The Wally Cordes Teaching and Faculty Support Center recently welcomed Fiona Davidson as the October 2025 Cordes Chair.

Davidson is associate professor in the Department of Geosciences at the University of Arkansas. She received her B.A. (Honors) from Newcastle Upon Tyne Polytechnic in 1985 and went on to earn her M.A. and Ph.D. in geography from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln in 1991. In 1992, Davidson joined the U of A as an assistant professor in the Department of Geography.

Over the past 30 years at Arkansas, she has held a variety of leadership roles in area studies, geography and geosciences, working collaboratively with colleagues in the classroom, on research projects (including as an editor of the Atlas of the 2020 Elections [Rowman & Littlefield, 2022]) and in service to the university.

Her Cordes Chair talk reflected on her collaborative teaching experiences working with colleagues in the Honors Humanities Project (H2P) and other courses at Arkansas. Collaborative teaching is at its best when it is an interaction between co-teachers that deepens and extends student learning in compelling and challenging ways. Davidson endorsed the value of this approach for educators at the university, noting that some of her strongest student connections and deepest friendships with other faculty members have been the product of collaborative teaching. In sum, collaborative teaching is the type of work that enhances the educational experience of students and faculty alike.

The TFSC said, "Thank you, Dr. Davidson, for sharing your thoughts on teaching, your support of TFSC programming and for your service to the University of Arkansas over the past 30-plus years!"

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About the Cordes Chair: The Wally Cordes Teaching and Faculty Support Center recognizes six outstanding teaching faculty each academic year as Wally Cordes Chairs. Faculty are selected as Cordes Chairs because they embody the student-centered teaching excellence that late University Professor Emeritus Wally Cordes exhibited throughout his more than 40-year career at the U of A. 

About TFSC: TFSC invests in faculty excellence, promotes innovation in teaching and learning, and supports programs to advance student success. The center provides educational opportunities for faculty such as teaching and learning workshops, teaching symposia, and new faculty orientation. TFSC offers competitive teaching and learning grants for faculty, celebrates effective teaching with several awards and an awards reception, and promotes faculty-to-faculty mentoring through classroom observation. More information about TFSC can be found at their website or by following them on LinkedIn.