Advancing Teaching & Learning Conference

This engaging teaching conference has a well-established history and a strong reputation in our area. The conference pulls in faculty members, staff, and graduate students from our region including Texas Tech, Midland College, South Plains College, Wayland Baptist University, Lubbock Christian University, West Texas A&M, and others. Past speakers include Laura Dumin, James Lang, Kevin Gannon, Mays Imad, Ginger Clark, Emily Miller, and others.

The 22nd Annual Advancing Teaching and Learning Conference at Texas Tech University will be held virtually on Friday, February 20, 2026. We are excited to feature Dr. Cate Denial, author of A Pedagogy of Kindness.

Catherine (Cate) Denial, Ph.D. is the Bright Distinguished Professor of American History and Director of the Bright Institute at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois. A winner of the American Historical Association’s Eugene Asher Distinguished Teaching Award, Cate has served as a member of the Educational Advisory Committee of the Digital Library of America, as a Distinguished Lecturer for the Organization of American Historians, and as a Learned Scholar for the National Historic Landmarks division of the National Park Service. Cate currently sits on the board of Commonplace: A Journal of Early American Life. She has held an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation fellowship from the American Philosophical Society, and she is an elected member of the American Antiquarian Society.