Deb Jordan named director of Trefny Innovative Instruction Center

Deb Jordan has been named the new director of the Trefny Innovative Instruction Center at Colorado School of Mines.

Jordan, who previously served as the center’s interim director, has been working on innovation in teaching and learning at the Trefny Center since 2015.

Named in honor of John Trefny, the 15^th president of Mines, the Trefny Center supports evidence-based practices for teaching and learning on campus. The center provides leadership, consultation, resources and programs in five areas: university level leadership, engineering learning, data-driven instruction, educational research and community building.

“My goal is to strengthen the institutional culture at Mines that values, studies and implements impactful teaching and learning,” Jordan said. “I look forward to working with leadership, our dedicated faculty and our Trefny team to anchor our policies, courses and programs and practices in educational research. Our shared efforts to continuously improve teaching and learning at Mines will markedly benefit students and extend to all Mines stakeholders as a part of Mines@150 and beyond.”

Jordan has been with the Trefny Center for six years, serving as a lead faculty developer. Her work has focused on online course design, developing the Engineering Learning Guide and writing National Science Foundation grants. Jordan’s professional interests are in leading and supporting transformational change in science education.

“Deb’s prior experience in the Trefny Center offers continuity to the role and she has a strong desire to build on the existing framework and programming offered by the center,” said Vibhuti Dave, dean of undergraduate studies and chair of the search committee. “Deb will gather strong individuals around her and together build great ideas and great products. She has a strong vision that relies on decades of experience and a good grasp on where engineering education is headed. We are excited to have her lead this important center.”

Prior to joining Mines, Jordan served as senior fellow on the Disciplinary Literacy in Science Team at the Institute for Learning at the University of Pittsburgh. She also previously served as a science educator at Biological Sciences Curriculum Study, research associate at RMC Research and senior consultant at McREL International. Her extensive background in science education involves reform efforts, curriculum design, instruction and assessment. She has provided project direction, professional learning experiences, technical assistance and research and evaluation both nationally and internationally. Early in her career, she served as a K-12 Science Coordinator and teacher.

Jordan was named interim director in April 2021 after the Trefny Center’s previous director, Sam Spiegel, took on a new role at Mines as Assistant Vice President for Online.