Debra Fowler ’03 is the director of the Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE), which helps university faculty incorporate proven and innovative instructional approaches in their classrooms.
Marie and Jim Galloway ’29 deeply believed in the power of education to transform lives. The Houston couple was known for their service to children and college students, including founding the highly respected Galloway School in Friendswood, Texas and supporting Texas A&M University for many years.
Therefore, it comes as no surprise that the board of directors of the Marie M. and James H. Galloway Foundation, which the couple created to handle their estate, decided to donate the family’s ranch, located in Shelby, Texas, to the Texas A&M Foundation. The proceeds of the sale, which garnered $2.35 million, were used to establish an excellence endowment for the Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE).
Fostering Outstanding Teaching
The CTE’s work aligns with the Galloways’ love of education and addresses the heart of Texas A&M’s mission—providing the highest quality undergraduate and graduate programs. The CTE serves faculty and teaching assistants at the flagship campus and other institutional affiliates, including Texas A&M University at Galveston, Texas A&M University at Qatar, Texas A&M University School of Law in Fort Worth and the five colleges encompassed under Texas A&M Health Science Center.
The center offers evidence-based professional development opportunities that help university faculty incorporate proven and innovative instructional approaches in their classrooms. For example, the center’s staff assists academic departments in updating their curriculum with high impact learning practices that are designed to increase student retention, one course or learning experience at a time. Another of the center’s programs helps teaching assistants develop in their roles according to university standards. The CTE is also involved in efforts to design curriculum for interdisciplinary doctoral education and encourage faculty to adopt inclusive teaching methods. Much of the work performed by the center’s instructional consultants is through individual consultation and group collaboration.
One of the center’s more recent initiatives has been a collaboration with the College of Engineering faculty and Instructional Technology Services staff to offer programming for the active learning spaces in the college’s new Zachry Engineering Education Complex. These classrooms encourage small group work with intensive student interaction, to create more lasting learning than when students listen to only lectures. This shift places faculty members in the middle of the classroom. “Students engage with students while faculty facilitate the learning process,” said CTE Director Debra Fowler ’03. Center staff are now preparing programming for similar classroom spaces in the 21st Century Classroom Building, which is under construction and is projected to open in fall 2020.
The center’s staff assists academic departments in updating their curriculums with high-impact learning practices that are designed to increase student retention, one course or learning experience at a time.
Support for Special Initiatives
The funds from the sale of the ranch provide sustainability to the CTE in a time when most programs are dealing with shrinking state budgets. “It’s an opportunity to continue offering our programs when state funding gets tight. We have watched centers like ours across the nation close as funding has decreased,” said Fowler. “This endowment gives us access to available funds when a recognized opportunity arises that benefits Texas A&M faculty and students. This allows the Center for Teaching Excellence to support university initiatives, college programs and department activities in a resourceful manner.”
Fowler gives special credit to retired Texas A&M Foundation Vice President for Principal Gifts Carl Jaedicke ’73 for his help in presenting the CTE gift idea to the Galloway Foundation. “He knew the Galloways were supportive of education and had a real fondness for Texas A&M,” Fowler said.
The endowment will be used to support programmatic efforts, such as curriculum (re)design, graduate student professional development in teaching, English language proficiency programs, institutes for new faculty, faculty fellowships, faculty learning communities and faculty consulting services. All of these offerings will aid the center’s endeavor to support the university’s educational mission. “The CTE is doing so much to make a difference in Texas A&M’s classrooms,” said Jim Montague ’69, who serves as one of the Galloway Foundation’s trustees. “It’s something that the Galloways thought about for a long time when giving to Texas A&M, and the idea that the sale of their ranch could be tied to the Center for Teaching Excellence would have been especially appealing to Mrs. Galloway.”
A Commitment to Education
Marie, who grew up in Luling, Texas, earned a business degree from Texas Lutheran University. She pursued a career as a school teacher and was actively involved with her ranch and cattle.
