Jeff Rients serves the CAT as Associate Director of Teaching and Learning Innovation. He consults with instructors to help create learning environments where their students can flourish, working on any scale from troubleshooting individual problem moments in the classroom to design/redesign of entire courses. Jeff also facilitates workshops on best practices in teaching and learning while also managing the CAT's social media, blog and website content.

Jeff received his bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and his master’s degree and Ph.D. from Illinois State University. Jeff has taught in traditional classrooms, in lecture halls, and in online environments, facilitating courses that include first year composition, business writing, and an array of general education courses as well as advanced courses in pedagogy and the use of educational technology. In 2017 he received Illinois State University’s Outstanding University Teaching Award.