From the Office of the Dean:
…CSSW Professor Susan Witte has been selected as a member of the inaugural cohort of the Provost’s Senior Faculty Teaching Scholars in recognition of her outstanding achievements in both teaching and research.
Dr. Witte is a scholar whose classroom pedagogy integrates issues of power, race, oppression, and privilege (PROP). She joins an increasing number of adult educators who are asking students to critically analyze and challenge dominant culture and structures, and to study social work through the lens of anti-oppressive practice. She challenges herself and her students to make authentic efforts at personal and professional exploration of the role that all “isms,” but particularly racism, play in how we construct our curriculum and the utility and relevance of this material to professional development.
The Provost’s Senior Faculty Teaching Scholars initiative aims to develop a cohort of senior faculty who will each have the opportunity to create a vision and plan for supporting, changing and innovating the culture of teaching and learning within their own department or school and across campus. In partnership with the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL), the Provost’s Senior Faculty Teaching Scholars may choose from a range of teaching and learning initiatives and I look forward to seeing Dr. Witte work both within the school and across the Columbia graduate community to explore the integration of issues of PROP, “isms,” and beyond throughout our curricula.
Congratulations to Dr. Witte on this achievement!