Ellen Cotter, Ph.D., professor of psychology at Georgia Southwestern State University, recently completed the 2017 Governor’s Teaching Fellows Program. As one of 15 faculty members from institutions of higher education across the state, Cotter was selected after a highly competitive application and selection process.

The Governor's Teaching Fellows Program was established in 1995 by Zell Miller, governor of Georgia, 1991-1999, to provide Georgia's higher education faculty with expanded opportunities for developing important teaching skills.  Governor Miller envisioned that this program would address faculty members' pressing need to use emerging technologies and instructional tools that are becoming increasingly important for learning in today's society.

“The program provided a great overview of strategies for improving teaching, including information about not only what to do but also why these strategies are likely to be effective,” Cotter said. “I look forward to implementing these techniques in my classes for the coming semester.”

The Governor’s Teaching Fellows Program is an outreach program of the Institute of Higher Education at the University of Georgia.  To improve the quality of instruction in Georgia's colleges and universities, the Governor's Teaching Fellows Program assumes the complex challenge of moving college faculty members to the leading edge of instructional practice.  This effort to enhance instruction in public and private higher education statewide is very much in keeping with the University of Georgia's traditional mission as a land-grant institution committed to diversified outreach and public service.

Cotter joined the GSW faculty in 1999. She received her B.S. from Grand Canyon University, her M.Ed. from Northern Arizona University and her Ph.D. from the University of North Texas.