Dr. Kerry Ritchie Appointed Director of CBS Office of Educational Scholarship and Practice
The College of Biological Science is pleased to announce that Dr. Kerry Ritchie, a professor in the Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences (HHNS), has accepted the role of Director of the CBS Office of Educational Scholarship and Practice (COESP). She will hold the position for a five-year term, which begins this fall.
Dr. Ritchie is an associate professor in the College of Biological Science. She has an active research program investigating the prevalence, impact, and incorporation of authentic assessment across the curriculum. She has expertise in high impact practices for student success, experiential learning, students as partners, open educational resources, academic integrity and more.
“Throughout the interview process, Dr. Ritchie demonstrated excitement and depth of knowledge about educational activity in CBS,” said Dr. John Dawson, the Associate Dean, Academic in CBS, and former director of COESP. “Kerry expressed a commitment to work with the CBS community towards scholarly teaching and supporting teaching scholarship. She’s going to be fantastic. She’s the right person to take COESP from its foundational beginnings to its next phase.”
Dr. Ritchie serves as the co-chair of the HHNS curriculum committee, education lead of the co-curricular experiential learning program at the Health and Performance Centre. She has contributed to the University strategic renewal process, TLI planning committee, and grant review processes through OTL and the AVPA office.
“My teaching, research and service activities consistently centre on understanding institutional data, then using that information in creative ways to improve teaching and learning. Along this path, I have navigated a non-traditional faculty position, earned tenure, and contributed to the understanding and distinction between scholarly teaching, SoTL research, and related activities,” said Dr. Ritchie. “Collectively, these experiences have offered me the opportunity to work with excellent and engaged scholars across the university. I am excited for the possibilities this role will provide over the next five years.”
The CBS Office of Educational Scholarship and Practice (COESP) is a division of the CBS Dean's Office that supports teaching and learning in the college. COESP supports and promotes scholarly teaching through welcoming invited speakers, chairing panels of teachers from across CBS and U of G, hosting the annual COESP Day conference, supporting grants for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) research, offering funding for travel and professional development, and more.
Under the direction of Dr. Ritchie, COESP will launch new initiatives, including grants to help grow student-led learning opportunities and developing community around scholarly teaching.