foundations, Western began discussing ways to elevate the status of teaching and learning without a patent understanding of the implications of the conversation. During this initial phase, we primarily worked to explore similarities and differences between "good" teaching and "scholarly teaching."

In addition, considerable attention was given to organizational barriers to the scholarship of teaching such as reward structures and opportunities for faculty development. Part I of the Campus Conversation was completed in the spring of 1999. Faculty who participated in this first phase seemed eager to continue the conversation, so Western extended the dialogue by signing-on for Part II. Up to this point, no students had been involved in the conversation, and no one had identified a need to include them in the next phase.

Part II took on very different dimensions. First of all, the President boosted the efforts by providing a special summer grant called the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Fellowship. This SoTL Fellow developed the goals and agenda for Part II of the project. Through financial support from the Provost, forty-four faculty members from across the university college structure were invited to participate in a year-long program which included biweekly meetings. As a result of Part I's success, coupled with the fact that the Provost was newly hired and personally invited faculty to participate in the project, every invited faculty member accepted. The agenda also called for expanding the dialogue by including an opportunity for the whole campus to join the faculty core group conversation in a Breakfast Seminar Series with guest speakers.

Coordinated by the Special Assistant to the Provost and the Director of Interdisciplinary Programs (who had also served as the SoTL Fellow), the 1999-2000 program used the "3-Rs" as its theme: "Recognizing, Reflecting on, and Rewarding the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning." This theme and the schedule of events for Part II was unveiled at the beginning of fall term, 1999, and the President featured the program in her fall faculty luncheon speech.

• Introduction
• Campus Conversation at Western Washington University (Parts I & II)
• Where are the Students?
• Leadership Inside Out
• The AAHE Summer Academy
• A Web of Connections
• The Teaching and Learning Academy
• A New Course on Learning
• Diffuse Leadership
• A Public Rally for Learning
• Lessons Learned from the Students
• References
• print version