Donna Brown to Direct UWs Ellbogen Center for Teaching and Learning

Recognized nationally for her teaching and scholarly work, Donna Brown has been named the executive director of the University of Wyoming Ellbogen Center for Teaching and Learning (ECTL).

A native of Australia, Brown was educated at the University of New South Wales before joining the faculty of the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences in the UW College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. She was head of the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences from 2010-12 and was named associate dean of the college in 2012.

“The university has been fortunate to have had extraordinarily talented individuals leading the ECTL, and Donna Brown continues that tradition of excellence,” says David Jones, UW vice president for academic affairs. “Donna will have the opportunity to lead the center’s continued mission of teaching excellence at UW by supporting our faculty as they develop new pedagogies in the classroom. Further, we anticipate that the ECTL will become more involved in facilitating and assessing student learning.”

ECTL provides leadership, support, faculty development and instructional services for teaching and learning excellence. The center oversees the Writing Center, Instructional Computing Services and Instructional Media Services; develops and hosts teaching and learning workshops; and provides one-on-one consulting and class observations to promote career-long professional growth in teaching.

All of ECTL’s services and programs are free to the university’s instructional community, both in and outside of Laramie, including faculty, lecturers, graduate teaching assistants, postdoctoral fellows and anyone else involved in teaching at the university.

In addition to teaching several textile science and apparel courses, Brown pursues scholarship in the area of one-of-a-kind wearable art design. She has received national and international recognition and prizes for many of her clothing creations and hosts the annual “Coat Couture” display of artistic jackets and coats designed by students in the apparel design program at the American Heritage Center.

Her UW honors include the John P. Ellbogen Meritorious Classroom Teaching Award, the College of Agriculture Outstanding Adviser Award and the US West/UW Center for Teaching Excellence University Studies Freshman Program Course Teaching Award. The U.S. Department of Agriculture selected Brown to receive one of two national awards given in 2004 for “Excellence in College and University Teaching” in the field of agriculture sciences.