{"id":54,"date":"2016-10-19T17:16:05","date_gmt":"2016-10-19T21:16:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/strategic-plan\/?page_id=54"},"modified":"2016-11-09T11:05:10","modified_gmt":"2016-11-09T16:05:10","slug":"excellence-in-teaching-and-learning","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/strategic-plan\/excellence-in-teaching-and-learning\/","title":{"rendered":"Excellence in Teaching and Learning"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-57\" src=\"https:\/\/testweb.saintpeters.edu\/strategic-plan\/files\/2016\/09\/sabin-e1474392309566.jpg\" alt=\"Sabin Pradhan 17 and Prof. Debin Zeng\" width=\"903\" height=\"469\" \/><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cOur focus was on how we can tackle an\u00a0oil spill efficiently, find it in its nascent\u00a0state and contain the damage.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>In a matter of minutes, marine oil spills can do lasting damage. With a Society of Physics (SPS) Chapter Research Award, a team of Saint Peter\u2019s University student researchers experimented with technologies that have the potential to mitigate or prevent oil spill disasters like Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMistakes happen,\u201d said Sabin Pradhan \u201917, who co-led the team with Prajwal Niraula \u201915. \u201cOur focus was on how we can tackle an oil spill efficiently, find it in its nascent state and contain the damage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The team, mentored by Assistant Professor of Physics Debing Zeng, Ph.D., designed an experiment to test the visibility of oil in water using a thermal infrared camera and an optical spectrometer and lasers to remotely measure the depth of an oil spill. Advancing remote technologies is significant, according to the paper Pradhan and Niraula published in The SPS Observer because \u201cthey could detect early failures in equipment and inform response teams about the best course of action.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-63\" src=\"https:\/\/testweb.saintpeters.edu\/strategic-plan\/files\/2016\/09\/ExcellenceinTeaching_fact5-e1474392769436.png\" alt=\"facts and stats\" width=\"770\" height=\"302\" \/><\/p>\n<p>From TriBeta grants for biology research to a University-wide academic symposium showcasing findings from the social sciences, sciences and humanities, Saint Peter\u2019s undergraduates have ample opportunity to investigate academic areas of interest, work alongside a faculty member or advisor and demonstrate their capabilities to admissions committees at top graduate schools and prospective employers.<\/p>\n<p><em>Pathways to Distinction<\/em> calls on the University community to raise the academic bar even higher. With infrastructure and programs established in the previous strategic plan, VISION 2015, the new plan is tailored to unleash the full potential of the people of Saint Peter\u2019s\u00a0and the communities it serves. Initiatives are designed to enhance student success, grow professional development opportunities for faculty and continue to innovate academic programs that prepare graduates for lives of purpose and positive consequence.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Zeng, who has mentored undergraduate researchers in their freshman year, thinks that\u2019s a good thing. \u201cIt\u2019s important to go beyond the course material,\u201d he said. \u201cInvolving students gets them interested in the discipline and it\u2019s beneficial for jobs and graduate school.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"p1\">Pathways to Distinction<\/h3>\n<p class=\"p1\">Pathways to Distinction grew from the success of VISION 2015: The Strategic Plan for Saint Peter\u2019s University 2010\u20132015. University status, expanded degree programs, including Saint Peter\u2019s first doctoral programs in education and nursing, and renovated academic facilities, as well as the construction of the Mac Mahon Student Center, are the catalysts for future growth, innovation and excellence.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"p1\">Exceeding Expectations<\/h3>\n<p><em>Pathways to Distinction<\/em> is a student-focused strategic plan. Advancing excellence in teaching, learning and research at the University will prepare distinctive graduates who exceed expectations and are well prepared to make significant contributions to their professions and communities.<\/p>\n<p>Five academic goals will further excellence at Saint Peters:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Recruit and retain a diverse, talented student body<\/li>\n<li>Recruit and retain outstanding faculty<\/li>\n<li>Increase student success through high impact teaching, experiential learning, advising and career preparedness<\/li>\n<li>Improve student learning experiences to enhance outcomes and engagement<\/li>\n<li>Enhance curriculum through innovation to respond to student needs and changing market demands<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 class=\"p1\">\u00a0What Success Looks Like<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cOur focus was on how we can tackle an\u00a0oil spill efficiently, find it in its nascent\u00a0state and contain the damage.\u201d In a matter of minutes, marine oil spills can do lasting damage. With a Society of Physics (SPS) Chapter Research Award, a team of Saint Peter\u2019s University student researchers experimented with technologies that have the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-54","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/strategic-plan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/54","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/strategic-plan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/strategic-plan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/strategic-plan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/strategic-plan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/strategic-plan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/54\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":115,"href":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/strategic-plan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/54\/revisions\/115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/strategic-plan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}