Mike Arenth and Bridget Ridge will continue leading the University Center for Teaching and Learning

Mike Arenth and Bridget Ridge, who have served as interim co-executive directors of the University Center for Teaching and Learning (UCTL) over the past academic year, will step into the roles permanently, effective Oct. 1.

“I am confident that their continued partnership will position the UCTL well for the future and build on the progress made over the past year,” Senior Vice Chancellor and Provost Joe McCarthy said in an Oct. 1 announcement. “The UCTL will continue to serve faculty and instructors across the University, providing the resources, expertise and programming that support excellence in teaching and learning.”

Both Arenth and Ridge have been part of the UCTL for many years and bring deep knowledge of the center, its work, and the faculty, instructors and students it serves. Their co-leadership model has provided strong and complementary leadership and helped advance teaching and learning across Pitt.

McCarthy also announced that the center will report to Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies Adam Lee, who will lend his expertise in the structures and policies that support students’ academic experiences. The change will also provide an opportunity to build upon existing collaborations between Lee’s team and the UCTL and to better incorporate the center into ongoing partnerships between the Office of the Provost’s Academic Team and the Learning Research and Development Center in support of student learning.

In addition, the Center for Mentoring within the UCTL will report to Vice Provost for Graduate Studies Amanda Godley. Amanda’s work with the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation has helped build Pitt’s institutional capacity for mentoring, particularly at the doctoral level, providing a strong foundation that the Center for Mentoring can complement and extend. This change will create opportunities to more closely integrate the center’s work with the University’s broader priorities for graduate student success, professional development and faculty mentoring.

Read the full announcement from the Office of the Provost.