Celebrating 5 years of teaching and learning innovation
Since its founding in 2020, theCenter for Teaching & Learning (CTL) has been a hub for fostering excellence in inclusive, evidence-based teaching and supporting educator development. For the past five years, the CTL has empowered thousands of educators—faculty, postdocs, graduate instructors and staff—through free consultations; teaching observations; programs and communities of practice; online teaching resources; campus teaching and learning initiatives; and a robust calendar of workshops, conferences and community events.
From launching four annual conferences to cultivating partnerships with key units to lead campuswide teaching and learning initiatives, CTL’s dedicated team is helping to shape a campus culture that values curiosity, creativity and innovation in the classroom.
The recent integration of ASSETT (Arts & Sciences Support of Education Through Technology) into the CTL in July 2025 marks a new chapter—uniting expertise in pedagogy and educational technology to serve CU Boulder’s diverse teaching community.
"As we celebrate five years of the Center for Teaching and Learning, I’m deeply proud of our accomplishments and the ever-expanding resources, consultations and workshops we offer,” said Kirk Ambrose, CTL’s founding director. “I look forward to our center’s continued growth and to working collaboratively with the recently launchedBuckley Center for Sustainability Education,” as we explore and integrate best practices for teaching and learning throughout our campus,” said Ambrose.
CTL’s achievements since its founding:
- Hosted over 250 workshops and events for CU educators in key areas such as instructional design, inclusive practices, assessment, and innovation and technology.
- Supported over 400 graduate students through the completion of the Lead Graduate Student Fellowship Program, Certificate in College Teaching, or Future Faculty Development Certificate.
- Partnered with other campus units to carry out three major BUS (Buff Undergraduate Success) initiatives to support teaching, learning and student success campuswide: theBUS Innovating Large Courses Initiative,BUS Canvas Grading Initiative ԻBUS Canvas Templates Initiative.
- Sponsored the Innovation Incubator Interdisciplinary Data Science team, who won National Science Foundation ($300,000) and National Endowment for the Humanities ($150,000) grants to create eight new interdisciplinary data science and humanities courses.
“Faculty at CU Boulder have always valued excellent teaching,” said Katherine Eggert, vice chancellor and senior vice provost for academic planning and assessment. “What CTL has done for the university is give faculty and graduate students a vibrant, one-stop resource for gaining new skills, benefiting from new research in pedagogy and assessment, and learning from each other in a shared community around crucial topics in teaching and learning.”
As the CTL marks this milestone, be sure to participate in the following:
- Attend theFall Teaching, Learning, and Technology Conference Oct. 2–3, and register forworkshops throughout the academic year.
- Explore new resources and partnerships through themerged CTL-ASSETT website.
for teaching strategies, resources and events geared toward the campus teaching community..
What the community is saying about CTL
The Center for Teaching & Learning (CTL) has been an invaluable resource in my professional journey. From being able to help my students in putting together professional portfolios via Buffs Create to participating in the AI Summer Design Studio to sharing and learning through the mentor program, CTL offers invaluable training and social opportunities of all kinds.”
–Lori Poole, assistant teaching professor, communication
I am so glad that ASSETT exists and that we now have a CTL! Thank you for all the wonderful and hard work you do to help us all become better educators and to continually strive to create communities of practice! I truly am amazed by all you do and grateful to have you on campus! Thank you!”
–Leilani Arthurs, associate professor, geology
CTL is a vital resource for improving teaching and the classroom culture. It has filled a void at our university that was much needed. As an R1 research institution, teaching falls to the wayside. CTL brings teaching and the classroom into central focus, which is what supports our success in research.”
–Teresa Wroe, assistant vice chancellor of prevention and deputy Title IX coordinator, Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance
I have a greater sense of belonging through the connections I have made at the CTL. I know I have resources (and mentors) at the CTL that I can turn to, and I have made friends through participation in book clubs that carried over into other semesters and as we see each other on campus.”
–Kim Jackson, PhD candidate, HIST, participant fall 2019–spring 2024
CTL/ASSETT's programming is some of the most impactful I've experienced as both a graduate student and faculty member at CU Boulder. The opportunity to connect with other individuals from across campus (who often come from totally different disciplinary backgrounds than me) and to work to develop my teaching has had a huge impact on my career choices and ultimately life.”
–Anthony Pinter, assistant teaching professor, ATLAS
I would say that going to CTL/ASSETT events helps to keep you thinking about evidence-based practice and experimenting with how to make your teaching better—how to engage with new technology and new ideas about best practices in the classroom in a way that helps you to improve what you do.”
–Nicole Jobin, teaching professor, A&S RAPs