Barton named director of Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning

Dr. Bernadette Barton, professor of sociology and director of the gender studies program at Morehead State University, has been named the interim director of the Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning (FCTL).   

The FCTL strives to provide coordination and support to faculty and professional staff at all points in their career and all the aspects of faculty life, including teaching, scholarship and service. Originally from Framingham, Massachusetts, Barton holds a Master of Arts in Sociology, a Ph.D. in Sociology and a graduate certificate in women’s studies, all from the University of Kentucky. Barton was an active member of the gender studies program (formerly women’s studies program) since joining MSU as a faculty member in 2000 and became director of the program in 2019.   

An author of three books, including her most recent work, “Porn in the USA: How Raunch Culture is Ruining America,” Barton said she has frequently utilized FCTL to enhance her instruction and gain valuable administrative and networking experience as the director of gender studies. With MSU’s emphasis on high-impact experiences through its new LevelUp! Quality Enhancement Plan, she feels like the FCTL can play a crucial part in optimizing those experiences.  

“My role will be to advertise opportunities to learn more about and participate in our LevelUP! and other high-impact experiences and help show how MSU instructors benefit from this kind of engagement with students,” she said.  

Barton said some of the biggest challenges for the FCTL is aiding instructors in their transition to a “normal work life” on campus while coordinating events on topics that speak to the interests and needs of faculty and students, whether it is mental health, sexual assault prevention or Critical Race Theory.   

“We can engage instructors at all levels of their careers to reflect upon their pedagogical practices and offer tools that improve the classroom experience for instructors and students,” she said.  

Dr. Bernadette Barton can be reached at b.barton@moreheadstate.edu. 

To learn more about the Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning, visit www.moreheadstate.edu/fctl.  

For more information on LevelUp!, visit www.moreheadstate.edu/levelup.