TRRC History

With resources from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Education (Title III), the Spelman College Teaching Resource and Research Center was established in the fall of 2007 to support the continued, long-term development of the faculty to meet the demands of 21st century teaching and learning.

The first director, Mona Phillips, Ph.D., sociology and anthropology chair, set a course for the TRRC rooted in the interconnecting threads of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) and feminist scholarship on engaged pedagogy and social transformation, as well as the notion of the commons.

Under her leadership, many faculty developed interdisciplinary courses and course units (Free Thinking Women seminars and modules) and attended summer interdisciplinary workshops related to Toni Morrison's novel "Beloved," food, and digital storytelling.

In fall 2014, Drs. Aditi Pai and Veta Goler (biology and dance, respectively) assumed leadership of the TRRC. Working with a new Advisory Board, Goler and Pai are building on the strong foundation set by Phillips and are charting a new direction focused on teaching innovation and improvement, and on shining a light on the powerful and effective teaching efforts of Spelman faculty.

Dr. Pai was appointed vice provost for faculty in September 2021 and Dr. Karen Brakke, professor of psychology, who will serve as the new TRRC co-director. Dr. Brakke is a distinguished scholar with an outstanding record in faculty pedagogy and professional development.