Andrew W. Mellon Center for Faculty and Curriculum Development
Illinois Wesleyan University, Box 2900, Bloomington, IL 61702-2900
Mona J. Gardner, Associate Dean of Faculty, 309-556-3760 (Phone), 309-556-3411, mgardner@titan.iwu.edu

WWW Information http://www.iwu.edu/melloncenter/

Quick Reference Institutional Information
Illinois Wesleyan University is a private Carnegie-classified Baccalaureate I (Liberal Arts) institution with approximately 167 full-time faculty, 65 part-time faculty, and 1,900 undergraduate students. The University does not offer graduate programs.

Program Information
The Mellon Center was founded in Fall 1995. The Associate Dean of Faculty directs the Center; she reports to the Provost and is advised by a faculty committee. The Associate Dean is a full-time administrator (whose duties include more than directing the Mellon Center) selected from among the tenured faculty for a term of three years, renewable once. Also housed in the Center are offices for one full-time secretary and the Directors of the General Education, May Term, and the Gateway Colloquium (first-year writing and discussion) programs. These Directors are tenured or tenure-track members of the faculty with 1/3- to 1/2- release time from teaching. Like the Associate Dean, they are on rotating appointments. In this initial period, the Center has been funded from a combination of internal and external sources. Funds are available to support the IWU facultyís professional travel, scholarly and artistic projects, and curriculum and teaching development initiatives.

Program Goals and Activities

The Centers aims are perhaps best described in the mission statement developed by the Mellon Center Advisory Committee:

The purpose of the Mellon Center is to provide the facilities, programs, and resources necessary to support the Illinois Wesleyan University faculty's work as teachers, scholars, and curriculum developers. Operating independently, apart from any evaluation system, the Center promotes self-reflection and the sharing of views and experiences among faculty, particularly on the theory and practice of teaching, course development, and academic program design. The Center seeks to achieve its purpose by providing the following services and programs.

Technology and Pedagogy Workshops and Resources

• a microcomputer laboratory supporting both PC and Macintosh platforms, with scanners, a quick-take camera, a color laser printer, and software appropriate for multimedia projects
• a workshop series to assist faculty in developing new applications of technology inside and outside the classroom
• knowledgeable student assistants to help faculty design and construct Web pages for their teaching and professional work
• lteaching, pedagogy, and course development seminars, featuring leaders from on- and off-campus. Financial Support
• lcourse and program development grants for individual faculty members and groups of faculty
• grants for individuals’ artistic and scholarly development projects leading to publication, exhibition, or performance
• travel support for faculty attending and participating in national or regional conferences related to teaching or scholarly research.

Communication

• informal discussions of classroom practice and experiences
• a newsletter with articles on teaching conferences, curriculum development, and information technology issues of current concern to the IWU faculty
• a listserv for faculty e-mail conversations about any aspect of faculty work
• formal and informal orientation programs for first-year faculty
• a Website focusing on the Center’s activities with links to other teaching and faculty resources inside and outside the University.

Information Resources

• sources of information on issues, initiatives, and trends related to college teaching and the undergraduate curriculum nationally
• repository for syllabi and sample assignments, including General Education and May Term courses
• a library of books, monographs, newsletters, films, and periodicals on teaching and curriculum development

Other

• other programs or services responsive to faculty needs and requests.

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