Our Team

CETL Staff

Name
Position

  • Sheena Brown

    Sheena Brown Lead for Educational Development Scholarship and Evaluation

    image of Sheena BrownPosition:
    Lead for Educational Development Scholarship and Evaluation

    Phone: (470) 578-6410
    Email: sbrow566@kennesaw.edu
    Location: House 3211


    Dr. Brown provides support to KSU faculty in the areas of education research and evaluation. In her role, she strengthens KSU's educational research initiatives by facilitating professional development opportunities for faculty members, collaborates with them to draft compelling grant proposals, and broadens CETL's involvement in securing external funding. Her responsibilities include collaborating with the faculty on assessment planning, methodologies, analysis, and interpretation. She also plays a vital role in developing and implementing educational grant proposal evaluation plans.

  • 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.  

  • Laura Howard

    Laura Howard Senior Teaching and Learning Consultant and Master of Arts in Professional Writing Teaching Assistant Coordinator and Online Technology Coordinator and Senior Lecturer of English

    image of LauraPosition:
    Senior Teaching and Learning Consultant 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


    Dr. Howard is a Senior Teaching and Learning Consultant at CETL. A former Faculty Fellow for Learning-centered Teaching, Laura has spent over 15 years teaching composition, professional writing, and literature in face-to-face, hybrid, and online modalities. She is a member of the POD network and has presented multiple times at the organization's annual conference. Her interests in edcuational development include increasing learner engagement, implementing innovative assessment techniques, making content accessible for all learners, and fostering a culture of care to support both faculty and student success. Her work has been featured in Faculty Focus 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. She also leads CETL's "Personalized Services" progam and offers one-on-one consultations, classroom observations, and student focus groups. Outside of CETL, Laura teaches part-time in the English department at KSU. 

  • 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 Professor of Nuclear Engineering

    image of TrisPosition:
    Director for Scholarly Teaching and 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 across a variety fo teaching modalities regarding 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 focus areas at CETL

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

  • Rebecca Weaver

    Rebecca Weaver Teaching and Learning Consultant

    image of Rebecca WeaverPosition:
    Teaching and Learning Consultant

    Phone: (470) 578-6410
    Email: rweave41@kennesaw.edu
    Location: House 3211


    Dr. Weaver brings twenty-five years of teaching experience at a variety of higher ed institutions to her role as a Consultant in Teaching and Learning at Kennesaw State. Grounded in her experience, her work with faculty is deeply energized by a range of evidence-based practices that support developing and celebrating our teaching. She is a columnist at the National Teaching and Learning Forum and has published about pedagogy in Hybrid Pedagogy, Inside Higher Ed, The Chronicle's "ProfHacker," Recursive, TechStyle, and the Pedagogue Podcast. She was the founding editor of Recursive Reviews: Books About Teaching in Higher Ed. Considering herself a "metacognitive pedagogue", her specialties include reflective and metacognitive praxis, alternative assessment, community building and inclusion, critical higher ed studies, and pedagogies of compassion, care, and hope. Through leading workshops, book clubs, custom consultations, and other programming, Dr. Weaver works to help faculty develop flourishing and sustainable teaching practices.

CETL Faculty Fellows

Name
Position

  • 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. 

  • 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.

  • Charles Parrott

    Charles Parrott CETL Faculty Fellow for Faculty Mentoring

    image of Charles ParrottPosition:
    CETL Faculty Fellow for Faculty Mentoring

    Phone: (470) 578-2347
    Email: cparrot5@kennesaw.edu
    Location: WB 220


    Charles Parrott is the CETL Faculty Fellow for Faculty Mentoring and an Associate Professor in the Department of Theatre & Performance Studies. Dr. Parrott has won numerous awards for his teaching, mentorship of undergraduate research, and scholarship & creative activity. As a Faculty Fellow, Charles leverages his many years in the classroom and experience as a nationally recognized storytelling coach to help faculty through consultations, classroom observations, and workshops focused on telling academic stories across contexts. He also manages the Mutual Mentoring Groups CETL provides. When he is not mentoring faculty at KSU, he remains active in the Department of Theatre & Performance Studies and travels to universities around the country as a popular solo-performer. 

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


     

  • 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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