About CTE

The Center for Teaching Excellence, which first opened its doors in 1998, is one of American University’s newest organizations. It institutionalizes a distinctive AU tradition: that superb teaching and engaged learning must be combined with world-class research and professional practice as complementary, mutually reinforcing pursuits.

In June of 2002, then-President Benjamin Ladner and Provost Cornelius Kerwin approved a reorganization that assigned responsibility for many advanced technology support services and laboratories, within the Provost’s Office, to the Center. This innovative restructuring, emphasizing that teaching/learning goals must motivate technological applications, rather than the reverse, sets American University apart from most institutions of higher education.

CTE staff members are creative senior professionals and highly skilled consultants who can best be viewed as members of an elite consulting firm. We are committed to serving faculty and student teaching, learning and advanced technology needs – and we provide these services for free! Whether the client is a prospective policy analyst seeking assistance with his first regression equation, an aspiring film producer mastering advanced animation software, or a senior colleague learning about computer-assisted instructional methods, CTE professionals are here to help. Our computer laboratories and Training Center cater to thousands of student clients each year. Our Teaching and Learning Resources Group collaborates with faculty and doctoral students to ensure that cutting-edge pedagogical techniques are widely available in AU classrooms. Our Faculty Corner combines the services of an elite computer laboratory with the ambience of an exclusive club. Our AV Systems & Services group provides high-quality help to everything from daily classes to special events with national stature.

Areté, the title of CTE’s newsletter, captures CTE’s essence in a word. This Greek term is often equated, seamlessly, with the English words ‘virtue’, ‘excellence’, ‘goodness’ and ‘knowledge.’ It embodies a belief that “the highest human potential is knowledge and all other human abilities are derived from this central capacity.” In CTE, we believe that empowering students to achieve their highest human potential, through teaching, knowledge creation, and creative professional practice is the calling of every university faculty member. It is the goal – and privilege – of each Center for Teaching Excellence professional to support this calling at American University.

See the Glossary in Washington State University Professor Richard Hooker’s review of Greek Philosophy. I am indebted to AU Professor John Shosky for suggesting this term.

~John Richardson, Director

CTE Offices

Director's Office
-Small Grants

Teaching & Learning Resources
-Blackboard Assistance
-Software Training

Audio & Video Systems & Services
-Request Services
-AV Services

Faculty Corner
-Borrow Equipment
-Arete Newsletter

Statistical Labs (PC Labs)
-Social Science Research Lab
-School of Public Affairs Lab
-Math and Statistics Lab

New Media Center
-Borrow Equipment

STARS - Hughes Lab