OPID-Sponsored Systemwide Book Club: Relationship-Rich Education (Spring 2023)

The Office of Professional and Instructional Development (OPID) is sponsoring a systemwide book club for UW instructors this spring! Together we will be reading Relationship-Rich Education: How Human Connections Drive Success in College by Peter Felten (the plenary speaker for this year’s OPID spring conference) and Leo M. Lambert. All book club participants will receive a free physical copy of the book.

What single factor makes for an excellent college education? As it turns out, it's pretty simple: human relationships. Decades of research demonstrate the transformative potential and the lasting legacies of a relationship-rich college experience. Critics suggest that to build connections with peers, faculty, staff, and other mentors is expensive and only an option at elite institutions where instructors have the luxury of time with students. But in this revelatory book brimming with the voices of students, faculty, and staff from across the country, Peter Felten and Leo M. Lambert argue that relationship-rich environments can and should exist for all students at all types of institutions.

Drawing on nearly 400 interviews with students, faculty, and staff at 29 higher education institutions across the country, Relationship-Rich Education provides readers with practical advice on how they can develop and sustain powerful relationship-based learning in their own contexts. Ultimately, the book is an invitation—and a challenge—for faculty, administrators, and student life staff to move relationships from the periphery to the center of undergraduate education.

 

"Relationship-Rich Education" book jacket which depicts an aerial shot of people traversing across a concrete surface, connected by thin black lines

Registration is open through Friday, Feb. 10, but we encourage you to sign up early to guarantee your spot! UW-Green Bay has spots for ten participants which will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Multiple options for meeting dates and times are available and all groups will meet via Zoom during March and April for a total of three meetings. Groups are being facilitated by Teaching and Learning Center Directors from across the System, and your facilitator and group members are determined by your choice of meeting day and time, making this a great opportunity to meet instructors from different UW campuses.

Please contact CATL at CATL@uwgb.edu if you have any questions or OPID@uwsa.edu if you need an accommodation.