The Wally Cordes Teaching and Faculty Support Center recently welcomed Jennie Popp as the November 2025 Wally Cordes Chair. Popp is a professor of agricultural economics and associate dean of the Honors College at the U of A.

Popp's Cordes Chair talk, titled "Learning by Doing: The Transformative Power of Experiential Education," offered a compelling exploration of how hands-on learning experiences — such as service learning and undergraduate research — can elevate teaching and student success across disciplines.

Drawing on her extensive experience as the inaugural co-director of the U of A Service Learning Initiative and her leadership in the Honors College, Popp highlighted the university's dramatic growth in service learning engagement since 2013. Her presentation emphasized the experiential learning cycle, based on Kolb's theory, which encourages active engagement, reflection and adaptability to diverse learning styles. Popp illustrated how service learning and undergraduate research provide students with real-world experience, critical thinking skills and a deeper sense of community engagement. She also discussed the benefits for faculty and community partners, including strengthened connections, opportunities for research and publication, and lasting collaborations.

Popp showcased several exemplary projects, including bilingual translation and interpretation classes, biliteracy mentoring for local children and integrated marketing communications partnerships with industry leaders. She offered practical tips for faculty interested in launching experiential learning projects, encouraging them to start simple, plan ahead and leverage campus resources.

For more information about experiential learning and faculty resources, visit servicelearning.uark.edu and honors.uark.edu/research.

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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.