William Rando, currently the director of the Academy for the Art of Teaching and adjunct professor in the College of Arts and Sciences at Florida International University, has been appointed as the director of teacher preparation at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Graduate School Dean Thomas Appelquist announced Rando's appointment to the newly created position in a recent letter to the Graduate School community. Rando will begin his new job on June 1.
The teacher preparation program, which is under the auspices of the McDougal Center for Graduate Students, assists graduate students in becoming more effective teachers and supports the student-run teacher preparation initiative called Working at Teaching. Rando will also engage faculty and students from all departments in a dialogue on the role of teaching across the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, according to Appelquist.
"Teaching experience plays a vital role in the preparation of doctoral students, whether they seek jobs in the academic sector or the wider world," said the Dean in his letter announcing Rando's appointment. "For those planning a career in college or university teaching, the skills they acquire as teaching fellows will make them more competitive job candidates and enhance the quality of the education they provide."
Rando earned his B.A. from Boston College and his Ph.D. from the Northwestern University School of Education and Social Policy. While at Northwestern, he coordinated the Teaching Assistant Program and the Faculty Development Program in the Searle Center for Teaching Excellence. At Florida International University, he expanded the programs of the Academy for the Art of Teaching to include a credit course for beginning teaching assistants, a series of orientation events coordinated with the Graduate Student Association, workshops and consultations for faculty, and a new seminar series on information literacy.
In announcing Rando's appointment, Appelquist noted that "the past several years have witnessed a growing commitment to graduate student teacher preparation at Yale." In 1992, graduate students initiated the Working at Teaching program, which consists of a series of workshops to improve the quality of graduate student teaching. In addition, many departments have developed their own pedagogical training programs tailored to meet the needs of particular disciplines, Appelquist said. Ongoing discussions are led by Appelquist, Provost Alison Richard and Yale College Dean Richard Brodhead with students and faculty about departmental teaching.
"I am very pleased to see our teaching preparation program take its place along with the office of Career Services and the other programs and activities at the McDougal Center," said Appelquist. "The McDougal Center will provide the space for the central program and the facilities needed to employ new technologies available for teaching and teacher preparation."