Recent decades have brought dramatic changes in the ways we structure knowledge, in what we have come to understand about effective teaching and learning, and in the possibilities for integrating technology in improving teaching and learning. The Center for Innovation in the Liberal Arts (CILA) was founded in 2000 to provide support for St. Olaf College faculty and staff working to meet the challenges posed by these changes. On the premise that the liberal arts colleges are ideal laboratories for pedagogical innovation and reform, CILA provides time and space for conversations and collaboration among faculty about learning and teaching.
Read about our 2025-26 plans here!
CILA Contacts
Cheri Coutermash (she, her, hers)
Academic Administrative Assistant – Team North
Anne M Gothmann (she, her, hers)
Associate Professor of Environmental Studies and Physics; Director of New Faculty Mentoring; Interim Director of Engineering Studies (September – December 2025)
Nancy Thompson (she, her, hers)
Professor of Art and Art History; Director of Center for Innovation in the Liberal Arts