Chemistry Education Expert Dr. Lisa Hibbard Named TRRC Director

TRRC’s Path Forward

Dr. Lisa Hibbard, professor of chemistry, has been appointed as the next director of the Teaching Resource and Research Center (TRRC). Dr. Hibbard succeeds Drs. Karen Brakke and Aditi Pai, who currently serve as co-directors of the TRRC. Dr. Hibbard will start the position on Tuesday, July 1. The Teaching Resource and Research Center's mission is to support a campus community that promotes and disseminates innovative and effective teaching practices. The TRRC offers several workshop series and supports faculty discussion groups throughout the year.

Under the direction of Dr. Hibbard, the TRRC will continue to support the College's most popular activities, including small group faculty learning communities, faculty book clubs that focus on discussing current topics in education, canvas training, AI-centered workshops, and providing a platform for faculty to present their research. Dr. Hibbard hopes to expand TRRC offerings to include: developing a digital pedagogy studio; having a more comprehensive Teaching Commons site; and training focused on research around the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL).

“Our internal online Teaching Commons will be expanded to include additional training videos by our instructional design specialist, Ms. Attiyya Ali, faculty experts, and STS staff on the instructional technology and design team,” Dr. Hibbard said. “I would also like to see the TRRC have a more extensive external online presence through the development of a blog page where faculty can share teaching best practices in their disciplines. We would also like to develop a “Partners in Pedagogy” program where we collaborate with students, interested faculty and staff, and external education-based networks to gain fresh insight into effective learning strategies.”

Dr. Hibbard joined the Spelman faculty in 1985 as a part-time assistant professor of chemistry. She was tenured in 1995 and promoted to full professor in 2020. In her long tenure at Spelman, she has served in many leadership roles, including as the president of the Faculty Council, chair of chemistry and biochemistry, director of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute program, and director of the health careers program. She earned her bachelor’s and doctoral degrees from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Dr. Hibbard was honored with the Spelman College Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1993 and 2023, the Spelman College Presidential Award for Excellence in Service, and the Vulcan Award for Teaching Excellence in 2010.

“I am pleased to pass the leadership of TRRC to Dr. Hibbard. She is extremely well qualified, with a deep interest in supporting teaching and learning at Spelman and extensive experience with pedagogical scholarship and educational technology,” Dr. Brakke, Professor Emerita of psychology, said. “As a longtime TRRC Advisory Board member, Dr. Hibbard is familiar with the Center's work and brings a strong vision and established leadership to the role. I look forward to seeing TRRC thrive as she and the Center's team support faculty teaching and the intellectual community in the coming years.”

Navigating Budgetary Constraints: TRRC's Challenge

Dr. Hibbard will help the Center adapt to change within the foreseeable future.

“The TRRC, like the College itself, is grappling with budgetary constraints while working to meet the needs of the current (GenZ) student population and our faculty with varying levels of technology expertise and requirements. The AI landscape is also rapidly evolving, so it is essential that the TRRC expand its training programs on the use of AI in the classroom,” Dr. Hibbard said. “To meet these challenges, we will work closely with the Provost’s Office and Institutional Advancement to identify potential funding sources to support the Center. We will also collaborate with the campus Educational Technology Committee and STS to determine how to best meet the technology needs of faculty and students.”

Dr. Hibbard has authored 17 peer-reviewed articles, 7 of which are on teaching and learning. She has been a regular contributor to the TRRC program and has led 12 different sessions for the center since 2008. She is widely recognized for her expertise in innovative teaching methods, including flipped/blended learning, case study methods, and AI-based adaptive learning tools.

Learn More About Dr. Hibbard   Teaching Resource and Research Center