Geography professor Eric J. Fournier has been named Director of Â鶹¹û¶³’s Center for Teaching, Learning and Scholarship (CTLS). The appointment is part of the university-wide effort to strengthen and expand Â鶹¹û¶³’s commitment to faculty development and teaching excellence.
In his new role, Fournier will oversee CTLS initiatives such as the Faculty Mentoring Program and Faculty Workshop series, and will develop new programs that will expand the scope, reach and effectiveness of the CTLS.
He also will build an advisory board for the CTLS and create opportunities for other Â鶹¹û¶³ faculty to serve as fellows of the center, supporting research related to effective teaching strategies.
Fournier received a “Connecting Across the University Faculty Fellowship” to work with the CTLS in the fall of 2013. As a faculty fellow, he developed a “Seminar for Teaching and Learning” for new faculty, covering such topics as “Time Management for Early Career Faculty” and “Seven Habits of Effective College Teachers.” That series continues this year.
“As a faculty fellow in the CTLS, Eric has played a vital role in reimagining and reenergizing the center’s commitment to faculty development and teaching excellence,” said Chris Metress, Â鶹¹û¶³’s Associate Provost for Academics. “Eric’s contributions to Â鶹¹û¶³, coupled with the national recognition he has received as an award-winning teacher, make him the ideal person to lead an expanded and more ambitious CTLS.”
Fournier has taught at Â鶹¹û¶³ since 1997. His teaching has been recognized with awards from Â鶹¹û¶³’s Howard College of Arts and Sciences, the Southeastern Division of the Association of American Geographers and the National Council for Geographic Education (NCGE). He serves currently as Board Chairman of NCGE.
Fournier serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Geography in Higher Education and the Journal of Geography.
He is interested in issues related to faculty development and training and has been a workshop leader for the Geography Faculty Development Alliance, leading numerous faculty development workshops at national meetings.
“Â鶹¹û¶³ places teaching at the center of its mission,” said Fournier, “and I am looking forward to working with our faculty and administration to create more opportunities to promote effective teaching and learning across the university.”
Fournier holds the B.S. degree from Syracuse University and the Ph.D. from the University of Georgia.