Speaker Bios
ISSOTL Board
CHNG Huang Hoon — Co President
Huang s an Associate Professor (English Language) and is concurrently an Associate Provost (Undergraduate Education) and Director (Community Leadership) at the National University of Singapore (NUS). She has degrees in Linguistics (UT-Austin) and Philosophy (NUS). She serves on the ISSOTL Board of Directors as Regional Vice President (Asia Pacific), and provides leadership for SoTL-Asia that she established in 2016. She is a member on the Scientific Commission for ICED 2020-Zurich and was a keynote speaker at ISSOTL 2015 in Melbourne on the topic of “Leading learning and the scholarship of change from the SoTL margin”.
She has written about a range of issues including SoTL leadership (e.g. “On the margins of SoTL discourse: An Asian perspective”, TLI, 2013); teaching excellence (e.g. “Teaching excellence and the rise of education focused employment tracks”, 2018); and institutions (e.g. “The idea of the university: National asset or ivory tower?”, 2018).
Nancy Chick — Co President
Nancy has a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of New Mexico and a master’s and doctorate in English from the University of Georgia. She has taught courses in American literature, literary studies, writing, gender studies, and pedagogy in a large, multicampus state university system, a mid-size private university, a large public university, and now in a small, private liberal arts college. Nancy served on the ISSOTL Board of Directors and as editor of the Society’s newsletter The International Commons from 2005 to 2012, when she was selected as founding co-editor of ISSOTL’s peer-reviewed journal, Teaching & Learning Inquiry. She is the chair of the ISSOTL Interest Group for the Arts and Humanities, and was the Program Chair of the 2011 ISSOTL Conference in Milwaukee, WI (USA) and the Co-Chair of the 2017 ISSOTL Conference in Calgary, AB (Canada). She was awarded the ISSOTL Distinguished Service Award in 2017, and is the only person to have attended every single ISSOTL conference.
Mary Ann Danielson — Secretary
Professor of Communication Studies and Professor, Interdisciplinary Ed.D. Program in Leadership, Mary Ann has been active in Carnegie Conversations since 1997 and SoTL since 2006. Leading CASTL initiatives on “Mentoring SoTL Scholars” and “Cognitive and Affective Learning,” informed my work as Creighton’s Associate Vice-Provost for Learning and Assessment (2007-2018) and now as teaching faculty. My SoTL interests and publications include: SoTL as Faculty Development and Students as Partners in Collaborative Curricular (re)Constructions.
Yvonne Macrae — Treasurer
Yvonne has been an educator for over two decades. In the early 1980’s, she emigrated to the United States of America and earned an undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Lesley University, an MBA from Simmons College School of Management, and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) from Lesley University, College of Education in Cambridge, Massachusetts
For the past 18 years, she has been an adjunct faculty/lecturer at Northeastern University College of Professional Studies, University of Massachusetts College of Education and Human Development in the Leadership in Education Program, Lesley University College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in the School of Management teaching undergraduate and graduate business management and leadership courses.
Colin Jevons — VP Asia Pacific
Associate Professor Colin Jevons is course director of the B Bus degree at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, with over 6500 students. He has been Adjunct Professor at IESEG in France and has also guested at Auburn and Michigan State Universities, USA, and the University of Twente, Holland. Colin has received a Dean’s Award for Teaching for contributing to the student learning experience and teaching innovation. He has worked on many university-wide initiatives, including developing an English language and cultural support program for international students.
His research interests are student retention and attrition, graduate employability, student cross-cultural communication, and teaching critical thinking and scepticism in business education. He has an h-index of 17 and has received eleven competitive research grants.
His pre-academic career was in consumer research and in book publishing, and he is an honorary life member of the Society of Editors.
Karena Waller — VP Asia Pacific
Karena holds a PhD (2001; Monash University) in malaria research, and possesses over 10 years’ post-doctoralresearch experience. Since joining the University of Melbourne’s academic teaching staff (2010), Karena has contributed significantly to the teaching and learning of microbiology, both locally and nationally. Karena’s excellence and innovation in teaching and learning has been rewarded with locally and nationally competitive prizes. She possesses extensive leadership experience in teaching and learning and sits on numerous University and Institute committees, primarily focusing on improving teaching and learning, improving the student experience and student engagement, academic governance and professional development. She is a member of the Australian Society for Microbiology; she was Victorian Branch Chair (2014-2018) and is current Chair of both the ASM Education Special Interest Group (2017-2019) and organizing committee for ASM’s 2020 Scientific Meeting (2018-2020). Karena has published numerous biomedical and educational research/SoTL articles in peer-reviewed journals. Karena completed the Graduate Certificate in University Teaching (2011; University of Melbourne).
