Dane-Staples, Vanderbilt Named Inaugural Faculty Fellows

Dr. Emily Dane-Staples and Dr. Deborah Vanderbilt were recently named inaugural Faculty Fellows, serving as campus experts in supporting colleagues as they build skills and knowledge in active learning and operationalizing the All College Learning Outcomes in their courses.

Hosted through the DePeters Family Center for Innovation and Teaching Excellence, the Faculty Fellow program was designed to encourage faculty to share their expertise through workshops, one-on-one consultations, or course reviews.   

“Our Faculty Fellows program will provide expert support and ongoing professional development for pedagogical innovation and the further development of our CORE curriculum,” said Dr. Kevin Railey, provost of the College. “I congratulate both Emily and Deb and thank them for their interest in these new roles and for their leadership in enhancing teaching and learning here at Fisher.  The Faculty Fellows program will continue in future semesters with new Fellows being identified in order to further improve the student academic experience.”

Dane-Staples, an associate professor of sport management, has been appointed the position of Active Learning Faculty Fellow starting this spring semester through May 31, 2023. She joined the faculty at Fisher in 2006, and throughout her time here has focused not only on her expertise in her field, but also on the pedagogy of teaching and the science of learning. She has specifically focused on the research related to active learning and used the best practices in her own courses to help improve the student learning experience.

Her research has also focused on the scholarship of teaching and learning, leading to a number of publications and presentations related to the use of technology to engage students in the classroom and active learning strategies specific to sport management and sport sociology.

“With the science of teaching and learning, there are some foundational principles that, once learned, can be used as a system of checks and balances regardless of the types of changes you are seeking to make,” she said. “My main goal is to help faculty by meeting them where they are and helping to alleviate some of the background research usually required when one is considering revision a class or infusing different strategies.”

In her time as an Active Learning Faculty Fellow, Dane-Staples will be developing and offering workshops on active learning strategies to campus, supporting faculty through one-on-one consultations, and designing an Active Learning Institute to be offered later this spring.

Vanderbilt, a professor of English, has been appointed the position of Communications ACLO Faculty Fellow starting this spring semester through May 31, 2023. A veteran member of the faculty, she is considered to be a master teacher by her colleagues and her students. Her area of expertise is Early English literature and Vanderbilt was an early advocate of the digital humanities and using the power of digital tools to introduce students to new ways of engaging with old texts.

In addition to having served as chair of the English Department several times in her tenure, she led the previous College Core Committee and today leads the new Fisher Core committee. She is also the past president and vice president of the New York College English Association.

Vanderbilt will serve as the Communications ACLO Faculty Fellow where she will support writing and communication outcomes in the Core, especially in the development of the new advanced writing requirement, 3990, and the Cardinal Experience. She will be developing and offering workshops, supporting faculty through one-on-one consultations, and helping prepare for the first full roll-out of 3990 as juniors enroll in the course in the next academic year.