Charter Committee Annual Report to the Shared Governance Council

Committee: Council on Teaching
Report Year: 2025-26

Committee Chair(s)Marc Pizzimenti, Anatomy and Cell Biology
Committee MembersFaculty:
-Erin Barnes, Clinical Associate Professor of Counselor Education, College of Education
-Heather Dunn, Associate Clinical Professor of Nursing, College of Nursing
-Nicole Esposito, Professor of Music (Flute), College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
-Michelle Fravel, Clinical Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice and Science, College of Pharmacy
-Colin Kostelecky, Lecturer of Rhetoric, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
-Kristin Marrs, Associate Professor of Instruction of Dance, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
-Marc Pizzimenti, Associate Professor of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Carver College of Medicine, Chair of the Council on Teaching
-Michaela Ruppert, Associate Professor of Instruction of Sociology and Criminology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
-David Stewart, Professor of Mathematics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Staff:
-Sara Eisenberg, Enrollment Management, Staff Representative

Students:
-Sabrina Ahmed, Graduate and Professional Student Government Representative
-Harry Bui, Undergraduate Student Government Representative
-Kathit Patel, Undergraduate Student Government Representative
-Hannah Schaufele, Undergraduate Student Government Representative
 
Committee Charge
  1. The Council shall be governed by the terms of the General Charter.
  2. In addition, the Council shall:
  • Provide a forum for discussion of present and future needs in the area of teaching and recommend programs for meeting these needs;
  • Seek, evaluate, select candidates, and establish guidelines for university-wide teaching awards, including but not limited to: Outstanding Teaching Assistant Awards, the President and Provost Award for Teaching Excellence, the Hubbard-Walder Award for Excellence in Teaching, and the Teaching in Higher Education Conference Award;
  • Advise on development of proposals for outside funding to support curricular development, equipment for teaching, and any other proposals related to the teaching and learning effort of the university;
  • Advise with respect to the policies, priorities, and procedures on:
    • evaluation and development of teaching and learning, including responsibilities to students as outlined in this Policy Manual (see III-15.2); and
    • university-wide experimental or nontraditional education programs.
  • Serve in an advisory capacity for the Center for Teaching.
Current Year Meeting Dates9/18/25, 11/6/25, 12/1/25, 1/29/26, 2/27/26, 3/26/26, 4/30/26
Please indicate the typical frequency of meetings (e.g., first Tuesday of month at 4 pm). If there are subcommittees, please indicate the frequency of those meetings, too.There are typically three meetings in the fall semester and four meetings in the spring semester. Meetings align with due dates for the various awards the committee selects recipients of. Meeting times are determined by committee members’ availability. 
Current Year Activities
  • The Council received updates on the Center for Teaching from Anna Flaming
  • Evaluated nominations and determined recipients for the Teaching in Higher Education Conference Awards, Hubbard-Walder Award for Excellence in Teaching, President and Provost Award for Teaching Excellence, and the Outstanding Teaching Assistant Awards.
  • Addressed the issue of multiple-applicants (from the same department) for Travel Conference Awards
     
Topics your committee anticipates addressing during the coming year
  • Explore opportunities for participation outlined in items c-e of the Committee Charge
  • Formalize resources to assist committee members in their role for assessing academic portfolios for teaching awards
Other issues of concern
  • The COT’s charter does not allow for a co-chair, but some charter committees have created “vice chair” positions, with the intention of having a vice chair eventually appointed chair.  Addressing this issue may provide a formalized transition.
What should we tell applicants for this committee regarding expectations of members (anticipated workload, existence of subcommittees, etc.)?Serving on the COT provides a solid experience for participating in aspects of self-governance associated with the art and science of teaching. Applicants to the Council must understand the importance of its mission and the intensity of its workload.  The workload requires dedicated time throughout the academic year, in addition to the scheduled meetings.  Much of the portfolio evaluations for awards occurs outside of the scheduled meetings.  All members are expected to complete/submit assigned evaluations in a timely and professional manner, and to participate in all meetings. Members must be ready to devise strategies for evaluating voluminous applications efficiently, fairly, and consistently. There are no subcommittees.
Does your committee have a website? If so, what is the URL?https://cot.org.uiowa.edu/
What is your process for passing on previous agendas and minutes to the new committee chair?Information is shared through Administrative Support.
 
Recommendations, if any, to the shared governance groups.

 

  • Responses, participation, and submissions from the student representatives was markedly improved.  We recognize that meeting times and the progress of the Council can conflict with teaching/academic assignments.  It may be helpful for students seeking to serve on COT to arrange a meeting with the Chair or other former council members.