Enlighten the people generally, and tyranny and oppressions of body and mind will vanish like evil spirits at the dawn of day.

-Thomas Jefferson, letter to DuPont de Nemours, April 24, 1816

Since 1990, thousands of faculty members and teaching assistants new to the University of Virginia have had their paths smoothed and their concerns addressed at the August Teaching Workshop. These two half-days, funded by the Office of the Provost and presented by the Teaching Resource Center, engage colleagues from around the University in concurrent interactive workshops. These sessions are:

• interdisciplinary
• hands-on and practical
• designed to answer some of your questions about teaching at U.Va. and to provoke others
• productive for both experienced and inexperienced teachers
• structured to introduce you to new colleagues
• geared to the distinct needs of faculty and TAs
• most effective in concert with specific, departmental workshops
• focused on issues relevant to teaching any subject matter:
  • presenting your discipline effectively
  • teaching the first day
  • getting to know your students
  • lecturing
  • leading discussions
  • teaching labs
  • avoiding potential problems and pitfalls
  • finding useful resources
  • complete with a complimentary lunch

We hope that, like us, you see these meetings as not only an opportunity to learn about teaching but also an excellent chance to begin your academic life at U.Va. Enriching our intellectual community has been a driving theme of the Faculty Senate, and the Teaching Resource Center has longstanding programs that bring faculty and teaching assistants together across academic disciplines for fruitful exchanges of ideas.