As the Interim Executive Director of Faculty Development, I am also the Interim Director for the Teaching Resource Center (TRC). I hope to share my passion for effective teaching and evaluation with our CSUSB community in this role. Under the leadership of several pedagogical experts over its course, TRC has grown to become an integral part of our campus' mission to provide evidence-based tools and resources to become effective educators. I hope to continue to support TRC and our campus through such initiatives.
TRC's goal remains to serve as a leader in providing professional development support for teaching, regardless of the level of teaching experience or faculty appointment type. Therefore, TRC will continue to dedicate itself to promoting impactful workshops, webinars, grants, and collaborative initiatives with other CSUSB entities to serve our educators holistically. In addition, TRC will continue its mission to provide resources on various teaching tools, including research-based learning, service-learning, summative and formative means of evaluation, and converting traditional courses to virtual delivery methods.
Teaching is my passion, as it allows me to fulfill the foundation of my chosen profession by aiding in training the next generation of professionals. My teaching philosophy has continued to grow and incorporate socially responsible pedagogy and high-impact practices that entail student-centered learning, much of which I have learned from TRC itself. By serving as the Interim Executive Director, I am honored to give back to the Center and help continue its growth.
Also, TRC offers Pedagogy Cafe, which serves as an informal and semi-structured scope of discussions for faculty to share ideas on various topics and best practices.
I am looking forward to continuing and growing the scope of TRC's service to our faculty here at CSUSB.
Kind regards,
Dr. Paulchris Okpala, D.HSc, MHA, MPA, RCP, CRT
Interim Executive Director of Faculty Development
Teaching Resource Center Directors
CSUSB has been fortunate to have faculty from a variety of disciplines serve as TRC Directors since 1996.
Dr. Rowena S. Santiago Professor, Science, Math, & Technology Education, Founder of the TRC, September 1996 - March 2011
Dr. Josephine G. Mendoza* Professor, School of Computer Science & Engineering, April 2011- August 2011
Dr. Kim Costino Professor, English, September 2011 - December 2015
Dr. Davida Fischman* Professor, Mathematics, January 2016 - December 2017
Dr. Jo Anna Grant Professor, Communication Studies, January 2018 - July 2020
Dr. Monideepa B. Becerra* Professor, Health Science and Human Ecology, August 2020-August 2021.
Dr. Paulchris Okpala* Professor, Health Science and Human Ecology, August 2021 - Present
*Interim Director