Baylor History Professor Selected to National Humanities Center's Teacher Advisory Council
Daniel J. Watkins, Ph.D., is one of 20 members of the National Humanities Center's Teacher Advisory Council for the 2025-26 academic calendar
Baylor Photography: R. Rogers
Contact: Shelby Cefaratti-Bertin, 254-327-8012
Follow us: @BaylorUMedia on X and LinkedIn
Daniel J. Watkins, Ph.D., associate professor of history and co-director of the Digital Humanities Initiative at Baylor University, has been selected as a member of the National Humanities Center's (NHC) Teacher Advisory Council for the upcoming 2025-26 academic year. As one of only 20 educators representing schools from 12 states, Watkins will join other council members to work alongside the NHC’s education team in piloting, evaluating and promoting NHC resources and professional development programs for collegiate and pre-collegiate educators in the United States and around the world.
“The National Humanities Center (NCH) is an important advocate for humanities research and teaching. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to work with them.” - Daniel Watkins, Ph.D.
“The National Humanities Center (NCH) is an important advocate for humanities research and teaching. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to work with them,” Watkins said. “For my own work, it will be a great chance to continue to think about pedagogy and what educators are doing to teach better the skills and content that come through a humanities education.”
“We are very proud that Dr. Watkins is serving history educators across the country and around the world as a member of the NHC Teaching Advisory Council,” said Julie K. deGraffenried, Ph.D., associate professor and chair of the Department of History at Baylor. “His expertise as an award-winning teacher and scholar will be invaluable to the council. This service exemplifies Baylor’s desire to be Pro Mundo.”
Through a wide range of education resources, the NHC supports teachers from across the country through webinars, collections, courses and institutes.
“Our teacher advisors help ensure that our classroom tools and professional development experiences are pedagogically sound and relevant in a wide variety of classroom settings,” said Mike Williams, NHC Vice President for Education Programs. “We are particularly pleased to have council members from an array of learning environments as part of the group. This year’s council includes educators who work with a wide spectrum of students in public and private institutions of all sizes.”
The center will host several sessions ranging from a variety of different pedological topics throughout the next year. Watkins will assist in hosting a session on “Designing Care-Oriented Learning Spaces.”
“This is a pedagogical topic that I’ve been interested in for a long time – how do we create caring and supportive classroom communities? We know from the existing literature that students learn better when they feel that they are a part of a community that values them and respects them,” Watkins said. “I’m looking forward to working with people at the NHC and the Teacher Advisory Council on this topic and hopefully gleaning tips and tricks on making this work in my own classes.”
Watkins is the second faculty member in his department to serve on the Council. Daniel Barish, Ph.D., associate professor of history and undergraduate program director, was a part of the 2024-25 Council.
“Dr. Barish did a lot of great work with the NHC. It heartens me to think that people here at Baylor believe in and are supportive of the National Humanities Center’s mission and that the National Humanities Center values Baylor faculty,” Watkins said. “I’d love to keep the trend going next year.”
For more than 40 years, the NHC has made teacher professional development as a primary part of its mission. Recently, the Center has significantly expanded its educational resources, enabling teachers across the United States to participate in live webinars with leading scholars, download thousands of classroom-ready primary source materials and access digital lessons and tools designed for a 21st century classroom.
The Teacher Advisory Council was created by the National Humanities Center to increase its efforts to help educators become more effective in humanities classrooms.
ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked Research 1 institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for 20,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions. Learn more about Baylor University at www.baylor.edu.
ABOUT THE COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES AT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
The College of Arts & Sciences is Baylor University’s largest academic division, consisting of 25 academic departments in the sciences, humanities, fine arts and social sciences, as well as 11 academic centers and institutes. The more than 5,000 courses taught in the College span topics from art and theatre to religion, philosophy, sociology and the natural sciences. The College’s undergraduate Unified Core Curriculum, which routinely receives top grades in national assessments, emphasizes a liberal education characterized by critical thinking, communication, civic engagement and Christian commitment. Arts & Sciences faculty conduct research around the world, and research on the undergraduate and graduate level is prevalent throughout all disciplines. Visit the College of Arts & Sciences website.