Faculty
Erica Bastress-Dukehart is the Director of the Center for Leadership, Teaching, and Learning and an associate professor of history at Skidmore College . She received her BS in History from the University of Oregon and her Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. She is the author of The Zimmern Chronicle: Nobility, Memory, and Self-Representation in Sixteenth-Century Germany, and several articles on early modern German noble family relations. She has taught at Skidmore College since 2002. Along with her introductory courses to medieval and early modern Europe, she teaches courses on Science and Nature in the Renaissance, The Art of Medieval Warfare, Perceptions of Women in Medieval and Early Modern Europe, and Crime and Punishment in Early Modern Europe.Billie Bennett-Franchini is Interim Director, Instiute for Teaching, Learning, and Academic Leadership, University at Albany, SUNY. In her ten years of work in ITLAL, her efforts in teaching development have focused on fostering student engagement, teaching writing, integrating technology in teaching, and building and sustaining effective active learning practices including Team-Based Learning (TBL). In addition, she has also worked with faculty and graduate students in broader career development, including documentation of teaching and professional practice; building leadership skills; and productively integrating research, teaching, and service. She moved into faculty development after two years as a high school teacher and eleven years in the University classroom. She holds a Ph.D. in English Literature from the University of Georgia.
Rebecca Bonanno is an Assistant Professor of Community and Human Services at SUNY Empire State College. She develops and teaches blended and online courses on a variety of human services and human development subjects. Her research interests include blended learning, domestic violence intervention and prevention, attitudes and beliefs about domestic violence, and mental health literacy.
Carl Burkart has worked in Higher Education for over twenty years as an instructor, an academic advisor, and a student affairs administrator. He has a BA in History from Tulane University and an MA in History from the University of Georgia. Although he began his career at traditional institutions, he has, since 2005, worked with non-traditional students at SUNY Empire State College, handling student conduct issues, service grievances, academic appeals, academic integrity violations, disability services,student activities, student success, and new student orientation. He is currently the Director of Student Academic Services for the College’s undergraduate program.
Eli Collins-Brown is the director of the Center for Innovative and Transformative Instruction at Winston-Salem State University and adjunct professor in the Learning Design & Technology masters program at University of Maryland University College. She has been working in higher education for 19+ years as an instructional developer, designer, technologist, instructor and leader. Her focus has been on web-based, blended and online education but over the years has branched into the improvement of teaching and learning environments and faculty development. Through her research and practice, She has found that technology-supported instruction can create significant learning experiences that enhance the student learning experience in all environments: classroom, blended/hybrid and online.
Laura Cruz is Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence at Tennessee Tech University. She served as the editor and associate editor of To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Education Development, a leading journal in the field (and POD-sponsored). Prior to that, she held the position of Editor-in-Chief of MountainRise: The International Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning . Her publications and presentations include work in her disciplinary field (history) as well as numerous articles on instructional design, integrating technology and pedagogy, emerging forms of scholarship, educational development, and organizational change in higher education. She recently ended a delightful and productive term on POD Network’s board of directors (CORE) and currently chairs the POD Network Scholarship Committee.
Kathryn Cunningham is an Associate Director for Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida. She holds a master’s degree in Instructional Systems Design and a PhD in Educational Psychology from the University of Kentucky. Her research focuses on faculty professional identity in higher education institutions. She arrived at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in January, 2014 after being with the University of Kentucky for over seven years. At both institutions she has spent a lot of her time conducting workshops, teaching courses, providing mid-semester feedback, and being a resource for faculty interested in redesigning their courses. She also recently became the Program Coordinator for the university’s Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Academy.
Donna Ellis is Director, Centre for Teaching Excellence, University of Waterloo. In her role as Director, she oversees the development and delivery of all the Centre for Teaching Excellence programming and services, which include individual faculty consultations; events directed at graduate students, new faculty, and established faculty regarding face-to-face teaching, blended learning, and emerging technologies; online resources; curriculum and program review consultations; and research support services. She has a PhD from Waterloo’s Management Sciences program and completed her dissertation research on instructional innovations. She also has an MA in Language and Professional Writing from Waterloo, and has taught in the Speech Communication program. She, along with her husband, spends time away from work raising three fine boys.
