The Program for Enhancing Teaching Effectiveness (PETE), established in 1976, is designed to help sustain the vitality of teaching at the University of Richmond. It is administered by a committee of ten members and a faculty coordinator.
The members represent a variety of approaches to teaching; their charge is not to advocate particular theories or practices, but rather to encourage discussion and reflection about teaching and to foster the faculty’s efforts to be the most effective teachers they can be.
To these ends, PETE sponsors forums and workshops on specific pedagogical issues, lends financial support to projects aimed at promoting effective teaching, and explores with faculty members ways to assess and refine their practice as teachers. PETE was founded on the belief that conversation about teaching is most productive when it is not constrained by personal and professional fears.
Participation in PETE’s activities is, therefore, completely voluntary. PETE does not single out departments for remedial pedagogical help or accept referrals for such help. It plays no part in the evaluation of teaching that determines material professional rewards.
