Our Team

CETL Staff

Name
Position

  • Haleigh Campbell

    Haleigh Campbell Operations Coordinator

    image of Haleigh Position:
    Operations Coordinator

    Phone: (470) 578-6410
    Email: hcampb17@kennesaw.edu
    Location: House 3211


    Haleigh Campbell provides operation support to all members of CETL, working closely with the Director of Operations and Strategic Initiatives. 

    Haleigh graduated from KSU with an undergraduate degree in Psychology. 

  • Michele DiPietro

    Michele DiPietro Executive Director for Faculty Development, Recognition and the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning and Professor of Mathematics

    headshot of Michele DiPietroPosition:
    Executive Director for Faculty Development, Recognition and the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning and Professor of Mathematics

    Phone: (470) 578-6410
    Email: mdipietr@kennesaw.edu
    Location: House 3211 - 113


    Dr. DiPietro oversees university wide faculty and graduate student development efforts, both in pedagogy with Scholarly Teaching unit of CETL and beyond. 

    With their former Carnegie Mellon colleagues, Dr. DiPietro is a co-author of “How Learning Works: 7 Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching.” The book was listed at #3 in a “Top 10 Books on Teaching” list on the Chronicle of Higher Education. Their scholarly interests include learning sciences, diversity and inclusion, the scholarship of teaching and learning, academic integrity, statistics education, the consultation process in faculty development, and teaching in times of tragedy. Dr. DiPietro was the 2015 recipient of the Bob Pierleoni Spirit of POD award, the highest honor bestowed in the field of educational development for professional achievement and legacy to the field.  

  • Hillary Steiner

    Hillary Steiner Associate Director for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning and Professor of Educational Psychology, Department of Psychological Science

    image of HillaryPosition:
    Associate Director for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning and Professor of Educational Psychology, Department of Psychological Science

    Phone: (470) 578-6147
    Email: hsteiner@kennesaw.edu
    Location: House 3211


    Dr. Steiner provides support to colleges, departments, and individual faculty in the areas of the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) and the science of learning. She chairs CETL's international SoTL Summit conference; facilitates the SoTL Manuscript Completion and Conference Presentation Funds programs; provides consulting services and workshops on all aspects of the SoTL research process; develops and maintains the internationally recognized Hopscotch 4-SoTL webtool; develops and maintains the SoTL and science of learning micro-credentials; maintains an active SoTL-related line of scholarship; and serves on national and international SoTL committees and editorial boards, including as Regional Vice President (USA) and Publications Committee Chair for ISSOTL. Hillary also maintains the nationally recognized directories of SoTL conferences and journals, online SoTL resource pages, and the KSU-SoTL listserv. Currently a Professor in the Department of Psychological Science, she has taught graduate and undergraduate courses in first-year studies, introductory psychology and educational psychology, in online, hybrid and face-to-face formats. She received the USG Board of Regents' SoTL Award in 2017. 

    Hillary's Areas of Focus at CETL:

    • The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)
    • Cognitive and social-cognitive perspectives on learning as applied to higher education
    • Interpretation of student course evaluation feedback

    Hillary's Faculty Website

  • Christina Ujj

    Christina Ujj Director of Operations and Strategic Initiatives

    Christina Ujj HeadshotPosition:
    Director of Operations and Strategic Initiatives

    Phone: (470) 578-6410
    Email: cujj@kennesaw.edu
    Location: House 3211 - 203


    Christina Ujj, Ed.D., provides support for all operational aspecits of CETL. This includes, large-scale logistics; reporting; strategic initiatives; compliance; website development;  marketing and communication; and assists Dr. DiPietro regarding finances, strategic communications and program and event development. 

    Christina served as a part-time faculty member at KSU teaching KSU 1200 (First-Year Seminar in Leadership) and at North Carolina State University teaching Topics in College Student Development. She joined CETL after working with Housing and Residence Life to create the residential curriculum for skills on-campus residents learned while living at KSU.

  • Tris Utschig

    Tris Utschig Director for Scholarly Teaching and Associate Professor of Nuclear Engineering

    image of TrisPosition:
    Director for Scholarly Teaching and Associate Professor of Nuclear Engineering

    Phone: (470) 578-6410
    Email: tutschig@kennesaw.edu
    Location: House 3211


    Dr. Utschig is dedicated to providing CETL services specifically addressing the scholarly teaching needs of KSU faculty. In this role he manages and contributes to the CETL Team in creating institutes, workshops, webinars, and book chats; running faculty learning communities; conducting classroom observations; and providing custom consulting services to colleges, departments, and individual faculty to leverage the learning sciences in bringing a scholarly approach to all aspects of the teaching and learning process. Tris brings significant expertise and consultation experience in choosing pedagogical techniques, performing course and learning activity design, assessing student learning outcomes, conducting research in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), and with writing and implementing externally funded educational research proposals. As Professor of Nuclear Engineering, Tris also teaches courses for the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

    Tris's experience with online teaching and learning:

    • Facilitated countless online webinars and workshops, beginning in 2013.
    • Completed the Online Course Design Certification program through KSU CETL
    • Serves as the professional development director for the Academy of Process Educators where he mentors other faculty across the nation to deliver high quality online workshops.
    • Has experience as an online learner in two MOOCs and three year-long faculty self-growth learning communities.

