The Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL) has selected Brian Rybarczyk, the assistant dean for academic and professional development at The Graduate School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as a member of its leadership team for 2021–2023. Rybarczyk joins six other leadership team members, who form an executive committee for CIRTL that provides advice and counsel to the director and associate director on a variety of issues.
The organization is committed to advancing inclusive teaching in undergraduate education, among other endeavors. Rybarczyk previously served in 2020-2021 to fill a vacancy.
“I was thrilled to step into this role, and I look forward to continuing to steer CIRTL’s administrative functions collaboratively with other leadership team members to best support CIRTL institutions,” Rybarczyk said.
Suzanne Barbour, dean of The Graduate School, said the University is proud to be part of the CIRTL network, which has a nationwide and international reach.
“Brian represents the University well in this role,” Barbour said. “His dedication to graduate students through facilitating opportunities for professional development, to championing our students in myriad intangible ways, will be an asset to CIRTL.”
In his role at The Graduate School, Rybarczyk leads initiatives that support professional development opportunities for graduate students in all disciplines. With nearly 20 years of experience in higher education, he provides visionary leadership for training in pedagogy and engages in the scholarship of teaching and learning. He also is co-director of a postdoctoral National Institutes of Health-funded fellowship program which supports a collaboration among UNC-CH and four underrepresented minority-serving institutions. The program, Seeding Postdoctoral Innovators in Research & Education (SPIRE) launched in 1999.
“These ongoing interactions provides me a broader perspective of future faculty training needs,” Rybarczyk said. “What excites me about continuing to serve on the leadership team is that it is a collaborative group that oversees how the network supports the three core ideas and how CIRTL can continue to transform higher education. I am dedicated to this mission, and I aim to ensure all voices and perspectives are considered.”
CIRTL has three core tenets: learning through diversity; teaching as research; and learning communities, each designed to support communities of learners.
Brian Rybarczyk, Ph.D., holds degrees from the University of Rochester. The Graduate School, founded in 1903, is led by Suzanne Barbour, Ph.D., who is also a professor in the UNC School of Medicine Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics. Established in 2006, CIRTL includes 37 research universities in the United States and Canada.