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Our Mission

The Center supports learner-centered design for curricular and co-curricular development in our traditional undergraduate program, Graduate Division and Weekend/Evening & Online College. The Center partners with a wide range of offices and initiatives throughout the University community, including the Office of Instructional Design, the ½ñÈÕ³Ô¹Ï Makerspace and the First-Year Seminar program.

In collaboration with both faculty and students, the Center also promotes unique learning experiences that enhance ½ñÈÕ³Ô¹Ï Saint Mary’s signature general education curriculum known as LACE: Liberal Arts Core Education. LACE provides students with a foundation in fundamental skills necessary in the 21st century and pairs those skills with a transformative sensibility that defines ½ñÈÕ³Ô¹Ï graduates — a sensibility committed to global awareness, Inclusive Excellence, the advancement of women, and a lifelong love of learning.

Meet the Director

Andrée Leighton, PhD

Andrée Leighton, PhD, serves as the director of the Center for Academic Innovation and Creativity at ½ñÈÕ³Ô¹Ï Saint Mary’s University. Leighton has over 30 years’ experience as an educator and facilitator and has received awards for excellence in teaching. She holds a PhD in political science from Temple University in Philadelphia and teaches in ½ñÈճԹϒs political science department and First-Year Seminar program.

aleighton@msmu.edu