Alumna Gift Creates Endowment At MUW

(PRESS RELEASE)

COLUMBUS, Miss. – A gift from alumna Connie Kossen and her husband Tom will create the Kossen Teaching and Learning Endowment which will support faculty and innovative teaching approaches at Mississippi University for Women.

As a result of this gift the Center for Teaching and Learning is being named in their honor. The gift was announced today at the Spring 2016 Faculty/Staff Convocation by Dr. Jim Borsig, university president.

“The Kossens have been extraordinarily generous in their gifts of time, talents and resources,” President Borsig said. “They have always supported the faculty, the heart of our university, including establishing the Kossen Faculty Excellence Award in 2004. We are grateful for their continued support of a university they both love.”

The CTL promotes teaching excellence at The W. All instructors from senior tenured professors to adjuncts are eligible to benefit from the center’s resources.

The goal of the center is to ensure that the university’s campus is up-to-date on the latest trends in educational practice with support from faculty through their contacts and the CTL’s staff seeking new approaches in higher education.

Current services offered through the CTL include individual and departmental consultations, collaborative teaching discussions, teaching with technology, con for classroom technology upgrades and a digital resource library.

Workshops also are offered on a university-wide basis, including New Faculty Orientation, Fall Faculty & Staff Development Conference, faculty roundtables, pre-grant writing workshops, disaster training, teaching strategies and more.

The CTL plans to expand its services and workshop offerings to respond to faculty needs. Grants will be in place to focus on creative teaching, travel, student enrichment, mentoring, resource library, and an annual faculty and student research symposium.

Kossen, a 1964 alumna of The W, and her husband were on-hand for the announcement. During comments to faculty and staff, Kossen recalled one of her beloved professors Dr. Sigfred Matson, who chaired the music division from 1949-1978.

“You are the biggest recruiters that this university has,” Kossen said. “Realizing the importance of all of those things, you are the reason so many of the students come to this campus to learn. We are excited to find out about the ideas you come up with.”