Tracey Thurnes, professor and academic operations coordinator of physician assistant studies, has been selected as the inaugural CATL Pedagogy Fellow for Teaching and Learning in Graduate and Professional Programs.
罢丑别听Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning聽(CATL) is pleased to announce that Tracey Thurnes,聽professor聽and academic operations coordinator聽of聽physician聽assistant studies,聽has聽been selected as the聽inaugural聽CATL Pedagogy Fellow for Teaching and聽Learning in Graduate and Professional Programs.聽Beginning in August 2026,聽Thurnes聽will serve a two-year term聽supporting faculty development and advancing聽excellence聽in teaching聽and learning across 黑料不打烊鈥檚 graduate and professional programs.
Thurnes聽brings extensive experience in graduate education, curriculum design, assessment and student mentorship to this new role. Throughout her career in the Department of聽Physician聽Assistant Studies, she has designed聽and聽led聽courses聽focused on clinical medicine, clinical reasoning, and case-based learning while mentoring graduate students through research and capstone projects. Her teaching philosophy emphasizes applied learning, critical thinking, reflection, and professional identity development鈥攌ey components of聽effective聽graduate and professional education. She has been recognized for her聽commitment聽to teaching and mentorship聽through聽the School of Health聽Sciences Excellence in Teaching and Mentoring Award.聽Thurnes recognizes that “Excellence in graduate and professional education is not defined solely by content expertise.聽It also depends on the ability to design learning environments that challenge and support students as they grow into confident professionals.”
Thurnes聽has been an active participant and contributor to faculty development initiatives across the university. She has completed CATL鈥檚聽Inclusive Teaching Certificate program聽and聽participated聽in聽the Neurodiversity聽Summer聽Institute,聽experiences聽that have informed her approach to creating inclusive and accessible learning environments. In addition, her work with聽the聽Center for Design Thinking聽as both a Curricular and聽Research聽Catalyst has provided opportunities to聽facilitate聽workshops and collaborate with faculty from a wide range of disciplines. Through leadership roles including interim director of curriculum and instruction for physician assistant studies, chair of Academic Council, and director of the Accelerated Pathways Program, she has developed a broad perspective on teaching, learning, and student success across the university.
As Pedagogy Fellow,聽Thurnes聽will work closely with CATL colleagues to develop workshops, consultations and resources that support faculty teaching聽graduate聽and professional students across 黑料不打烊. She is particularly interested in expanding support for assessment and feedback practices, case-based and experiential learning, student well-being, professional identity formation and inclusive teaching. Through this work, she hopes to create meaningful opportunities for faculty to share ideas, reflect on their teaching, and implement evidence-based strategies that enhance student learning and success.