Angela Linse elected president of professional society for faculty developers

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Angela Linse, executive director of the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence and associate dean for teaching in the Office of Undergraduate Education at Penn State, has been elected president of the Professional and Organizational Development (POD) Network in Higher Education.

The POD Network has been advancing the research and practice of effective teaching and learning and faculty development in higher education for more than 40 years.

Linse has been serving as the POD Network president-elect since March 10, 2018. She will begin her presidency on March 23, 2019, which is the second year of her three-year term. In March 2020, she will transition to past president. 

“I am excited to serve in a leadership role for such a committed and collaborative group of individuals over the next three years. And I am grateful to my colleagues for allowing me to serve,” Linse said. 

Linse’s selection was announced at the 42nd Annual Conference of the POD Network in Montreal, Quebec, on Oct. 27, 2017.

“Angela has been in the field of faculty development for more than 20 years, and her expertise and experience will greatly benefit the POD Network as its national and international reputation expands,” said Cassandra Horii, POD Network president and director of the Center for Teaching, Learning & Outreach at the California Institute of Technology.

The POD Network represents academic and faculty developers from centers for teaching and learning at institutions across North America and from 23 other countries. POD members represent institutions of all ranks and sizes, including highly selective public and private universities, regional public and private colleges, two-year colleges, military academies, and graduate universities. Its members facilitate faculty and graduate student use of evidence-based teaching practices, effective instructional design and course-based research, such as discipline-based educational research and teaching and learning scholarship.

Linse has served the organization as conference program co-chair and contributed 24 sessions at POD conferences. While on the organization’s governing committee, she was treasurer and chair of the finance committee and served on the executive committee. She later chaired the gifting (philanthropy) subcommittee, and has been an active member of numerous other committees, including grants, strategic planning and professional development.

“The POD Network is moving into a new era of advocacy for all instructors to have access to high-quality educational development; examining how institutions value and reward excellence in teaching; and creating an evidence-based, inclusive environment where all learners can succeed,” said Mary Wright, past president and director of the Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning at Brown University.

Linse works with a skilled team of staff and faculty instructional consultants. The faculty are responsible for collaborating with faculty of all ranks at all Penn State colleges and campuses, as well as graduate students, to develop their teaching and improve students’ learning. Also in Linse’s portfolio are the Pollock Testing Center, which offers eTesting and exam scanning services, and the process for administering the Student Ratings of Teaching Excellence (SRTEs).

Linse’s current research focuses on inclusive teaching, faculty evaluation and strategic planning for unit assessment. Prior to joining Penn State, Linse directed the Teaching and Learning Center at Temple University and was an assistant director with the Center for Engineering Learning and Teaching at the University of Washington. Linse received her doctorate in anthropology (archaeology) from the University of Washington in Seattle.