Andrea Webb — VP Canada
Andrea is an Instructor in Social Studies Education in the Faculty of Education at The University of British Columbia. She has been involved with education (compulsory and higher education) for 20 years and SoTL for a decade.
Rie Troelsen — VP Europe
Rie Troelsen is since 2016 Head of the SDU Centre for Teaching and Learning at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) (www.sdu.dk/en/sduup). Before that, she was an associate professor in higher education teaching and learning at SDU. She has a PhD in chemistry education from 2003.
Her major field of interest is staff development – both as a researcher and as a practitioner. She has since 2007 facilitated a range of educational development projects and conducted even more staff development courses.
Rie has been a board member of the Danish Network for Higher Education for more than 10 years and was a co-founder of the Nordic-Baltic Network for Educational Developers in 2010.
For the moment, Rie is engaged in research and development projects with colleagues in Scotland, Sweden, Estonia, the Netherlands, Norway, Finland and Australia.
Dr. Nancy Krusen — VP US
Dr. Krusen is founding program director for a clinical doctorate program at University of Nebraska Medical Center in the US. She received her PhD in occupational therapy from Texas Woman’s University. Her research interests include application of theoretical constructs in teaching and learning, translational science, and qualitative methods of inquiry. She currently serves as a mentor for a New Educators Mentorship Program, as well as a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Mentorship Program.
ISSOTL Fellows
Michelle J. Eady, Associate Professor, University of Wollongong, Australia
Associate Professor Eady is an Associate Professor in Professional Studies in the School of Education at the University of Wollongong. In 2013, she was a recipient of an Australian Office of Teaching and Learning (OLT) teaching excellence award. Her current research focus in the Scholarship of Teacher and learning (SOTL), particularly the preparation of quality primary school teachers. A/Prof. Eady has lived and worked in remote Canadian and Australian Aboriginal communities. A qualified primary school teacher, she lent her expertise to the Aboriginal adult literacy field for over a decade, and was awarded the Province of Ontario’s Council of the Federation of Literacy Award for Innovation in Literacy for her work. She also received the William A. West medal for academic achievement at the Masters level from Lakehead University in Thunder Bay Canada. A/Prof. Eady is a proud University of Wollongong graduate. She has completed a Specialist in Special Education, Computers in the Classroom and Reading. Her teaching experiences include teaching on a reserve, in the high arctic and in communities in various schools in Canada. A/Prof. Eady has had the pleasure of speaking at conferences worldwide and looks forward to collaborations with colleagues who have a passion for teaching and learning
Mandy Frake-Mistak, Educational Developer, York University, Canada
Mandy is an Educational Developer at the Teaching Commons at York University where she works with faculty and graduate students. Her primary role is providing courses related to teaching in higher education and SoTL. She facilitates professional development workshops, and is an Instructional Skills Workshop Trainer. Currently, Mandy is involved in the EDC Accreditation Committee, the EDC Working Group on Awards, the 3M National Student Fellowship Coordination Team, York University’s Working Group on Enhancing the Quality of Teaching and Learning, and is a reviewer for Transformative Dialogues.
Mandy completed her Ph.D. and a Graduate Diploma in Postsecondary Education at York University, an Honours Bachelor in Physical Education, a Bachelor of Education, and a Masters of Education from Brock University. She has been a contract faculty at York University, Wilfrid Laurier University, Brock University and Trent University, instructing courses in faculties of education and physical education and kinesiology. Her areas of research are teaching and learning in higher education, critical policy studies, degree level expectations and outcomes based learning, quality assurance, and the political economy of higher education.
