This move brings the center’s decade-long support for faculty engaged in values-based and experiential teaching funded by the PPS Endowment together with the College’s existing work that supports traditional faculty development in teaching, advising, research, and creative projects.

The center’s new name, the Center for Principled Problem Solving and Excellence in Teaching (CPPSET), reflects its expanded responsibility. This combining of efforts will provide additional energy and focus to the College’s educational development work necessary for our students and faculty. It will maximize the use of our faculty development and PPS endowments.

It will also aid in identifying expanded opportunities for campus-wide educational development necessary to the delivery of the Guilford Edge. And this administrative reorganization will make it easier for faculty to access support so they can spend more time working with students or engaging in research and creative projects.

“The goal of faculty development is always to help faculty be the best professors they can be, so students receive the best possible education,” says Maria Rosales, Professor of Political Science and Director of Faculty Development. “We work with faculty to improve their interactions with students, starting from before class begins by creating welcoming and inclusive syllabi.”  

She adds, “We help faculty stay engaged with each other, with their scholarly and creative fields, and with the needs of the students and of the institution. The opportunities we provide also help maintain accreditation. Combining with the Center for Principled Problem Solving will allow us to further the crucial goals of both faculty development and principled engagement.”

2019-20 will be a transitional year for CPPSET as the CPPS and faculty development programs consult with faculty and staff on how to best meet their needs for delivering the Guilford Edge. Maria and Mark Justad, CPPSET Director, will co-facilitate faculty development work for the coming year. And CPPSET’s new Assistant Director, Sonalini Sapra, will continue her work in support of engaged learning and teaching that is shaped and motivated by Guilford’s core values. CPPSET will provide faculty development direction in future years, with faculty leadership continuing to guide programming and support for Guilford faculty.

“The center and the PPS Endowment were established to promote, develop and support teaching and learning opportunities that put Guilford’s Core Values to work in the world,” Mark says. The PPS Endowment was established with gift commitment of $2.5 million from Dan and Beth Mosca and their family. The Mosca family, through a dollar-for-dollar matching challenge, has made possible an additional $1.75 million in gifts and pledges to the endowment from numerous alumni and friends of the College. Dan is a member of the Guilford College Board of Trustees and chair of the CPPSET Board of Advisors established to support the work of the center.  

Mark adds, “Guilford faculty have, from the beginning, been central to our efforts to bring engagement with a world in need of transformation into our students’ educational experience in meaningful and creative ways. This expansion of the center’s responsibilities will continue this tradition and allow for the expansion of faculty and educational development in support of the Guilford Edge.”