    Tris's focus areas

    • Classroom assessment strategies
    • Collaborative learning
    • Learning activity design
    • Process education (learning to learn)
    • STEM pedagogy

CETL Faculty Fellows

Name
Position

  • Rodolfo Aguilar

    Rodolfo Aguilar CETL Faculty Fellow for Inclusive Excellence and Assistant Professor of American and Latino Studies

    image of RudyPosition:
    CETL Faculty Fellow for Inclusive Excellence and Assistant Professor of American and Latino Studies

    Phone: (470) 578-4270
    Email: raguila6@kennesaw.edu
    Location: LB 404


     

  • Misty Grayer

    Misty Grayer CETL Faculty Fellow for Learning-Centered Teaching and Assistant Professor of Public Administration

    image of MistyPosition:
    CETL Faculty Fellow for Learning-Centered Teaching and Assistant Professor of Public Administration

    Phone: (470) 578-4972
    Email: mgrayer@kennesaw.edu
    Location: SO 5051


    Misty Grayer is a CETL Faculty Fellow for Learning-Centered Teaching and an Assistant Professor of Public Administration in the School of Government and International Affairs.  As a Faculty Fellow, Misty delivers workshops on topics such as active learning, and she helps address the needs of individual faculty through one-on-one consultations and course observations.  Outside of CETL, Misty's primary teaching and research interests include the intersection of public law and public management, contemporary public issues, and collaborative decision-making. 

  • Laura Howard

    Laura Howard CETL Faculty Fellow for Learning-Centered Teaching and Master of Arts in Professional Writing Teaching Assistant Coordinator and Online Technology Coordinator and Senior Lecturer of English

    image of LauraPosition:
    CETL Faculty Fellow for Learning-Centered Teaching and Master of Arts in Professional Writing Teaching Assistant Coordinator and Online Technology Coordinator and Senior Lecturer of English

    Phone: (470) 578-2617
    Email: lhowar40@kennesaw.edu
    Location: EB 110


    Laura Howard is a Senior Lecturer in English at Kennesaw State University and a CETL Faculty Fellow for Learning-centered Teaching. She has spent over 15 years teaching college English courses in face-to-face, hybrid, and online modalities. She is a member of the Professional and Organizational Development Network (POD) and has presented at POD’s annual conference on multiple occasions. Her scholarly interests include increasing student engagement, exploring alternative approaches to grading, and creating a culture of care to support faculty and student success, and her work has been featured on the Faculty Focus website and the “Teaching in Higher Ed” podcast. At CETL, Laura leads workshops on a variety of educational development topics, including KSU’s “Nurturing Environments through Scholarly Teaching” (NEST) initiative. Laura also offers teaching consultations, classroom observations, and Small Group Instructional Diagnosis (SGID) focus groups. Outside of CETL, Laura serves as the teaching assistant coordinator for the English department’s MA in Professional Writing (MAPW), where she trains, supports, and teaches MAPW students teaching first-year writing at the college level. She also teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in first-year composition and writing studies.

  • Christopher Pallas

    Christopher Pallas CETL Faculty Fellow for Graduate Student Support and Professor of Political Science

    Christopher Pallas headshotPosition:
    CETL Faculty Fellow for Graduate Student Support and Professor of Political Science

    Phone: (470) 578-6227
    Email: cpallas@kennesaw.edu
    Location: House 3201 - 203


    Christopher L. Pallas is Professor of Political Science at Kennesaw State University and CETL’s Faculty Fellow for Graduate Student Support. He has spent over 10 years creating professional development trainings for graduate students and is the author of Doctoral Student Skills: Using Your Comparative Advantage to Succeed in Grad School and Prepare for the Job Market (Routledge 2023). At CETL, his role includes teaching GRAD 9001 College and University Teaching and delivering professional development workshops on topics like job market preparation, teaching, and time management. He is also working with the Graduate College to design and implement research to better understand the professional development needs of graduate students at KSU. Outside of CETL, his research focuses on civil society organizations (CSOs) and stakeholder representation in international policymaking. His work has been published in major journals in international relations, development studies, and nonprofit studies and he has won two best article of the year awards. He is currently collaborating with an international team of scholars using a decolonized approach to reconsider the evolution of local CSOs.

Affiliated Lead Mentors

Name
Position

  • Theresa Alviar

    Theresa Alviar Global Faculty MMG Lead

    Position:
    Global Faculty MMG Lead

    Phone: (470) 578-5066
    Email: talviar@kennesaw.edu
    Location: KH 3209


     

  • Renee Butler

    Renee Butler Assistant and Associate Deans MMG Lead

    Position:
    Assistant and Associate Deans MMG Lead

    Phone: (470) 578-5414
    Email: rbutle35@kennesaw.edu
    Location: Q 327


     

  • Tanja Link

    Tanja Link Assistant and Associate Chairs MMG Lead

    Position:
    Assistant and Associate Chairs MMG Lead

    Phone: (470) 578-2292
    Email: tlink1@kennesaw.edu
    Location: SO 4054


     

  • Corinne McNamara

    Corinne McNamara Chairs and Directors MMG Lead

    Position:
    Chairs and Directors MMG Lead

    Phone: (470) 578-6225
    Email: cmcnama4@kennesaw.edu
    Location: SO 4034


     

  • Jennifer Purcell

    Jennifer Purcell Parents in Academia

    Position:
    Parents in Academia

    Phone: (470) 578-2863
    Email: jpurce10@kennesaw.edu
    Location: SO 5071


     
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