Christopher Lavan, who has led service-learning and community engagement efforts at Centenary College of Louisiana in Shreveport, Louisiana, is the new director of Experience Learning.
He began work this week.
As director, Lavan will provide leadership to the Experience Learning initiative, manage and help coordinate the allocation of program resources, coordinate program services, and assist with the development, implementation, assessment, and execution of the program initiatives.
“We’re pleased to welcome Chris to UT,” said Matthew Theriot, associate provost for teaching and learning innovation. “We think Experience Learning is a framework for faculty to inspire great learning opportunities for students. Having led a similar program at his former university, Chris is prepared to help us bring our vision to fruition.”
Lavan has been the director of global engagement at Centenary since 2011. His job involves overseeing Centenary’s service-learning and community engagement, international education and study abroad, and diversity programming and training. He also served for two years as interim director of Trek, the college’s Quality Enhancement Plan—a three-pronged graduation requirement centered in experiential learning.
In 2011, he received the David Womack Leadership Award, which is given to a Centenary College employee who reaches across faculty, staff, and divisional lines to foster understanding and inclusiveness within the campus community.
Lavan is an alumnus of Jackson State University, where he earned his doctorate in urban higher education. He also holds a Masters of Public Administration from Louisiana State University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Centenary College.