The Belmont Teaching Center held a luncheon on Friday, April 12, celebrating 30 years of Belmont’s commitment to helping faculty become the best professionals possible.
Encouraging good teachers to become great teachers since it was established in 1994, the Teaching Center provides resources and support through discussions, travel grants, student feedback and individual consultations. Offering their services to everyone from new hires to tenured Belmont faculty, the Center seeks to help educators nurture their professional abilities in the same way they nurture the abilities of their students. 
Mathematics professor Dr. Mike Pinter has directed the Teaching Center since 2012. In his role as director, he works with professors across disciplines, connecting them with others who are interested in continually learning how to improve their craft.
“What we're doing is helping faculty build community and belonging with each other,” Pinter said. “We don’t want anybody to feel like they’re on the outside of things. They're going to be better for their students if Belmont feels like their place.”
The luncheon featured Belmont faculty who were instrumental in establishing and growing the Teaching Center. A presentation panel, consisting of former interim provost George Sims and former Teaching Center directors Marcia McDonald and Kimberlee Daus Entsminger, discussed the past, present and future work of the Teaching Center at Belmont.
“The Teaching Center became a hub for the introduction of service learning and cross-campus collaborations in this new teaching/learning initiative,” said former Teaching Center Director Dr. Marcia McDonald. “Belmont's Teaching Center has sustained an amazing record of fostering cross-campus collaborations and a sense of common endeavor among faculty, even as we have increased our size and academic diversity over these past 30 years.”
Belmont faculty convened for an opportunity to highlight and celebrate the organization that has worked for decades to support them. By remembering the past and looking forward to the future, the Teaching Center plans to continue offering community and guidance to faculty for many years to come.