Drew Vartia

Drew Vartia is CTE's Documenting Learning Specialist, helping faculty and departments make student learning visible across courses, curricula, and degree programs. He supports department teams on comprehensive degree-level assessment and partners with individual faculty on course-level assessment, Core34 Signature Assignments, capstone experiences, learning outcomes, curriculum mapping, and grant-related education projects. He also leads KU's Alternative Grading Working Group, building community around grading practices that center student growth over points.

Drew's work is grounded in a consistent belief: that learning should reflect how people actually learn. He helps faculty design meaningful assignments, map curricula with clarity, and build grading systems that trade performance pressure for genuine growth. His interests span alternative grading, gamification, curricular visualization, and the occasional light-coding project when a problem refuses to cooperate otherwise.

He holds a doctorate in chemistry from the University of Kansas and taught chemistry at both KU and Washburn University before joining CTE. Drew is LGBTQ+ and unapologetically Midwestern and has been described by many colleagues as "pretty chill," a characterization he does not dispute. Outside of work, he plays piano, studies Spanish, and enjoys road trips with what he describes as a clinically serious case of wanderlust: he has visited all 105 Kansas counties at least three times, with neighboring states still in progress. He shares his home with a beloved cat, Ebbie, who regularly reminds him of the importance of treats and play.