**To contact any of the Community Members listed below, just click on the underlined name. If you have not attended a workshop but would like to be included in this contact list, click here or call the Office of University Governance at (618) 650-2770**
Elizabeth Adams-Marks, Student, Fine Arts: I am a BFA undergraduate seeking a K-12 Art Education Certification, as well as a 2004 URA scholar and a member of Phi Kappa Phi.
Melanie Brimer, Department of Special Education & Communication Disorders: I have my Ph.D. in speech-language pathology specializing in people who have severe communication
problems requiring augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), such as computers with voice
output. I spent one year doing a post-doctoral experience to earn my clinical certification, and this is my
third year of teaching at SIUE. I am interested informing a diverse team representing people from a
wide variety of fields and backgrounds. I am also interested in involving students as well. I have some
ideas about general education, but I think ideas are more likely to take shape once the diverse team is
formed. I look forward to working with you!
Kathleen Bueno, Department of Foreign Languages & Literature: Professional background: I have a Ph. D. in Curriculum and Instruction and I teach
Spanish. My interests include: multicultural literacy, communication skills,
interpersonal skills, strong cross-discipline foundation and facilitating transition
from student to professional. General education model: I am interested in adapting a
complex model that would include competency areas with proficiency testing options,
a distribution foundation in keeping with IAI requirements and a sequence of linked
courses (freshman seminar-interdisciplinary course-seminar in the discipline and
capstone experience) that promote inquiry and problem-solving.
Peter Bukalski, Department of Theater & Dance
Kay Covington, Department of Kinesiology & Health Education
Vicki Daggett, School of Dental Medicine: I hold a Master's Degree in Educational Psychology and Counselor Education with an emphasis in Pupil Personnel Services (College Counseling Center). Among other graduate classes I took was a Philosophy of Education class and you seem to be dealing with many of the same issues. I thought it was interesting.
Liz Delfert, User Services, Lovejoy Library: Professional Background - I have a BA in Biology and a Masters in Library and Information Science. I am a new faculty member, having started in my position on September 6. I am interested in learning more about the GE program and requirements at SIUE. I have an interest in guiding students to be information literate and competent, to respect the environment, and to know more about the diversity of cultures in the U.S. and around the world.
Therese Dickman, Lovejoy Library
Robert Dixon, Department of Chemistry
Seran Dogancay-Aktuna, Department of English Language & Literature: Professional background: I have a PhD in Educational Linguistics from the
University of Pennsylvania and a Master's in Teaching English to Speakers of
Other Languages (TESOL). My main role at SIUE is to educate teachers of
English as a second/international language. I also teach general education courses
at the undergraduate level. Interests: My scholarly interests are in cross-cultural communication and the
sociology of second/foreign language acquisition and use. I am interested in joining
a design team to work towards enhancing the internationalization of the
undergraduate experience at SIUE, through study-abroad programs or courses
that foster greater awareness and acceptance of cross-cultural variation within and
outside of the United States.
Chris Durbin, Primary Care/Health Systems, School of Nursing
David Duvernell, Department of Biological Sciences
Douglas Eder, Office of the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
Nobby Emmanuel, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs
Susan Fanetti, Department of English Language & Literature: My professional background: I have a PhD in American literature; my "minor field" is rhetoric and composition theory and pedagogy. I also have an MAT. I joined SIUE in January 2004 as an English education specialist. I teach English methods, American literature, women's studies, and composition courses at all levels. My scholarly interests are the same as my teaching interests, and these converge in my overarching interest in the cultural contexts of language and literacy. Philosophically, my interest in revamping general education is to create a program of study that really helps students become fully vested and engaged members of society--good citizens, with real understanding of how they exist in and influence their community/ies. Practically, I am specifically interested in bolstering students' communication skills, with a deepened and expanded compostion program, more emphasis on critical thinking, and a more comprehensive and organized program from writing across the curriculum.
Cory Freeman, student/ The Alestle
Gary Giamartino, School of Business
Jo Gibson, Office of the Registrar: Employed by SIUE since 1977, I have spent the past 20 years working with
SIUE General Education Programs and our transfer student population.
I'm very interested in being part of a design team interested in the
possibilities as well as the practicalities of a General Education
Program for the 21st century.
Sharon Hahs, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
Brad Hofeditz, Office of the Registrar
Lydia Jackson, Lovejoy Library: I have a B.S. in Political Science with a concentration in American Government. I hold Master degrees in Instructional Technology and Library and Information Science. I coordinate the general education Library Instruction program. I have experience teaching freshmen, transfer, and older adult returning students in individual, group, and classroom environments. I have taught and am presently co-teaching a University 112 course. My major interests in Library Instruction include Information Literacy, academic preparedness, and assessment. I have participated and presented in numerous workshops, seminars, and conferences specifically related to undergraduate education and Information Literacy.
