Lauri S. Dietz named Executive Director of Faculty Development

The Office of the Provost has announced the appointment of Lauri S. Dietz, PhD, as Executive Director of the new Center for Faculty Development, where she will lead an ongoing expansion of professional development opportunities for faculty. 

Grounded in Loyola’s Jesuit mission and values, the Center for Faculty Development supports the growth and success of all Loyola faculty through a holistic approach anchored by three focus areas: teaching and learning; online learning; and scholarship and career advancement. The focus areas unite and reimagine the Faculty Center for Ignatian Pedagogy, the Office of Online Learning, and the Center for Faculty Excellence. 

The new Center’s innovative integrated strategy will create more transparent, accessible, and customizable professional development pathways for faculty at every career stage, in any discipline, and across all modalities. In her role, Dietz will lead a team and coordinate with other faculty support units to design and deliver workshops, leadership development programs, and new initiatives to support faculty.  

Examples of programming include: 

• Workshops on inclusive teaching, course design, assessment strategies, and creative uses of technology. 

• Faculty learning communities that bring colleagues together across disciplines to exchange ideas and explore emerging topics. 

• Leadership pathways for faculty interested in stepping into administrative and program leadership roles. 

• Mentoring networks to connect junior faculty with experienced colleagues who can provide career and scholarly guidance. 

Dietz brings a record of equity-minded and collaborative leadership in faculty engagement, teaching innovation, and academic program development. She comes to Loyola most recently from Northwestern University, where she served as Director of Pedagogy and Assessment at the Searle Center for Advancing Learning and Teaching. In that role, she created and oversaw programs designed to strengthen faculty inclusive teaching and equitable assessment practices, expand mentoring networks, and build communities of thought partnership across disciplines. Prior to her time at Northwestern, she launched university-wide teaching and learning initiatives at Stanford University by unifying dispersed faculty service units and spent more than a decade at DePaul University, where she was the founding director of the University Center for Writing-based Learning.  

Dietz credits her collaborative, values-centered approach to the lasting legacies she has created and looks forward to working with the Loyola community to build on the tremendous work already done as the Center for Faculty Development advances a new era of holistic Ignatian and innovative faculty development experiences. 

Dietz earned her doctorate in English Renaissance Literature from the University of Notre Dame and began her career as a faculty member at Angelo State University in Texas.  

“Dr. Dietz’s experience and perspective will help us continue building a culture where faculty feel supported, connected, and inspired,” said Markeda Newell, vice provost for faculty affairs. “By strengthening faculty development, we strengthen our ability to deliver the transformative education that defines Loyola.”