For almost 100 years, Xavier University of Louisiana has boasted an excellent faculty dedicated to educating the next generation of leaders. The university is pleased to recognize one such talented educator with the announcement that the Kellogg Professor of Teaching, English, Jason S. Todd, Ph.D., has accepted the role of director of the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Faculty Development (CAT+FD).  

Founded in 1994, CAT+FD is a dynamic unit that promotes Xavier University of Louisiana’s mission of promoting a more just and humane society through faculty development across all career stages and areas of professional responsibility. The program provides support for teaching, scholarship, service, and work-life balance through various workshops, working groups, mentorships, and other supportive resources.

Dr. Todd’s appointment comes after a national search led by Xavier’s Associate Provost and Professor, Dr. Florastina Payton-Stewart. Having begun his time at Xavier in 2007 as an assistant professor in the English Department and director of the Writing Center, Dr. Todd has also previously served as the Faculty Director of the Core Curriculum, Director of the Digital Humanities Program, and the director of the university’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), “Read Today, Lead Tomorrow.” When the QEP ended, Dr. Todd became the associate director for programming for CAT+FD through 2021.

“For the past 30 years, the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Faculty Development has furthered Xavier’s mission by supporting our faculty,” said Dr. Todd. “I look forward to continuing this tradition of excellence through campus-wide collaboration and community-focused learning.”

CAT+FD hosts almost weekly workshops on various topics throughout the year and reaches beyond Xavier with its nationally recognized blog and long-running podcast. The program facilitates a year-long Teaching Portfolio Working Group, in which faculty create a foundational collection of teaching materials. A Faculty Writing Group is implemented each semester to develop a community of teacher-scholars supporting each other, investing in daily writing and increasing scholarly output. CAT+FD implements an annual mentorship education program, both in-person and online, that is designed to provide participants with the knowledge and skills needed to mentor and advise undergraduate students, especially those engaged in research. The program also organizes and implements New Faculty Orientation to welcome new professors.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced all of higher education to pivot to online-only systems, and CAT+FD was charged with training over 200 Xavier faculty on how to design a practical and effective remote class. CAT+FD furthered its faculty development support for Brightspace, the university’s Learning Management System, with custom-designed tutorials, online courses, regular workshops, and one-to-one consultations. These initiatives, called “#LearnEverywhereXULA (LEX)” and #LEX Advanced, were recognized with a 2024 D2L Excellence Award.

Dr. Todd completed his Ph.D. at the University of Southern Mississippi in 2006 and his undergraduate studies at Webster University in 1996. His short stories and articles have appeared in journals such as Southern Literary Journal, Southern California Review, Chicago Quarterly Review, Fiction Weekly, and Xavier Review. He teaches courses on American literature, comics and graphic novels, and genre fiction. He is the instructor of the popular transdisciplinary course he designed, “Dystopias, Real & Imagined.” He also serves as contributing editor for the Xavier Review, Assessment Co-coordinator for the POD Network’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, and troop leader and merit badge counselor for Scouting BSA. Dr. Todd was awarded the NCF Faculty Excellence Award in Teaching in 2023.

In an email to the campus community recognizing Dr. Todd’s new role, Xavier University of Louisiana Provost Marguerite Giguette, Ph.D., said, “Please join me in congratulating Dr. Todd on this appointment!”