The University of Colorado Denver has long recognized that experiential learning is a crucial component of higher education. Hands-on education builds bridges between the academic and working worlds and encourages lifelong involvement in communities at home and across the globe. 
The University of Colorado Denver Strategic Plan stresses: “It is no longer acceptable to simply place students in classrooms, lecture at them and expect that they will be prepared for the ever-evolving jobs of our technology-driven world.”
At the Center for Faculty Development we recognize this wisdom and support faculty who take this edict to new, exciting and life-enhancing distances.
In this edition of Latitude, we run the gamut of experiential education, from getting organized with the assistance of top advisors and the university’s outstanding Experiential Learning Center, to establishing professional conduct in the community, to seeing and touching the world in positive ways. Outstanding faculty promote discovery as close to home as La Junta, Colo., as distant as Grenada and as towering as the volcanoes in Hawaii. Our top educators take concrete academic standards and enable students’ imaginations to soar.
The Center for Faculty Development strives to support faculty engaged in experiential learning through faculty development grants, workshops, and promoting best practices and growth through mentorships. Through the collaboration of the Experiential Learning Center, faculty and the resources the Center for Faculty Development can provide, our students consistently reach new heights and expand their – and our – universe at the University of Colorado Denver.
~ Ellen Stevens, founding director, Center for Faculty Development