Ann Giralico-Pearlman is the Senior Instructional Designer (SID) and adjunct faculty member at The College at Brockport, State University of New York (SUNY). As SID, she works with faculty and staff to develop, redesign and refresh online, hybrid, and media enhanced courses. She focuses on best-practice pedagogy and andragogy models, creating social interaction in virtual enviroments, and developing effective course delivery and assessments measures. She is also the campus SUNY Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL ) coordinator, working with faculty to develop and implement global networked courses. The partnerships include collaboration with universities in Russia, Bangladesh, Turkey, Canada and Mexico. Along side her responsibilities as an SID, she teaches undergraduate courses, for the Department of Communication and a graduate level course for the Education Department.
Melissa Himelein is the Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) and a professor of psychology at the University of North Carolina Asheville. She teaches courses in clinical psychology and the psychology of women and was the recipient of the 2001 Distinguished Teacher Award in Social Sciences and the 2007 UNC Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching. Since assuming leadership of the CTL in 2010, she has initiated several new faculty development programs, including short-term faculty learning circles, a pedagogy-focused presentation series, small group analyses, new faculty orientation, and faculty mentoring and writing groups.
Betty Hurley has an Ed.D. in mathematics education from the University of Rochester. At SUNY Empire State College, she has primarily served as a mentor/coordinator in the area of mathematics, although she has also held some administrative positions, including coordinating a program for Lebanese students. As an Area Coordinator for the Center for DistanceLearning, she has facilitated the development of over twenty online math courses, including those for general education as well as upper division courses. Her research interests center on the facilitation and assessment of online learning. She is on the editorial board of IJPE (International Journal of Process Education) and incorporates concepts from process education into online courses that she has developed. She is also interested in alternative approaches to learning, such as MOOCs and co-developed a MOOC on Creativity and Multicultural Communication and one called VizMath with colleague Carol Yeager. In 2013, she was named an HP fellow and developed a mini-course for the HP Academy on STEM Learning and ePortfolios. Recently, she became a stream editor on PLA and ePortfolios for a new journal, IJIOE (International Journal in Innovations in Online Education.) She has presented on ePortfolios at OLC, AAEEBL and IFWE and facilitates an online workshop for OLC on “Exploring ePortfolios” about twice a year.
Jon Iuzzini is the Associate Director of Teaching & Learning at Achieving the Dream. In this role he is responsible for managing programs and projects designed to build institutional capacity supporting intentional integration, professional development, and engagement of full-time and part-time faculty in fostering an inclusive, student-focused college culture. He currently leads the Engaging Adjunct Faculty in the Student Success Movement Initiative and he collaborates with ATD colleagues on related teaching and learning initiatives that support and engage full-time and part-time faculty as change agents in their institutions. Prior to this appointment, he served as Coordinator of the Teaching & Creativity Center at Monroe Community College in Rochester, NY. In this role, he led the collaborative work of faculty committees in designing and implementing professional development activities for full-time and adjunct faculty on each of MCC’s campuses. His recent publications applied the theory of intersectionality to the work of faculty development and appeared in New Directions for Teaching & Learning and To Improve the Academy. He regularly facilitates workshops on inclusive educational development; inclusive leadership; and strengthening communication to enhance collaboration.
Keith Landa is Director of the Teaching, Learning, and Technology Center at Purchase College, where he and his staff provide instructional design, instructional technology, and professional development support for faculty to adopt innovative, student-centered instructional approaches. In addition, he teaches for the Environmental Studies and First Year programs at Purchase, and is active in shared governance at the campus (College Senate, strategic planning, instructional technology) and system (SUNY University Faculty Senate, student mobility, operations) levels.
Linda Lawrence is the Coordinator of Instructor Development in Academic and Instructional Services at Empire State College. She is responsible for developing, facilitating, and coordinating resources, workshops, and webinars to support those who teach and deliver online courses. The offerings are designed to provide faculty continuous development opportunities in pedagogy, competency development, teaching effectiveness and use of learning management system tools to create rewarding educational experiences, and support student retention and success. Her contributions and dedication to faculty development in online education was recognized in 2011 when Empire State College received the prestigious Sloan-C Award for Faculty Development for Online Teaching. She has offered webinars on a variety of topics including: Engaging Students in the Online Learning Environment, Teaching Presence – Making a Difference, Building Relationships Online through Social Presence, Formative Feedback and Assessment – Sharing Practices, and Communicating Online.
