New CFDE Director: Dr. Wesley Longhofer
The Center for Faculty Development and Excellence (CFDE) is thrilled to announce that Dr. Wesley Longhofer has been selected as our new director. He will begin on July 1.
In his interview, Wes described himself as an “all-rounder,” and nothing could be truer. He is an accomplished researcher, award-winning teacher, and active member of the Emory community. Wes has a PhD in sociology and is currently an Associate Professor of Organization & Management in the Goizueta Business School. His areas of expertise and research, which have been funded by the National Science Foundation, include climate change, human rights, and social enterprise. His popular class, Business and Society, is the main reason he was once voted one of the Best 40 under 40 Best Professors by Poets & Quants - an award for which he is reminded every year that he is no longer eligible.
For more than five years, Wes has served as the executive academic director of Goizueta's Business & Society Institute, an academic research center that addresses complex challenges facing people and the planet through academic discovery and purposeful action.
He has a courtesy appointment in the Department of Sociology of Emory College of Arts and Sciences and has also worked closely with the Global Health Institute, Center for Ethics, and Campus Life.
Many of you have probably met Wes at a CFDE event over the years. He served as a panelist in discussions of both “Ungrading” and “Points-Based Course Design.” He participated in a faculty writing retreat and several Academic Learning Communities. He served as a mentor for the Grantseekers’ Institute, was a member of our Faculty Reading Circle on Teaching with Generative AI and was an advisory member of the Purposeful Teaching Fellowship. He also served on the CFDE Advisory Board for several years.
Wes has said he was drawn to the position because he wants to help all faculty at Emory live a meaningful academic life. We are looking forward to working with Wes as we continue to grapple with how recent attacks on higher education and rapid advancements in artificial intelligence are radically disrupting the environments in which we all teach, learn, and research. Finally, the coffee drinkers of the office are thrilled that he will be bringing in his very own coffee grinder and pour-over setup to keep us all caffeinated in style. Feel free to reach out to him for a cup of coffee and a chat.
“We invite students in our classrooms to ask big questions and engage in critical thought so that they can enter the world prepared to lead with courage and integrity,” Wes says. “Our research tackles thorny questions about some of the grandest challenges of our time with the faith that the accumulation of scientific knowledge can be transformational. With the CFDE, I hope to support faculty across Emory, regardless of title, rank or department, as they search for meaning and purpose in their own scholarship and teaching.”
Welcome Wes!!!