The concept of a campus-wide teaching and learning center at UNK was inspired by a faculty initiative that began in 1997. Subsequently, members of the Committee for the Encouragement and Evaluation of Teaching (CEET) drafted a proposal for such an instructional development center based on UNK's mission to be the state's premiere institution for undergraduate education. The committee emphasized that UNK's commitment to undergraduate instruction required a parallel commitment to recruitment, development, and the support of outstanding university teachers. The UNK administration reinforced this commitment by funding the proposal, and the Center for Teaching Excellence was established in the fall of 1999.