Newsletter — Edelnant Interview— Chatham-Carpenter Interview

CARVER LIBERAL ARTS INSTITUTES ENTER THIRD YEAR
by Jeff Weld

Now into our third year, the Carver Faculty Institutes have brought together more than 80 course instructors from twenty-five different UNI academic departments to critically explore the art and craft of teaching and educational technology. Officially known as Innovations in College Teaching: Using Faculty Learning Communities and Educational Technology to Improve Learning in the Liberal Arts Core, the project is funded by the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust. By summer’s end 2006, some 15 percent of UNI faculty will be Carver Fellows—having crossed paths under the Carver Institute umbrella!

The best way to explore and represent the Carver Institute experience might be from the perspectives of a couple of veterans—Carver Fellows Jay Edelnant and April Chatham-Carpenter. Dr. Edelnant is a Professor of Performance Studies and a Carver Fellow twice over—participating in both the Interdisciplinary Institute and the Critical Reading and Writing Institute. Dr. Chatham-Carpenter is an Associate Professor in Communication Studies. Both agreed to share their experiences and perspectives with Institute coordinator Jeff Weld.