General education reform must include inquiry as the norm, problem solving as the focus, and thinking critically as the process. A major prerequisite to effective student success should also include the ability to find, evaluate, use, communicate and appreciate information in all its various formats. I want to be part of design team that considers embedding research skills to students as an integral part of course-links and course-integration. These courses should also provide a component for measuring the level of information competencies. Furthermore, I believe reform of general education must encompass strategies that require students to engage actively in the framing of a significant question or set of questions, the research or creative exploration to find answers, and the communications skills to convey the results. The results of this assessment will help us further develop our teaching program to meet the diverse and changing needs of SIUE students.
Charlotte Johnson, User Services, Lovejoy Library: M.A. Library Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1975;
B.S. Art Education and Integrated Liberal Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1974. In the 1970s, I participated in the UW-Madison's new Integrated Liberal Studies Program. Approximately
300 freshmen and sophomores studied, lived and socialized, as a subgroup of the 30,000+ student body,
with about a dozen faculty members who team-taught classes in a wide array of disciplines. The
active-learning, often community-based assignments required us to integrate what we were learning in all of
the Program's courses. It was a great experience and provided a strong foundation for our upper-level and
graduate work. The students, many of whom are now leaders in their chosen professions, regularly get back
together for reunions, and often discuss the value of the Program and how it prepared them for the rest of
their student work and their careers. I would like to see SIUE offer a General Education program that
would provide a similar experience.
Steve Kerber, Lovejoy Library
Kathy Ketchum, Primary Care/Health Systems, School of Nursing
Kim Kolweier, student
Skip Larkin, Department of Philosophy: I think that a general education program should allow students to see how the
various academic disciplines have emerged from more general intellectual
pursuits and how those disciplines each play a crucial role in dispelling our
“darknesses of mind” by providing “insight into nature and a systematic scheme
of contemplation.” (Lucretius, De Rerum Natura) I am thus inclined toward some program that centers on an interdisciplinary,
team-taught sequence of courses with the objective of providing students a clear
sense of the spatial distribution and temporal development of the most enduring
edifices of human thought. I have a significant background in music and a bachelor’s degree in English
along with my degrees in Philosophy. I am now seriously pursuing academic
interests in ecology, economics, and evolutionary psychology. (x2643)
Ellen Lavelle, Department of Educational Leadership: Ph.D., Educational Psychology, Southern Illinois University; M.S. Ed., Higher Education, Southern Illinois University; B.A., Sociology, Southern Illinois University. "Bridges Within" -- My perspective on General Education is focused on how it is that students learn, and how it is that faculty might best foster a rich and meaningful learning experience in the General Education Program. The design process might include assessing student needs, and then designining an integrated, and perhaps interdisciplinary, experience, a kind of Bridges Within. This might include consideration of real world problems as addressed from a range of disciplinary perspectives. The approach would be instructional in that it would consider both learning and teaching processes as linked to relevance.
Eric Malina, Department of Chemistry
Debbie Mann, Department of Foreign Languages & Literature: Professional background: I have a Ph.D. in French and have been teaching all levels of French language, literature, and culture at SIUE since 1988. My specialty is contemporary France (with emphasis on cultural diversity issues) and francophone literature. Interests: I would be interested in serving on a design team with representation from a variety of academic disciplines in order to propose a program that provides integration of General Education into the baccalaureate 4-year experience. I would like to contribute to the creation of a General Education proposal that, among other elements, allows for the enhancement of students’ understanding of the world and their ability to function successfully in the 21st century through knowledge of other cultures and appreciation for cultural relativity, both outside of and within the U.S. This cross-cultural component could come either through direct off-campus experience (abroad or in the U.S.) or through further internationalization of the on-campus curriculum in ways that are appropriate to the academic disciplines represented at SIUE.
Sharon James McGee, Department of English Language & Literature: I'm interested in being part of the BRIDGE design team because I am eager to explore innovative ways to reshape/re-envision general education at SIUE. I have a Ph.D. in English (Rhetoric and Composition) and have interest in, knowledge of, and investment in the teaching of writing both in English and across the curriculum. I am also Co-Director of Expository Writing at SIUE.
Doug Meyer, Lovejoy LibraryMichael Moore, Department of Historical Studies
Kent Neely, College of Arts & Sciences
Barbara J.K. Nwacha, Department of Art & Design
Therese Poirier, School of Pharmacy: I have a BS in Pharmacy from the Albany College of Pharmacy, a PharmD from the University of Michigan,
hospital pharmacy residency from the University of Michigan Hospital, and a Master in Public Health from
the University of Pittsburgh. I was a tenured faculty member in the School of Pharmacy at Duquesne
University in Pittsburgh for 24 yrs prior to my coming to SIUE. At Duquesne University, I was extensively
involved in educational program development including the implementation of a clinical pharmacy program
and non-traditional PharmD program. Having a public health background and having served as a
Congressional policy fellow in the US Senate, I have a more global perspective on the world of education
and health care than typically scientifically trained pharmacy faculty. At SIUE, I was recruited to lead the
development and implementation of an innovative and contemporary pharmacy curriculum. My interests in
general education are in a general abilities competency based model that incorporates innovative strategies
including the student as teacher model.
Kim Poteet, Department of Instructional Services: I have a M.Ed. in adult education with additional graduate work in teaching English composition, and I teach developmental reading in Instructional Services. I believe that general education requirements should provide exposure to the breathtaking diversity that is our world, challenge students’ assumptions, teach them to think critically and support their arguments well, and provide them with opportunities to take their learning out into the community via meaningful volunteer or other experiential opportunities.
