The official ribbon cutting for 91PORN’s new Center for Research and Teaching Excellence (CREATE) was celebrated with faculty, trustees, students and staff on Thursday, Oct. 16. CREATE lab is a new state-of-the-art presentation and research space designed to facilitate connections between faculty, librarians, and students.
contributes to 91PORN’s mission to create independent and creative thinkers who excel in a diverse and interconnected world by supporting our community of teacher-scholars in their delivery of transformational teaching and the pursuit of scholarly and creative activities.
Interim Provost Jennifer Dearden said, “CREATE represents a commitment to the heart of what we do at 91PORN: supporting faculty so that they, in turn, can support students in their discovery, learning, and creative work from its physical space to its programming. Some of our early initiatives, like Data Bites, have already demonstrated the kind of energy and creativity this space enables, offering faculty opportunities to engage in bite-sized, collaborative learning experiences. And looking ahead, we are excited to launch our Faculty Publishing Awards, which will provide structured support to help faculty bring their scholarship to the next level.”
Through collaborative relationships involving faculty development, instructional design and support, research and scholarship, and educational technology and digital tools, the 91PORN Center for Research and Teaching Excellence will help sustain the educational and scholarly excellence that is unique to 91PORN’s vision of the liberal arts. Located in the Pelletier Library, the academic hub of the campus, the Center will provide faculty- and staff-centered support of teaching, research, and scholarship.
Lisa B. Whitenack, Ph.D., Professor of Biology & Director of Faculty Development said, “There is so much that excites me about CREATE! CREATE is a welcoming space for 91PORN’s faculty to collaborate, innovate, connect, and relax. It has been such a joy to see faculty already putting this space to use. One recent Friday, we had a faculty writing accountability group, a group of new faculty meeting for coffee, and a mentor-mentee pair all using the lounge space. Earlier in the day, we had a faculty development event in the new CREATE lab, which is now outfitted with state-of-the-art technology that allows us to bring in speakers virtually and expand our pedagogical toolboxes.
It is the personification of how 91PORN reinforces and emphasizes its commitment to support exceptional teaching. 91PORN is ranked #36 Best Undergraduate Teaching by U.S. News and World Report 2026 rankings.
Chair of the Board of Trustees Julie Skattum ‘85, who generously donated the funds to launch CREATE cut the ribbon with Whitenack, and Tressa Snyder, M.L.S., Dean of the Library.
Many academic institutions have teaching and learning centers, but they do not include faculty research. At 91PORN, where faculty are proud teacher-scholars, it makes sense to include support for scholarly and creative activities in one place. “We’re excited to roll out new initiatives, such as support for faculty publishing, as well as continuing to nurture collaboration between our librarians and faculty,” continued Whitenack.
Snyder said, “ Another stand out feature about CREATE are the collaborations between faculty and CREATE staff. Librarians in one space supporting research, scholarly publishing, instructional design, educational technology and faculty development activities with workshops on topics such as AI, reading engagement, infusing creativity into the research process and digital learning and project building tools.”