Main Content
Meet Your Team
Dr. Darcy Janzen
Director
Dr. Darcy Janzen is a senior leader at the University of Washington Tacoma with a focus on cultivating and sustaining exceptional teaching across all disciplines and faculty career stages
With an extensive 30 year career at UW Tacoma, Dr. Janzen has progressed through various roles in Information Technology before joining Academic Affairs as the Director of the Office of Teaching Excellence and Executive Director of the Faculty Resource Center
Chris Lott
Learning Designer
My role as a designer is to help you create the richest and most connected learning experience possible through fusing the appropriate technologies with your pedagogy.
I'm Alaskan born and raised in the interior of that vast state, and then living all over it for 47 years, 20+ of which I taught online, hybrid, and face-to-face courses in English, Education, Social Media, and various other edtech and tech topics.
I was the Director of Teaching and Learning for the University of Alaska Fairbanks eCampus, shepherding a design team and various other staff while building from 0 to 43 fully online degree programs from Associates to Master's levels. Then, when my children moved out and away, I moved to warmer climes and came back to the hands-on work I'd been missing, working with innovative faculty!
I'm a word lover. I started as a poet and poetry magazine editor, drifted into pop linguistics, and I still have a regular short radio segment on words and language that airs on Alaska Public Radio. I'm an avid crossword solver and beginning crossword constructor (aka Cruciverbalist). I also write—mostly poetry, flash, and a mammoth listography—collect pencils, play chess, and read across genres.
Our Work
The Office of Teaching Excellence (OTE) at UW Tacoma partners with educators across campus(es) – including faculty, students, and staff – to cultivate a vibrant and innovative teaching and learning community.
Our philosophy is grounded in the following principles:
-
Pedagogy-First: We prioritize the art and science of teaching and student learning, understanding that technology serves as a tool to enhance, not dictate, effective instructional design and delivery.
-
Learner-Focused: We prioritize the needs of students in the design of effective educational experiences, considering learning goals, assessment methods, and instructional approaches.
-
Research-Informed: We identify and share evidence-based strategies to enhance teaching and learning effectiveness.
-
Equity-Driven: We champion diverse perspectives and backgrounds, striving to create learning environments and opportunities that are accessible and welcoming to all students.
-
Community-Oriented: We work in close partnership with faculty and staff across the campuses foster a strong, supportive, inclusive community among faculty through opportunities for connection, collaboration both within units and across disciplines, building cohesive networks and mechanisms to share expertise, teaching strategies, research and learn from one another.
-
Growth-Minded: We provide avenues for faculty and staff to practice, refine, and expand their teaching abilities through communities of practice, workshops and individualized consultations.
-
Self-Aware: We encourage faculty and staff to critically examine their teaching and learning practices to foster a more diverse and impactful educational landscape.
-
Practice-Oriented: We emphasize practical teaching and learning strategies that support continuous improvement and progressive development.
OTE programs and services are built upon the understanding that effective teaching is a skill that develops and evolves. Our resources are available to all members of the UW community who are dedicated to growing and enhancing their teaching expertise. The Office of Teaching Excellence is a key resource within the academic affairs structure, dedicated to serving the campus community and fully supporting campus initiatives focused on faculty teaching and student success.
