Our Mission

The Yale Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning promotes equitable and engaged teaching throughout the University, and supports students across the curriculum as they take ownership of their learning. As part of a world-class research institution, we provide training, consultations, and resources designed to make teaching and learning more public and collaborative, so that every Yale instructor experiences the satisfaction that results from teaching well, and every student develops the critical reflection that marks deep and independent learning.

• Our Guiding Principles
• Our Partners and Collaborators
• Our History

Our Guiding Principles

1. The Poorvu Center supports teachers and learners of all backgrounds and abilities and helps develop practices that promote inclusive teaching.
2. The Poorvu Center values research-based decisions about teaching and learning and partners with instructors, departments, and programs to measure and evaluate impact.
3. The Poorvu Center encourages collaboration in all our activities.
4. The Poorvu Center promotes public conversations about teaching and learning across all Yale communities.
5. The Poorvu Center responds to instructors’ vision and students’ needs, and fosters experiments in pedagogy, technology, and student support.
6. The Poorvu Center welcomes the Yale community and visitors into our space to advance teaching and learning excellence.
7. The Poorvu Center disseminates Yale’s intellectual culture to learners at the University and beyond.

Our Partners and Collaborators

The Poorvu Center staff collaborate with many other Yale and external organizations to fulfill the Center’s mission. These include

• Yale University Library, including the Marx Science and Social Science Library and Franke Family Digital Humanities Laboratory.
• Center for Language Study
• School of Medicine Teaching and Learning Center
• Center for Engineering Innovation and Design
• Yale Science Outreach
• Center for Collaborative Arts and Media
• The CIRTL Network | Represented at Yale via the Poorvu Center

A Brief History

Yale University established the Center for Teaching and Learning in 2014 to support students and faculty across the campus. In alignment with President Peter Salovey’s goal of creating a “more unified Yale,” the new center consolidated the various teaching, tutoring, writing and technology-enabled learning programs distributed across the University.

Scott Strobel, Henry Ford II Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, was appointed by President Salovey and Provost Ben Polak to serve as Deputy Provost for Teaching and Learning in 2014. Jennifer Frederick was appointed to serve as Executive Director of the Poorvu Center in 2014 and Lucas Swineford was appointed to serve as Executive Director of Digital Education for the Poorvu Center in 2014.

In 2020, Scott Strobel became Provost of Yale University. President Salovey appointed Pericles Lewis to serve as Vice Provost for Academic Initiatives; the Poorvu Center and a variety of campus partners reports to Dr. Lewis in this capacity.