Melanie Hamilton, EdD Candidate, Western University & Educational Development Specialist, Lethbridge College, Canada
Melanie Hamilton, an Educational Development Specialist and SoTL Research Lead from Lethbridge College, is the current Vice-Chair of SoTL Canada. In the past year, Melanie has worked on creating SoTL Regional Groups that will work under the auspice of SoTL Canada and will promote the advancement of SoTL and scholarship within geographical regions. This, in turn, will facilitate pathways of collaboration among regional groups and support the purpose and objectives of SoTL Canada. From 1999-20018, Melanie taught in various nursing education programs, actively participating in programs reviews, accreditation processes, and curriculum development. Melanie has been leading initiatives in SoTL at the local, provincial, and national level since 2010. Her research interests in SoTL include mid-career faculty, academic integrity, and supportive initiatives for new SoTL researchers.
Amrita Kaur, Senior Lecturer (Educational Psychology), Universiti Utara Malaysia, Malaysia
Amrita Kaur is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Education and Modern Language at Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM). She teaches postgraduate courses in Educational Psychology, Educational and Psychological Measurement and Evaluation, and Research Methodology at the School of Education and Modern Languages, College of Arts and Sciences, UUM. Her research interests include teaching and learning in higher education, assessment, learning motivation and engagement and cross-cultural studies for learning. She is has published her work in reputable and high impact SCOPUS and SSCI indexed journals. She is the editorial member of Scopus indexed journal.
Hasitha Mahabaduge, Assistant Professor of Physics, Georgia College, USA
The GC assistant professor of physics obtained his bachelor’s degree while still in his home country of Sri Lanka before coming to the United States. He received his Ph. D. from the University of Toledo in Ohio and followed that up with a couple years of post-doctoral research at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado, which is the only lab dedicated to renewable energy research in the world. He accepted a position on the Georgia College faculty in 2016 and has been in Milledgeville ever since.
Patrick Maher, Dean of Teaching, Nipissing University, Canada
Dr. Pat Maher is an interdisciplinary scholar, who has previously held appointments at Cape Breton University, the University of Northern British Columbia, and the University of Otago. Pat is a 3M National Teaching Fellow and a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. He held a Commonwealth Scholarship for his doctoral work, as while at CBU was both a University Teaching Chair in Community Engaged Teaching and Scholarship and a SSHRC Exchange University Research Chair in the Social Sciences and Humanities.
Marian McCarthy, Centre for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL), University College Cork, Ireland
Dr Marian McCarthy is the Interim Vice-President for Teaching and Learning at UCC and has overall responsibility for teaching and learning at University College Cork.
From September 2015 to February 6th 2018, Marian was the Director of the Centre for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL) at UCC. Prior to that, from 2006-2015, she was Co- Director of Ionad Bairre (now CIRTL). A Senior Lecturer in Education since 2013, Marian taught in the School of Education full time from 1995 to 2006 and was then seconded long-term to CIRTL. As Director of CIRTL, her primary responsibility was for the Accredited Programme in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, which provides certification for staff who wish to research their teaching and their students’ learning.
Marian’s primary research areas are in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), Multiple Intelligences (MI) theory and Teaching for Understanding (TfU). She fuses these to provide a robust disciplinary, research, and pedagogical framework for staff who teach in university and third level settings.
In 2017 she received the UCC Impact Award, in recognition of the work she has initiated and sustained across the University for decades in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. In 2012, she was awarded the Enhancing the Student Experience Award at UCC. In 2004 she received the President’s Award for Innovation in Teaching (UCC), and a National Award for Teaching Excellence (Special Commendation, team award). In 2002 she received the President’s Award for Teaching Excellence at UCC.
Marian founded and directed a Drama school for all age groups in Crosshaven, Co Cork (1980-1990). She directed several plays, including a production of O’ Casey’s The Plough and the Stars at the Everyman in 1992, which also gave her the opportunity to write a semiotic guide and analysis of the play for schools. She continues to maintain links with the Arts through her interest in the work of the School of Music and Theatre at UCC and that of the Glucksman Gallery, UCC.
Marian is a member of the Board of Directors of AHEAD and is a member of the Educational Developers in Ireland Network (EDIN). Marian has also served two terms on the Governing Body of UCC and is currently serving her second term on the Senate of the National University of Ireland. Dr Marian McCarthy is the Interim Vice-President for Teaching and Learning at UCC and has overall responsibility for teaching and learning at University College Cork.
