Collaboration, connections and innovation

Shweta Kailani named director for Center for Teaching and Learning

After a national search, Shweta Kailani, MBA, has been named the director for the Center for Teaching and Learning. Beginning her role on October 16, Kailani will work with faculty on program development and fostering peer-learning opportunities and approaches empowering faculty to help each other and every student succeed.

"I am thrilled to be joining the Bear family and to call Lenoir-Rhyne and Hickory my new home. I am so excited to start my new role with the Center of Teaching and Learning at LR where collaboration, mutual respect, and innovation are at the heart,” shared Kailani. “I am looking forward to meeting and getting to know everyone, collaborating with faculty, staff, and students, and building lasting connections and professional relationships."

Kailani previously held the position of Director of Transformational Teaching and Learning in the College of Arts and Sciences at Texas A&M University where she combined her experience and expertise to drive educational excellence and student success at one of the largest public universities in the nation.

"We are delighted to welcome Shweta Kailani to LR as she brings a wealth of experience and forward-thinking methods in faculty development and transformative learning that will elevate the center and the success of our dedicated faculty and our students,” said Jennifer Burris, Ph.D., provost and vice president for academic affairs. “As a pivotal figure within the student, faculty, and Institutional Success Collaborative, Shweta will collaborate closely with me and our dedicated team, ensuring that we forward the mission to advance student success through teaching excellence and continual institutional assessment and improvement."

Kailani earned her undergraduate degree in architecture from Chandigarh College of Architecture, master’s degree in digital design and MBA specializing in project management from Mississippi State University and is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in educational psychology from Texas A&M University. 

Her doctoral research focuses on game-based learning and developing 21st-century skills. “Specifically, I am looking at the impact of Collaborative COTS (Commercially available Off-the-Shelf) Games and their impact on the development and improvement of Collaborative Problem-Solving Skills,” she shared. Over the years, Kailani has published her work on Learning Design and Emerging Technologies in peer-reviewed journals and presented at national and international conferences.