Angela Linse has been involved in faculty, instructional, and organizational development since the late 1990s. She has expertise in enhancing teaching and learning at research universities and an extensive record of faculty professional development in university teaching centers. She has written and presented widely on enhancing teaching and learning, diversity, and assessment. Her current areas of specialization are inclusive teaching and diversity in higher education (especially in the STEM disciplines), assessment of student learning for accreditation, strategic planning, academic leadership, and professional development for teaching and learning center directors. She is the former Director of Temple University’s Teaching and Learning Center in Philadelphia. She held a variety of faculty and TA development positions at the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle including with the Center for Instructional Development and Research and the Center for Engineering Learning and Teaching. She has been successful obtaining funding from government organizations and private foundations to support faculty development and the integration of teaching and research. She received her Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Washington.
Debra Rudder Lohe is director of the Reinert Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning at Saint Louis University. She received her PhD in English from Washington University, where she directed the composition program and taught writing, literature, gender studies, and pedagogy courses. At SLU, she helps teachers move from intuition to intention and works to promote pedagogical innovations, interactive learning spaces, and a culture of reflection. Recent educational development interests include advancing the organizational development work of CTLs, managing transition in CTLs, and developing sensible strategic planning for CTLs. A POD Network member since 2009, she serves on POD’s Core Committee (board of directors), as well as the Finance and Governance Committees.
Thalia MacMillan is an Assistant Professor at SUNY Empire State College, Center for Distance Learning. Her academic background began with a bachelor’s in human services and psychology, and a master’s and doctoral degree in social work. Her interests and publications are in the areas of coping with life changes, mental health outcomes, gerontology, spirituality, and online learning.
Carl Moore is Assistant Chief Academic Officer at University of the District of Columbia. He also serves as Certificate Faculty for Temple University’s Center for the Advancement of Teaching. He has a Doctorate of Education in Urban Education from Temple University and a Masters of Arts from The Ohio State University in Higher Education Administration. His dissertation investigated how exemplary college faculty employ Universal Design for Learning principles in their teaching practices. He has been teaching for over 12 years and has created and instructed a variety of courses in education at Temple, Cabrini College, and Arcadia University in both face-to-face and online formats. He also frequently an invited speaker and consultant on inclusion, leadership, and teaching and learning related topics. Prior to his current role, he was Dept Chair/Director of the CTL at UDC and served as the Assistant Director of the Teaching and Learning Center at Temple University. He also served in a number of student services roles that focused on providing individual and institutional support to retain and advance learner success. These roles include: at the Community College of Philadelphia, Director of Student Success Initiatives; at Temple, Associate Director of Fox Advising, Assistant Director of Multicultural Education; at Kutztown University, Upward Bound TRIO Program Director. As a self-described social justice advocate and “techie,” the sum of his passion lies in the development of programs on teaching with technology and inclusion in higher education.
Susanne Morgan is Professor Emirita, Department of Sociology, Ithaca College. As an independent faculty development professional, she advises individuals about their teaching and their tenure processes, supports faculty writing, and consults and writes about organizational development. She is an Associate Coach of the online Academic Writing Club, where she works with individual clients, facilitate conference calls and write materials, and also as a speaker and workshop leader for Academic Ladder. Late in her career, she reclaimed her voice as a scholar, and an essay was circulated in a variety of networks including Tomorrow’s Professor. Her current research project deals with chronic illness and the faculty career, and she co-authored an article in Academe in May-June 1012. In her position in faculty development, she designed the initial version of the virtual Center for Faculty Excellence and worked with faculty from across campus. She designed and implemented a group-based mentoring program, which was been recognized nationally.
Susan Pliner is Associate Dean for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment & Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning, Hobart and William Smith Colleges. She manages initiatives across the CTL; represents the CTL on issues of teaching, learning, and faculty development; provides consultation to faculty and departments; and is an Assistant Professor in the Education Department and Social Justice Studies Program.
Chris Price is the Chair of the INFD. He is the Academic Programs Manager for the SUNY Center for Professional Development. Prior to this position, he was the Director of the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) at The College at Brockport, State University of New York. He started working at Brockport after receiving his PhD in Political Science from the University at Albany in 2004. He is an instructor for Brockport’s Department of Political Science and International Studies as well as the Master and Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies programs. Teaching and learning workshops he has conducted include discussion-based teaching, communicating effectively with students, collaborative learning, academic integrity, teaching with technology, and using critical reflection to improve teaching and learning. In 2013, he received the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Professional Service. He served on the Teaching Professor Conference Advisory Board from 2013-2015. He lives in Rochester, New York with his spouse Jessica Marten and his children Lucy and Henry.