From September 2015 to February 6th 2018, Marian was the Director of the Centre for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL) at UCC. Prior to that, from 2006-2015, she was Co- Director of Ionad Bairre (now CIRTL). A Senior Lecturer in Education since 2013, Marian taught in the School of Education full time from 1995 to 2006 and was then seconded long-term to CIRTL. As Director of CIRTL, her primary responsibility was for the Accredited Programme in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, which provides certification for staff who wish to research their teaching and their students’ learning.
Marian’s primary research areas are in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), Multiple Intelligences (MI) theory and Teaching for Understanding (TfU). She fuses these to provide a robust disciplinary, research, and pedagogical framework for staff who teach in university and third level settings.
In 2017 she received the UCC Impact Award, in recognition of the work she has initiated and sustained across the University for decades in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. In 2012, she was awarded the Enhancing the Student Experience Award at UCC. In 2004 she received the President’s Award for Innovation in Teaching (UCC), and a National Award for Teaching Excellence (Special Commendation, team award). In 2002 she received the President’s Award for Teaching Excellence at UCC.
Marian founded and directed a Drama school for all age groups in Crosshaven, Co Cork (1980-1990). She directed several plays, including a production of O’ Casey’s The Plough and the Stars at the Everyman in 1992, which also gave her the opportunity to write a semiotic guide and analysis of the play for schools. She continues to maintain links with the Arts through her interest in the work of the School of Music and Theatre at UCC and that of the Glucksman Gallery, UCC.
Marian is a member of the Board of Directors of AHEAD and is a member of the Educational Developers in Ireland Network (EDIN). Marian has also served two terms on the Governing Body of UCC and is currently serving her second term on the Senate of the National University of Ireland.
Lucy Mercer-Mapstone, Lecturer in Curriculum, The University of Sydney, Australia
Lucy is a Lecturer in Curriculum at the University of Sydney, previously a Lecturer in Higher Education Learning Design in the Faculty of Science at the University of Technology Sydney. Her role focuses on academic development in STEM. She is also an Associate Editor for the ISSOTL Journal, Teaching and Learning Inquiry. She was previously an Endeavour Research Fellow at the Institute for Academic Development, University of Edinburgh and completed her PhD at the University of Queensland (UQ), Australia. Lucy has a passion for student engagement in higher education with a particular focus on student-staff partnership, a topic on which she has facilitated workshops and given keynotes internationally. Lucy brings experience in a range of fields including the student engagement through partnership, gender equity, inclusive pedagogies, higher education research and development, student engagement program design, scholarship of teaching and learning, science education, science communication, and development of graduate attributes. She has been involved an Australian Learning and Teaching Fellowship focused on Students as Partners and was an inaugural co-editor of the International Journal for Students as Partners. Lucy was a member of an ISSoTL International Collaborative Writing Group, has numerous papers published top-tier higher education journals, and was the recipient of three PhD scholarships.
Jane Pritchard, Principal Lecturer, Oxford Brookes University, United Kingdom
Jane Pritchard joined OCSLD in August 2019. Jane has been working in the field of educational development in higher education since the start of the 21st century and has directed and delivered learning and teaching programmes and run educational research projects. She has also worked at two HEA subject centres (Materials and Engineering), University of Bristol (where she designed and delivered the CREATE CPD scheme to over 400 staff a year), London School of Economics, University of Glasgow, University of Bath and Queens University, Canada as an educational developer. She is Editor in Chief and co-founder of the on-line journal Practice and Evidence of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (PESTLHE). Jane started out in Materials Science and Engineering and her undergraduate and PhD and subsequent research posts involved a lot of different materials getting broken – intentionally!
Jane is a National Teaching Fellow (2015) and a Senior Fellow of the HEA. She is committed to the scholarship of teaching and learning and embedding it in all her work with academic staff and providing different spaces for staff to engage in reflecting and enhancing their learning and teaching practice.
Jane has research interests in a range of educational topics including the role of short intensive courses and their positive influence on both teachers and learners, enquiry-based learning philosophies and how the use of audio-visual feedback impacts on both teacher and learner. She is starting to explore a new area of scholarship around courage in teaching and learning and what this means at different levels of the academy as well as a strong commitment to building teaching and learning communities.
