Academic Affairs has acquired a new associate vice chancellor for academic support and development, who will work to establish an impact on faculty, students and the community.

Lori Feldman, former associate dean in the College of Business, was chosen for the position.

Feldman said she is responsible for a number of areas, including the new Center for Faculty Development and Leadership.

“We really think if we can help faculty, they can help students,” Feldman said. “There’s a ton of research that suggests that there’s a strong correlation between the success that faculty has and the success that students have.”

Feldman said students and faculty should create deep connections with each other to establish widespread success. She also said advisers are an important central contact point for students.

“I have two sons; one of them is a brand new college graduate and one who is in college,” Feldman said. “Whenever they have a question about their curriculum, I always tell them ‘Talk to your adviser, talk to your adviser, talk to your adviser.”

Ralph Mueller, vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and provost, said he organized Academic Affairs into three areas: innovation, impact and improvement. He gave Feldman the responsibility of impact.

“It’s impact on our students, on faculty and on the community,” Mueller said. “On the faculty side it’s about faculty development, on the student side it’s about student success and on the community side it’s about strategic partnerships.”

Feldman is working on expanding the center for faculty development and the office for strategic partnerships. She is also involved in helping to improve PNW’s retention rate.

“I would like to see us be able to demonstrate that we are known for teaching, specifically at the undergraduate level,” Feldman said. “There are schools like Miami University in Ohio that have been recognized nationally for their teaching of undergraduates, and I would like to see us earn that recognition in the Region and hopefully broader than that.”

Currently, 21 PNW faculty members are taking an Association of College and University Educators course designed to teach them how to become better educators. Some faculty members that are taking the course have been teaching for 15 to 20 years, according to Feldman, but want to learn to improve their teaching.

“What’s really exciting for me is that they are changing the way they look at their classrooms, and they are getting positive feedback from their faculty,” Feldman said. “It’s like dropping a stone in a still pond, it ripples and eventually we affect the greater campus community.”

Mueller said Feldman has been a positive addition to Academic Affairs.

“She’s a great colleague. She brings a lot of history and knows both campuses very well. She’s had a career in the College of Business, and it’s just a privilege to work with her,” Mueller said.