Within the new CHSS building, there is a tool that still remains virtually unknown to the many faculty members at Sam Houston State University. By travelling down the concourse level of the new building, one will discover a small but friendly space called the PACE Center , or the Professional and Academic Center for Excellence.
The PACE Center is a facility designed to improve upon the teaching methods of both old and new professors at Sam Houston State. It is not a mandatory program, nor is it disciplinary. Dr. Marsha Harman, the program’s director, hopes that the evaluations that students complete towards the end of each semester will encourage professors to seek help in areas they need to improve on.
One of Harman’s hopes is to ” spread the word of PACE, and see the teaching environment come alive.”
There is no time limit to the program, as it seeks to help professors who want help and is tailored to the individual’s needs. One of the PACE Center’s main missions is to turn the teaching environment at SHSU from that of a lecturing format to one of free and easy communication between both students and professors.
“Students are not just empty vessels that professors must fill up,” Harman said. He said that he hopes that by administering activities and discussions the PACE Center will create a better learning environment at SHSU.
The PACE program will take part in the Fifth Annual College of Humanities & Social Sciences Teaching Conference on August 20 that is sponsored by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. It is a half day conference that starts at 12 p.m. While CHSS professors get first dibs at registering for the conference, the PACE Center invites all professors interested to attend.
By Leona Cain, Jessica Priest, Terry Thomas, Janae Bradford, Julie Gallo, Kristen Stover, Ryan Immke