Students, faculty and staff celebrated the opening of the College of Business Teaching and Learning Center on Wednesday, October 10 in Howard L. Hawks Hall. The center offers workshops and events to support faculty in the classroom and help students develop academic skills and confidence.
As one of the feature learning spaces in the new $84 million, 240,000-square-foot building funded entirely by private donations, the center focuses on the needs of both students and faculty. Dr. Kathy Farrell, interim dean and State Farm Professor of Finance, believes it can be transformational to the business education offered at Nebraska.
The college hired Dr. Tawnya Means, assistant dean and director of the Teaching and Learning Center, and Kate McCown, assistant director, to lead the center. Prior to joining Nebraska, Means spent ten years as the director for the Teaching and Learning Center at the Warrington College of Business at the University of Florida. McCown came to Nebraska Business from the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.
Building upon the college’s reputation for community and collaboration, Means seeks to further promote a culture of interaction and engagement between faculty and students. Means believes the center can bring faculty and students together in new ways to promote meaningful engagement between them, including casual ‘meet and eat’ luncheons. Providing these opportunities for feedback as well as for relationship building enhances students’ learning experience. The center also provides academic support to students so they can be successful in their classes and beyond college. Students can benefit from the center’s study groups, course mentors and supplemental support for challenging courses. They can also participate in workshops with topics such as developing study skills, managing test anxiety, time management and more.
The Teaching and Learning Center can be found in Hawks Hall CoB 014.