Center for Innovations in Teaching and Learning (CITL)

Jody Greene came to UC Santa Cruz in 1998 and has served as Professor of Literature, Feminist Studies, and the History of Consciousness. Her research interests include seventeenth- and eighteenth-century British literature; non-dualist Western philosophy, especially the work of Spivak, Derrida, and Nancy; human rights and international law; queer studies; and the history of literary discourse and literary institutions. Her forthcoming collection, co-edited with Sharif Youssef, is The Hostile Takeover: Human Rights after Corporate Personhood. She is the recipient of the UCSC Humanities Division John Dizikes Teaching Award (2008), the Disability Resource Center Champion of Change Award (2018), and, twice, of the UCSC Academic Senate Excellence in Teaching Award (2001, 2014). In 2016 she was appointed the founding Director of the Center for Innovations in Teaching and Learning (CITL) and she now serves as UCSC’s first Associate Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning.

Samara “Sam” Foster has worked at UC Santa Cruz since 2007. She received a joint Ph.D. in Educational Research and Evaluation Methodology and Educational Foundations, Policy, and Practice and a graduate certificate in Women’s and Gender Studies from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She also holds a BA and MA in Political Science. Her work and scholarship center on equity and social justice in educational policy and practice rooted in feminist epistemologies and collaborative approaches to research. Prior to joining the CITL as Managing Director, Sam was the Managing Director of the Student Success Equity Research Center (SSERC) and served as Assistant Vice Provost in the Division of Student Success at UC Santa Cruz. She was also previously the Assistant Director of the University of California Center for Collaborative Research for an Equitable California (CCREC).

Robin Dunkin is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department at UC Santa Cruz and manages the Marine Mammal Stranding Network. Robin has been an instructor and collaborator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) active learning initiative in the Physical and Biological Sciences Division for the past three years designing active learning versions of large intro bio courses. She has been recognized with a Disability Resource Center teaching award and an honorable mention for the Excellence in Teaching Award. As a CITL/PBSci Faculty Fellow in 2017–18, Robin focused on modifying and reintroducing activities that were developed for the active learning courses back into the large lecture courses, and on using these activities as active learning training opportunities for graduate students. As a CITL Senior Faculty Fellow in 2019–20 and 2018–19, Robin has focused on enhancing cross-course connections across the introductory science curriculum, building the growing learning assistant program, and training graduate students to integrate evidence-based teaching into discussion sections.

Kendra Dority has been an engaged member of the teaching and learning community at UC Santa Cruz since 2009, serving as a Teaching Fellow and Teaching Assistant in the Literature Department and as a Lecturer at Porter College before joining the Center for Innovations in Teaching and Learning in 2017. With CITL, she develops programs that build communities of practice, support equity-minded teaching, and promote active learning, and she leads up the Center’s professional development opportunities for graduate students. Both within and outside of the university, she champions public humanities and arts education. As a school museum guide at SFMOMA, she encourages hands-on, inquiry-based learning for Bay Area students in grades 3–8. She received her Ph.D. in Literature from UCSC, with research on reading practices, multiple literacies, linguistic justice, and ethical pedagogy in ancient Greek and contemporary U.S. Latinx literatures.

Nandini Bhattacharya received her B.A. in Mathematics from Bryn Mawr College, and M.A. in Mathematics and Post-Graduate Certification in Education from UC Santa Cruz. She joined the Academic Excellence (ACE) Program at UCSC when it first started in 1987, and worked there as a Mathematics Coordinator for 20 years. Since 2007, Nandini has been a lecturer in Mathematics, mostly teaching the initial gateway courses College Algebra, Precalculus, and Differential Calculus, where a large number of enrolled students are from underserved or under-represented backgrounds. Compelled to serve these students better, she partnered with the Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) Initiatives team to redesign the first two Math gateway courses. She received the UCSC Excellence in Teaching Award in 2012, Excellence in Diversity Award in 2005 and 2013, and the Hero Award from the Educational Opportunity Program in 2016. As a CITL/Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) Faculty Fellow in 2017-2018, she designed a training for Math 2 and Math 3 Graduate Teaching Assistants and Instructors that is pedagogically sound and culturally responsive to the current population of the UCSC students, in order to promote equity and educational access.

Jessie Dubreuil received her undergraduate and masters degrees in English from Stanford University and her Ph.D. in English Language and Literature from the University of Virginia. Prior to joining the UC Santa Cruz community, Jessie was the Director of the First Year Experience (FYE) Program at Colorado College, where she taught literature and humanities courses and focused her research and teaching on experiential, immersive, and community-based learning. There, she spearheaded grants, programs, and partnerships to incorporate Community Based Learning into the first year curriculum, oversaw the FYE Mentor program, and received the Exemplary Achievement in Community Engaged Teaching Award (2015). Jessie has also taught at Rice University, and the University of Virginia. She directs the CITL Undergraduate Fellowship, a program to nurture and support peer-to-peer learning on campus. Jessie is also a faculty member in the Writing Program and at Merrill College, where she serves as College 1 Coordinator and leads the fall seminar for Merrill Course Assistants. She is a Visiting Associate Researcher at UC Berkeley’s Center for Studies in Higher Education (CSHE), where she works with the Student Experience of the Research University (SERU) study.

Noori Chai joined CITL as a STEM Equity Coordinator in 2020, after receiving her Ph.D. in neuroscience from Stanford University. While her research centered around the cellular mechanisms driving neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS, she also worked to improve the graduate school experience through mentorship, community-building, and conversations about mental health, class, gender, and race. She is committed to making STEM disciplines more inclusive and equitable for students from underserved, under-represented backgrounds.

