December 9, 2025
By Tracie Troha

Amit Jariwala, director of design, innovation and experiential learning at the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, has been selected to the 2025-26 Leaders in Teaching and Learning cohort.

The Leaders in Teaching and Learning program develops faculty leaders to foster effective teaching within their disciplines. Selected faculty serve a one-year term and meet regularly for professional development, community and mentorship. They also receive funds to attend the University System of Georgia Teaching and Learning Conference.

Jariwala called the opportunity “a purposeful path that blends my passion for education with professional growth and broader institutional impact.”

“I am driven to broaden my influence, empower my colleagues, and scale meaningful change,” he said. “I have led interdisciplinary teams across schools and colleges — through projects like interdisciplinary capstone design classes and the Capstone Design Expo — and now, I want to guide pedagogical transformations that prioritize students and earn the trust and collaboration of faculty.”

Jariwala joins seven other faculty members across the Institute. His fellow cohort members are Liana Boop, earth and atmospheric sciences; Carrie Bruce, interactive computing; Kemal Budak, history and sociology; Alpa Gautam, biomedical engineering; Joshua Palkki, music; Pamela Pollet, chemistry and biochemistry; and Katherine Samford, lifetime learning.

During their time in the program, the leaders take part in professional development sessions, contribute to a teaching and learning initiative, interview a leader of teaching and learning in their discipline, craft a leadership vision statement, and develop a short-term action plan.

In addition, Jariwala was selected to represent the College of Engineering on the Institute-level Impact Practices Tagging Alignment Group, sponsored by  the Center for Teaching and Learning and the Office of Undergraduate Education and Student Success. The group aims to create a framework for approving High-Impact Practices (HIPs) courses, ensuring alignment with institutional standards and academic excellence. The initiative will create a unified process for validating new HIPs offerings, maintain quality across existing courses, and enable accurate course tagging in Banner to reflect the full range of HIPs delivered on campus.