Derek Bruff, Ph.D. is an educator, higher-ed consultant, and the author of two books, Intentional Tech: Principles to Guide the Use of Educational Technology in College Teaching and Teaching with Classroom Response Systems: Creating Active Learning Environments. He writes a weekly newsletter called Intentional Teaching and produces the Intentional Teaching podcast. 

Dr. Bruff directed the Center for Teaching (CFT) at Vanderbilt University for more than a decade, where he helped faculty and other instructors develop foundational teaching skills and explore new ideas in teaching. He consults regularly with faculty and administrators across higher education on issues of teaching, learning, and faculty development. Dr. Bruff’s major accomplishments while leading the CFT included reaching approximately 30 percent of all full-time Vanderbilt faculty through CFT offerings each year, building a “students as producers” approach to course design into CFT programming. This program is a way to help faculty at a research university rethink their teaching and engage their students in deep learning, integrating learning management system and other instructional technology support into the CFT. This helps instructors teach in a variety of modalities (in-person, synchronous and asynchronous online, hybrid), and helped guide the strategic development of the CFT as it went from 8 to 14 full-time staff positions. 

Bruff has a Ph.D. in mathematics and has taught math courses at Vanderbilt and Harvard University. Currently, he is Visiting Associate Director, Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at the University of Mississippi.