Andrew Rathouse, student/ The Alestle
Jennifer Rehg, Department of Anthropology
Ann Riley, Technical and Access Services, Lovejoy Library: Any general education program should form the core of a student's undergraduate experience. A coherent program should focus on skills such as communication, higher order thinking, information literacy and quantitative reasoning in balance with knowledge areas such as social and behavioral sciences, humanities and fine arts, life and physical sciences as well as enabling the formation of ethical values in a diverse society. Possibly a matrixed approach to course classifications for gen ed as well as interdisciplinary foundation courses might result from skill and knowledge-based approaches. I have an MA in English, and MS in Library Science, am ABD in English and taught mainly writing for over 20 years at public and private, large and small institutions in four states. I have experience working with assessment and accreditation, and would like to work on a design team.
Cindy Scarsdale, UAPR/Office of the Provost
Johanna Schmitz, Department of Theater & Dance
Tim Schoenecker, School of Business
Michelle Sears, Administration, Lovejoy Library: Professional background: I have worked for one non-profit, one state agency, one sustainable business, one public library, two universities and myself. Favored Gen Ed design strategy for SIUE: the learning communities model, specifically the linked courses/course clusters structure.
Kerry Slattery, Department of Construction
Mariana Solares, Department of Foreign Languages & Literature
Lucian Stone, Department of Philosophy
Laura Swanson, Department of Management & Marketing
Steve Tamari, Department of Historical Studies: I teach Middle East history. I also advise history majors who are seeking certification to teach. Speaking as one who focuses on cross-cultural topics (teaching about Islam and Islamic history in particular) and who regularly teaches a course in historical methods, I think our students need two things: exposure to cultures other than their own and a chance to develop their writing and critical thinking skills. To fill the first need, I think all our students should be required to take two years of a foreign language. Any other Humanities requirements should give them instruction and practice in critical thinking and clear writing.
Cheryle Tucker-Loewe, Academic Counseling and Advising
Jacob Van Roekel, School of Engineering
Chad Verbais, Department of Instructional Services: As Coordinator of the Writing Center, I see freshmen through graduate school students from nearly every program on campus. This diverse contact list has helped inform me about the need for a more integrated writing curriculum at SIUE. Yet, I envision a general education program that fosters the idea of creating leaders who are competent in both written and verbal communication skills. These ideas include utilizing technology to inform and teach students the rhetoric of various media outlets, while integrating a writing to learn model across the disciplines. I have several years of experience with writing and learning centers as well as writing across the curriculum and electronic writing portfolio programs, and my research interests include how digital technology effects literary studies, play theory, minority language in the academy, various ESL issues, and visual rhetoric.
Robert Ware, Department of Philosophy: I have a D.Phil. with a dissertation on Hegel's philosophy. My research has focused upon Hegel, as well as the politics, religion, and ethnography of the North Caucasus region. I also have teaching and research interests in the philosophy of science. At the core of the Gen Ed program, I favor the model in place at campuses such as U.C. San Diego. The model is centered around a large lecture Western Civ sequence of two or three semesters. Students are divided among small discussion groups (capped at 12), meeting at least twice per week, and working intensively upon composition and argumentation (minimum of five substantive papers per term). Academic standards are very high (nearly all students receive D's or F's on their first papers), and all students are required to work up to those standards, which then become the base for sustaining high standards throughout all other programs at the university. Such a program is interdisciplinary in that it encompasses participating faculty from multiple departments, and it focuses upon critical thinking skills through the instruction of writing and argumentation. I favor the elimination of our current Interdisciplinary Studies courses and our Critical Thinking courses from the Gen Ed program. We should continue to offer team taught interdisciplinary courses, and we should continue to offer Critical Thinking courses, but not as components of Gen Ed. I believe that all graduating students should be numerate, and that all should have an exposure to science. I favor a no-nonsense approach to the basics of our civilization, supported by high academic standards.
Laura Wolff, Department of Economics & Finance
Valerie Yancey, Primary Care/Health Systems, School of Nursing
Sonia Zamanou-Erickson, Department of Speech Communication: Professional background: I have a Ph.D. in Organizational Communication and I teach all the undergraduate and graduate classes in corporate and organizational communication as well as training & development, interpersonal communication, research methods and interracial communication. I have a strong interest in cultural diversity and how it impacts the workplace. I am interested in students acquiring the necessary communication skills and theoretical knowledge to be successful in the diverse world of work. I am open to joining a design team that would like to utilize my knowledge and background.
Veronique Zaytzeff, Department of Foreign Languages & Literature
Steve Zika, Office of the Registrar: I've been employed by SIUE since 1972 and, while I have only been involved directly in General Education activities for the last two years with our transfer population, I'm very interested in contributing to the efforts of a team that brings this program into the 21st century.
**To contact any of the Community Members listed above, just click on the underlined name. If you have not attended a workshop but would like to be included in this contact list, click here or call the Office of University Governance at (618) 650-2770**