About the Center for Faculty Excellence
Built for Excellence. Built for Your Career. Built for Butler.
As Butler’s programs expand to meet the needs of our community, the Center for Faculty Excellence (CFE) introduces current and future-oriented educational practices. The CFE delivers a unified presence of services and resources to all instructors to:
- Increase coordination among member offices in joint strategic planning and programmatic efforts.
- Improve efficiency through reduction or elimination of redundant services, resources, and efforts.
- Offer a “one-stop” shop for faculty excellence and development.
Our Purpose: Guided by Mission & Vision
Our Mission
We exist to empower Butler University faculty across all career stages through comprehensive, evidence-based professional development, inclusive pedagogical support, and holistic career advancement opportunities.
Our Vision
We strive to cultivate a dynamic, collaborative academic community where every instructor feels equipped, valued, and inspired to lead innovative classrooms, produce impactful scholarship, and flourish throughout their academic journey.
What We Stand For: Our Core Tenets
Our work across Butler is anchored in five foundational values that shape every workshop, cohort, and conversation we host:
- Inclusive Learning Community: Building supportive, accessible, and culturally sustaining environments across every discipline.
- Exceptional Teaching & Learning: Fostering evidence-based instructional strategies and supporting continuous pedagogical growth.
- Student Empowerment & Success: Designing rich learning experiences that ignite student agency, curiosity, and academic achievement.
- Meaningful Assessment: Utilizing intentional, transparent evaluation practices that inform quality instruction and capture authentic learning.
- Future-Engaged Learners: Equipping students through dynamic, high-impact, and innovative classroom practices to navigate an ever-changing world.
How We Serve You: Strategic Goals & Operational Focus
Whether you are looking to refine a course, launch an interdisciplinary project, or find dedicated time for your research, the CFE is actively building opportunities around four key strategic goals:
- Enhancing Teaching & Learning Effectiveness: We share practical strategies to elevate your pedagogical skills, promote active learning, and thoughtfully integrate technology into your classroom.
- Promoting Inclusive Teaching: We offer engaging workshops and conversations centered on building diverse, inclusive spaces that meet the needs of all Butler students.
- Encouraging Collaboration & Service: We create cross-departmental spaces where faculty can connect, build interdisciplinary courses, and collaborate on university service and research.
- Fostering Research, Scholarship, & SoTL: We work to enhance funding and support initiatives that help you stay active in research and creative endeavors, publish scholarly work, and advance the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL).
Meet Our Program Staff
We are here to support you at every step of your career. Reach out to any member of our team to start a conversation!
Center for Faculty Excellence Advisory
The CFE Advisory includes dedicated representatives from each college and the university libraries. Working together, the Advisory aims to promote overall faculty morale, collegiality, and excellence by shaping programs that support high-quality service and leadership across teaching, research, scholarship, and creative activities.
Current Advisory Representatives:
- Todd Wottring (Lacy School of Business)
- Rachel Arkenberg (College of Communication)
- Undraa Maamuujav (College of Education)
- Jamie Flood (University Libraries)
- Nick Johnson (Jordan College of the Arts)
- Chris Roman (College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences)
- Stacy O’Reilly (College of Liberal Arts & Sciences)