The director of Eastern Kentucky University's Teaching and Learning Center will soon be lending his expertise to educational institutions worldwide.

Dr. Douglas Robertson, who has served as the Center's first full-time director since last year, has been named to the Fulbright Senior Specialists Program.

Robertson joins a roster of more than 700 senior specialists who may be asked to collaborate with professional counterparts internationally on curriculum and faculty development, present lectures, participate in or lead seminars, and participate in specialized academic programs and conferences, among other activities.

"I feel privileged and honored to receive this appointment," said Robertson, who will serve for five years. "It creates significant opportunities for me to provide service that combines my consulting with my interest in international higher education. Also, it gives me the chance to tell EKU's special story in other parts of the world."

Senior specialists are selected on the basis of recognized professional standing and achievements. Grants, which typically cover a 2- to 6-week period, include travel and per diem, plus a $200 a day honorarium.

Robertson came to EKU in 2001 from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, where he was a professor of educational leadership and director of the University Teaching and Learning Center. He also has taught at Syracuse University and Marylhurst College and Portland State University in Oregon.

He is the author of "Self-Directed Growth" and has published numerous journal articles and made many presentations, mostly on college teaching and learning, at colleges and universities nationwide. Robertson serves on the editorial boards for To Improve the Academy and the Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, as well as the Kentucky Journal of Excellence in College Teaching and Learning, a new electronic journal. He also is a frequent manuscript reviewer for Innovative Higher Education and, earlier this year, was named senior editor for New Forums Press's "Practices for Better Teaching" Book Series.

Robertson is a frequently sought consultant and speaker for a wide variety of educational, business, governmental, human service and health-care organizations. His current scholarship focuses on building two interrelated theories - a developmental model of professors-as-teachers and a conceptualization of college teaching as an educational helping relationship.

EKU established its Teaching and Learning Center in 2000 to serve as the focal point for the ongoing professional development of faculty and innovative teaching and learning strategies.
The Center offers a wide range of services designed to enhance teaching effectiveness, including peer mentoring, professional consulting on all aspects of instructional design, forums and workshops, and resource materials.