Published by Communications and Public Affairs 519 824-4120, Ext. 56982 or 53338

News Release

September 21, 2006

Duke University Prof to Visit U of G, Share Interdisciplinary Teaching Expertise

The University of Guelph's 2006 Distinguished Visiting Teaching Professor is Cathy Davidson, a professor at Duke University and an award-winning author. She will visit campus Sept. 25 to 27, meeting and talking with faculty, staff and students about her interdisciplinary approach to teaching and research.

“We’re delighted to have Cathy coming to campus to share her insight and knowledge with our faculty and staff,” said Prof. Alan Shepard, associate vice-president (academic), who oversees the Distinguished Visiting Teaching Professor program. “In addition to being an excellent professor, she is an enthusiastic ‘teacher of teachers,’ who emphasizes the importance of developing lifelong learning for university faculty and staff.”

Davidson is interim director of the John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute at Duke and holds three endowed chairs. From 1999 until July 2006, she served as Duke’s vice-provost for interdisciplinary studies, the first such position in the United States. In that role, she had administrative responsibility for more than 60 research programs in Duke’s nine academic and professional schools.

While in Guelph, she will deliver a public lecture on “Thinking at the Interface” Sept. 25 at 2 p.m. in the George Luscombe Theatre in the MacKinnon Building. Earlier that day, she’ll chat with U of G staff from the library, Learning Commons and Teaching Support Services about learning in higher education.

During her visit, she will also meet with instructors of the University’s unique first-year learning seminars program, speak to teaching assistants and facilitate a discussion with learning and writing peers and student learning group leaders. In addition, she will be available by appointment Sept. 27 from 1 to 3:30 p.m. for anyone interested in talking to her about teaching. To schedule a meeting, U of G faculty should call Julia Beswick at 519-824-4120, Ext. 58902.

Davidson is co-founder of the Humanities, Arts, Science and Technology Advanced Collaboratory, an international consortium of leading humanities organizations and science and technology institutes. She is the author or editor of 18 books, including Closing: The Life and Death of an American Factory (a collaboration with documentary photographer Bill Bamberger), which received the Mayflower Cup Award for non-fiction. She is currently working on a book about higher education, Thinking at the Interface: The Future of Higher Education in an Age of Technology, as well as a social history of the scientific and educational categories of “learning disabilities” and “giftedness.”

Guelph’s Distinguished Visiting Teaching Professor program focuses on theory, practice and scholarship of teaching by bringing a notable and respected teacher to campus each year to spend several days interacting with faculty, students and staff. Developed to complement the teaching excellence of U of G’s 3M Fellows, the program is intended to focus especially on the scholarship of teaching.