Abstract
Teaching and learning centers (TLCs) first emerged to support faculty dealing with underprepared students, focusing on methods for effectively engaging students and assessing student learning. But a broader role for TLCs is emerging: as facilitators of the transformation of institutional culture. At Quinnipiac University, the faculty development center has played a leadership role in the implementation of the New Synthesis for Undergraduate Education, a university-wide initiative to integrate the essential learning proficiencies into the entire undergraduate experience. Outcomes suggest that the center has been effective by complementing the top-down institutional initiative with a forum for bottom-up faculty, staff, and student empowerment and participation.