Hillary Schalit Bennett is an Administrative Assistant in the Division of Academic Affairs spending part of her time doing event and administrative support for CITL, as well as supporting Associate Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning and CITL Director Jody Greene. She is a graduate of UC Santa Barbara (BA, Psychology) and has a background working as a small business owner/massage therapist, photojournalist, office manager, and project coordinator. She is very excited to be supporting CITL’s mission.

Rebecca Davis is a Ph.D. student in the Anthropology department, focusing on historical archaeology. Rebecca was selected for the year-long Campus Fellows program (formerly Chancellor’s Graduate Intern Program) to work with CITL throughout 2020-21 on the topic “Divisional Anti-Racist Pedagogies: The Development of Resources to Facilitate Inclusive, Equitable and Anti-Racist Frameworks into Teaching Practices.”

Rebecca’s research is rooted in the African diaspora and black feminist perspectives, and Rebecca studies enslaved spaces of colonial Saint Domingue (present-day Haiti), the site of the only successful large-scale rebellion by enslaved populations. As a future educator, Rebecca’s primary goal is to keep the pipeline into the field of archaeology and anthropology diverse and accessible—specifically, diversity in its student populations, accessibility to opportunities, the courses being offered, and the individuals doing the teaching.

Salvador Huitzilopochtli is a doctoral candidate in Mathematics Education.  His research investigates how to use mathematical writing to support middle school students to compose more sophisticated mathematical arguments in early algebraic courses.  Mr. Huitzilopochtli received his BA in Rhetoric, Masters in Education, and Single-Subject Teaching Credential (Mathematics) from UC Berkeley.  His work is informed by ten years of experience as a middle-school mathematics teacher in culturally, linguistically, and economically diverse schools.  Mr. Huitzilopochtli’s work centers on equity and draws upon his additional experience working in violence prevention, academic support, and mentoring.

Jessica Calvanico is a Ph.D. candidate in Feminist Studies with emphases in Visual Studies and Anthropology. Her dissertation explores histories of girlhood, carcerality, racialization, and sexuality. She holds an M.A. in Social Sciences with a concentration in linguistic anthropology from the University of Chicago and a B.A. in Anthropology from the George Washington University. As an educator, she has taught across the humanities, social sciences, and arts at SUNY Stony Brook, the Pratt Institute, Sonoma State University, and California College of the Arts. Over the summer of 2019, she participated in the National Humanities Center’s graduate student residency program, “Objects and Places in an Inquiry-Based Classroom: Teaching, Learning, and Research in the Humanities.” With CITL, she is developing curriculum for an inter-divisional certificate program in teaching disciplinary writing.

Alejandro Ruelas-Mora (He/Him) is a fourth-year transfer student who was born and raised in the SF Bay Area. Alejandro is a first-gen neurodivergent student, who is majoring in Intensive Psychology and Sociology with a concentration in GISES. Alejandro not only is a CITL undergraduate fellow but an Administrative and Communications Assistant. Besides CITL, Alejandro is a research assistant for the Talking, Texting, and Emotions lab. Alejandro is a tech guide fellow, with the incorporation of project guiding duties, for the Everett Program.

Robin Dunkin is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department at UC Santa Cruz and manages the Marine Mammal Stranding Network. Robin has been an instructor and collaborator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) active learning initiative in the Physical and Biological Sciences Division for the past three years designing active learning versions of large intro bio courses. She has been recognized with a Disability Resource Center teaching award and an honorable mention for the Excellence in Teaching Award. As a CITL/PBSci Faculty Fellow in 2017–18, Robin focused on modifying and reintroducing activities that were developed for the active learning courses back into the large lecture courses, and on using these activities as active learning training opportunities for graduate students. As a CITL Senior Faculty Fellow in 2019–20 and 2018–19, Robin has focused on enhancing cross-course connections across the introductory science curriculum, building the growing learning assistant program, and training graduate students to integrate evidence-based teaching into discussion sections.

Suzanne Alonzo is a Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. She was awarded the National Science Foundation Early CAREER Award, which is NSF’s “most prestigious award in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education, and the integration of education and research.” While a professor at Yale University, she received the Yale Graduate Mentorship Award and the Yale Postdoctoral Mentorship Prize, in recognition of her commitment to the education and mentorship of young scientists. As a CITL Faculty Fellow, she develops resources and curricula based on the intersection of contemplative pedagogy and active learning approaches in science.

Rebecca Covarrubias is an Assistant Professor of Social Psychology who examines how mismatching learning contexts undermine educational, social, and mental health outcomes for marginalized students, and how to reverse these effects through culturally-informed approaches. Dr. Covarrubias has been recognized for her mentoring and teaching, including receiving both the Inspiring Lecturer Award and the Going Above and Beyond Award for the Department of Psychology, and being named a Disability Resource Center ALI Program Accessibility Leader. She also completed the UC Santa Cruz Diversity and Inclusion Certification Program to further strengthen her approaches with diverse students. As a CITL/LSS Faculty Fellow, Dr. Covarrubias examined approaches for improving the cultural transition to college for first-generation college students through reflective conversations with students and research-based training for faculty and staff.

Sylvanna M. Falcón is an Associate Professor in the Latin American and Latino Studies Department. In 2012, she received the American Sociological Association’s Carla B. Howery Teaching Enhancement Grant for a collaborative project titled “Using the Case Method of Teaching to Promote Active Student Learning.” As a CITL Faculty Fellow, she seeks to develop a multi-year and collaborative human rights documentation project with students enrolled in her courses.