Stacy Grooters, who as interim director of the Boston College Center for Teaching Excellence was a key figure in the University’s successful transition to remote instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic, has been named the center’s executive director.
The Center for Teaching Excellence provides support for faculty and graduate student instructors to create engaging and inclusive learning environments for all BC students. Grooters joined the CTE in 2015, serving as director of faculty programs until her appointment as the center’s interim director last summer upon the retirement of John Rakestraw. As executive director, Grooters is responsible for ensuring that the center’s programs and services align with faculty needs and are responsive to the University’s priorities and mission.
Stacy Grooters
Grooters said she is committed to promoting a strong culture of reflective, inclusive, evidence-based teaching at the University. "I find myself inspired on an almost daily basis by the incredible work of my colleagues in the CTE as well as by the dedication and creativity that BC's faculty and graduate students bring to the classroom. I couldn’t be more grateful for this opportunity to lead the CTE into its next chapter."
In her previous role as CTE’s director of faculty programs, Grooters had oversight of such initiatives as Excellence in Teaching Day, Faculty Cohorts on Teaching, Back-to-School Boot Camp, and the Junior Faculty Conversations on Teaching, as well as graduate student programs, and she designed and led one-time and ongoing programs at the request of departments and schools.
Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley praised Grooters for her leadership and engagement with faculty.
“Stacy has been instrumental in bringing the original vision for the Center for Teaching Excellence to life over the last five years,” said Quigley. “Her deep respect for and engagement with the work of faculty across campus enabled her and the CTE staff to rise to the unprecedented challenges of the spring semester. All of us at Boston College are benefiting from her leadership in preparing for high-quality teaching and learning this fall.”
Added Vice Provost for Faculties Billy Soo: “Since she joined the CTE, Stacy has been at the forefront of developing faculty programs to further teaching excellence in the University. When the University had to pivot to remote instruction last spring, the CTE, under Stacy’s leadership, had to provide training and support to many of our faculty in a short period of time and often under trying circumstances. By all accounts, the work of Stacy and her colleagues at the CTE, Center for Digital Innovation in Learning, and Information Technology Services was instrumental in our successful transition to remote learning.”
According to Grooters, the strong relationships CTE has forged with faculty and other campus partners over the past six years were key to the University’s success in remote instruction this past spring.
“I look forward to continuing to strengthen those partnerships in the coming years,” she added.
Grooters is actively involved in the Professional and Organizational Development (POD) Network in Higher Education, a national organization for teaching centers, and has served two terms on the POD Network’s board of directors. She is overseeing a grant from the Davis Educational Foundation to further the CTE’s work to support faculty’s inclusive teaching efforts.
Prior to arriving at BC, Grooters was the founding director of Stonehill College’s Center for Teaching and Learning, which she led for eight years, and an instructional consultant at the Center for Instructional Development and Research at the University of Washington.
A former Peace Corps volunteer, Grooters earned a master’s degree in English from Miami University in Ohio and a doctorate from the University of Washington in Seattle. At Stonehill, she taught in the English department and in the Gender & Sexuality Studies program. She also taught in the University of Washington departments of English, American Ethnic Studies, and Women’s Studies.
Kathleen Sullivan | University Communications | June 2020