WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) announced recently the appointment of Gary R. Brown as senior fellow in the Office of Quality, Curriculum and Assessment. Brown is an assessment consultant at WSU, working with colleges and academic departments on focused assessment projects, including the College of Veterinary Medicine and College of Engineering.
As senior fellow, Brown will work on projects of interest related to advancing liberal learning – including assessing student learning, electronic portfolios, the Harvesting Gradebook and other modes for communicating the results of student learning assessment – and networking with the e-portfolios professional community and with those involved in AAC&U’s VALUE (Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education) project.
“Gary Brown was a valuable colleague during the development of the VALUE rubrics,” said AAC&U Vice President Terry Rhodes. “His pioneering work at WSU to ground assessment of learning in student work, demonstrate shared expectations for learning across departments and programs, involve faculty, students and alumni/employers in assessing student learning, and create simple yet illustrative visual presentations for communicating assessment results have all been model efforts for many campuses across the country. Drawing on Gary’s experience and expertise in developing and communicating assessment results nationally as we further advance AAC&U’s portfolio of projects on these topics will be invaluable.”
Brown was the lead developer for the FIPSE (Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education) funded WSU Critical Thinking Project. With WSU colleagues, he has been recipient of six National University Telecommunication Network best research awards on studies ranging from course design to engaging diverse stakeholders to faculty attitudes and motivation for using e-portfolios.
He was a National Learning Communities fellow and the assessment section editor for the journal Innovate. His work focuses primarily on the assessment of student learning outcomes for accreditation and, more important, for engaging faculty in efforts to improve program coherence and student learning.
AAC&U is the leading national association concerned with the quality, vitality and public standing of undergraduate liberal education. Its members are committed to extending the advantages of a liberal education to all students, regardless of academic specialization or intended career. Founded in 1915, AAC&U comprises more than 1,200 member institutions – including accredited public and private colleges and universities of every type and size.
AAC&U functions as a catalyst and facilitator, forging links among presidents, administrators and faculty members who are engaged in institutional and curricular planning. Its mission is to reinforce the collective commitment to liberal education at both the national and local levels and to help individual institutions keep the quality of student learning at the core of their work as they evolve to meet new economic and social challenges.
Information about AAC&U membership, programs and publications can be found at www.aacu.org.