“My teaching career started at Mizzou 19 years ago as a graduate teaching assistant, wide eyed, new to a PhD program and new to teaching college students. Back then, I loved the professional development mentoring we received, the enthusiasm for and support around teaching in my department and across campus, and of course the opportunity to engage with a group of young people who were among Missouri’s (and beyond) best and brightest. Now, as a full professor with nearly half of an academic career under my belt and teaching hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students at two other major universities in addition to Mizzou, I can say that the reasons why I love teaching here haven’t really changed much over the years. We recognize that the walls of this ivory tower we know and love as Mizzou exist because students choose to be here, to learn here, and to grow here with us. We recognize that teaching matters, and that supporting faculty to be better teachers, matters.”