Gina Torino is an Associate Professor of Human Development at SUNY Empire State College (ESC). Dr. Torino is the co-leaderof the ESC SUNY Applied Learning Initiative. She has authored scholarly articles on teaching strategies which lead to the development of culturally competent clinicians, processes of White racial identity development, and racial/gender microaggressions. She is a licensed psychologist and maintains a private practice in Brooklyn, NY.
Roben Torosyan has worked at Columbia University, Pace University, New School University, and Fairfield University. Since 2012, he has served as Director of Teaching and Learning at Bridgewater State University (Mass.), leading a team of faculty fellows and student partners. He has facilitated 92 workshops or presentations, 46 of them invited, at conferences and institutions including Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Brown and NYU. A Board Member of the Professional & Organizational Development (POD) Network in Higher Education (2015-2018), Roben brings expertise in critical thinking, trust, conflict, faculty dialogues, giving feedback, and time management. He has taught 29 course sections in philosophy, education, psychology and leadership — twelve as new courses. He has published articles in New Directions in Teaching & Learning, To Improve the Academy, and the widely read Teaching Professor, plus chapters in trade books about The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. Roben’s studies ranged from undergraduate civil engineering, architecture, art history and studio art (at McGill University, then New York University), to a Ph.D. in philosophy and education (interdisciplinary: cultural studies) at Teachers College, Columbia University. Roben has also played classical piano since 1973, raced amateur triathlons since 1996, practices yoga and meditation, and adores his wife Melanie and their two young girls.
Nathan Whitley-Grassi is the Assistant Director of Educational Technology at Empire State College where he supervises a team of professionals who are responsible for faculty development, Open Educational Resources (OERs) development, and educational technology support across the college. In addition, he is on the faculty for the Master of Arts in Learning and Emerging Technologies program at the School of Graduate Studies and teaches in the undergraduate Science, Math and Technology Division. His research interests include increasing access to STEM experiences using technology, creating and using OERs, and faculty development.
Laurel Willingham-McLain directs the Duquesne University Center for Teaching Excellence, which serves to help faculty and graduate students excel as teacher-scholars deeply invested in their students’ learning. She consults with faculty on teaching and academic career success, and with chairs and program directors on academic leadership and learning outcomes assessment. A POD member since 1997, she has co-chaired the conference, served on the Core Committee (board of directors), and chaired the Grants Committee and the Professional Development Committee. She serves as a consulting editor for College Teaching. Her work on faculty and TA teaching awards as well as future faculty development is published in To Improve the Academy, Studies in Graduate and Professional Student Development, and the International Journal for Academic Development.
Mary Wright is Director of the Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at Brown University. She is also President of the Professional and Organizational Development (POD) Network in Higher Education. Prior to arriving at Brown, she was Director of Assessment and an Associate Research Scientist at the University of Michigan’s Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT). She earned a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Michigan. Her research interests include evaluation of teaching and learning innovations, measuring the impact of educational development services, graduate student professional development, and curricular assessment of student learning. Her book, Always at Odds?: Creating Alignment Between Faculty and Administrative Values, was published in 2008 by SUNY Press. .
Kevin Yee is the Director of the Academy of Teaching and Learning Excellence at the University of South Florida. Prior to joining USF, he was a faculty developer at the University of Central Florida. He has also held instructor and visiting appointments at Duke University, University of Iowa, University of California-Irvine, and Pomona College. He earned his Ph.D. in German from the University of California-Irvine. In 2016, he also assumed the duties of Assistant Dean in Undergraduate Studies, and supervised the Office of Community Engagement and Partnerships as well as ATLE. He has always striven for highly interactive teaching. He collects ideas for innovative approaches in the classroom and curates a list of interactive techniques. He has been an invited speaker at numerous colleges in the United States, as well as institutions in Brazil and Saudi Arabia, to speak about interactive teaching and numerous topics in faculty development. His research interests are broad, and focus on everything from emerging technology and Web 2.0 tools for teaching, to the pedagogy of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and concepts such as student motivation or gamification. He is firmly in the camp that the science of learning, as evolved from cognitive psychology, is foundational for effective teaching practices. He taught USF’s first MOOC in 2013. An affiliated faculty member with the World Languages department and in the Honors College, he has taught courses on German Romanticism, introductory German language classes, fairy tales, and Walt Disney World.