ABOUT LILLY-BETHESDA
For nearly 40 years, Lilly Conferences have provided opportunities for the presentation of the scholarship of teaching and
learning. Conference participants are made up of faculty and administrators at various stages in their academic careers that come from across the United States, representing nearly every discipline found in higher education. The Bethesda conference maintains the same overall theme: “Designing Effective Teaching” however tracks and subthemes vary by year. We always offer
a variety of sessions so that participants can match their learning preference to the presentations formats: 50-minute sessions,
30-minute discussions, traditional plenary addresses, round table discussions, and poster sessions. Conference presentations are selected through a blind peer-review process.
Mission
The mission of the Lilly Conferences is to provide a forum to share and model a scholarly approach to teaching and learning that reports quality student learning outcomes while promoting professional development of faculty.
Core Values
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Community is a cornerstone to improving student learning.
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Participants are life-long learners.
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Everyone responsible for teaching has the ability and desire to learn to be a better teacher.
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Scholarly, evidence-based teaching improves student learning.
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Advancing education is a fundamental need in every society.
Lilly Spirit
Lilly Conferences are committed to creating events that build community among its participants.
Scholarly activity in the absence of a shared vision and community support cannot be successful in
building the highest level of effective learning for our students. Effective faculty development does
not occur in a vacuum. It requires a community of scholars sharing, discussing, critiquing and reflecting
upon what constitutes good teaching and learning and identifying how each of us can improve our craft.
At Lilly Conferences, every individual is valued for her or his perspective with the belief that all faculty
members are life-long learners who benefit from interacting with one another, our students, and our
mentors. The designed purpose of each conference is to create a community where we share scholarly
work, network, and promote collaborations that extends the professional interactions forged at
conferences into lifelong collegial friendships.
History
In 1981, the first Lilly Conference on Faculty Learning Communities showcased the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning on the campus of Miami University, in Oxford, Ohio. Early on, the founding Lilly Conference Teaching Scholars supported efforts to develop a platform for showcasing the scholarship of teaching and learning. Initial development of the idea was supported from a three-year grant from Eli Lilly and Company, awarded in 1979. These funds were used to develop individual projects and establish the dissemination of information about faculty learning communities through a conference focused on teaching in higher education.
The initial seed money established the conference, and now, nearly 40 years later, it has transformed into series that hosts
6 conferences showcasing evidence-based teaching and learning in higher education. We remember our roots in our namesake "Lilly Conferences" however, the conference series has been self-supported and self sustaining beyond the initial grant funding.
The ITLC works diligently with founder and past conference director Milt Cox, Miami University, to uphold the mission and values
of Lilly Conferences.
Lilly-Bethesda Conference Director
Dr. Todd Zakrajsek, Ph.D., is the former Executive Director of the Academy of Educators in the School of
Medicineand an Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at UNC-Chapel Hill. Dr. Zakrajsek
is the immediate past Executive Director of the Center for Faculty Excellence at University of North Carolina
atChapel Hill and prior to his work at UNC, he was the Inaugural Director of the Faculty Center for Innovative
Teaching at Central Michigan University and the founding Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning
at Southern Oregon University, where he also taught in the psychology department as a tenured associate
professor. Dr. Zakrajsek also sits on two educational related boards and several editorial boards for
journals in the area of teaching and learning, is an international speaker requested regularly for keynote
presentations and campus workshops, and has published widely on the topic of effective teaching and
student learning.
Hosted by the ITLC | International Teaching Learning Cooperative
The Lilly Conference-Bethesda is hosted by the International Teaching Learning Cooperative. The ITLC was created to bring faculty members and future faculty members together to advance student learning.
Privacy Policy
We have always valued our customer's privacy. We do not sell or trade contact information with other businesses/entities, nor do we print contact information on any conference related materials. We do purposefully send emails to our subscribers around once
a month (more frequently as an event approaches). We also offer the opportunity to unsubscribe within the monthly notifications.
