I am a senior academic developer with a disciplinary background in instructional technology and language education. My career has spanned teaching and academic development roles across the U.S. and internationally. At Duke I serve as Assistant Dean and founding director of the Certificate in College Teaching (CCT), direct the Preparing Future Faculty (PFF) program, and oversee major initiatives in research ethics and digital pedagogy. I regularly teach graduate-level pedagogy courses and have led programs in settings ranging from large lectures and seminars to online and hybrid formats. Collectively, these efforts reach several hundred participants each year and have helped shift the culture of teaching from peripheral to recognized as an essential part of doctoral education. A fuller evidence base is available in my HEA Senior Fellowship application, but this statement provides a high-level overview of the principles and practices that guide my leadership.
Inclusivity & Access
My practice begins with a commitment to inclusivity and access. Development opportunities matter only if people can participate, and I have consistently worked to remove barriers. A key example is my leadership of the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) program, a graduation requirement that now reaches more than 4,000 completions annually. I reshaped RCR from a compliance exercise into a series of modules where equity and mentorship are placed on par with academic integrity as core ethical commitments. I also expanded delivery options, including online formats and flexible scheduling, so that researchers with fieldwork, caregiving, or time-zone challenges could participate fully.
Similarly, in the CCT I led the pilot of an online version of GS750 (Fundamentals of College Teaching), launched in collaboration with instructional technology colleagues and faculty facilitators. Designed around research on online learning and our own evaluation framework, the pilot broadened access while meeting the same standards as the in-person course. In each case, my aim has been to design structures that are inclusive in both principle and practice.
Collaboration & Community
I emphasize collaboration and community as foundations of academic development. The Teaching Triangles peer-observation module, embedded in the CCT, invites participants to observe one another’s teaching, reflect together, and exchange feedback in a supportive and non-evaluative format. Hundreds of doctoral students and postdocs have benefited, and faculty beyond the program have adapted the model for their own contexts.
In the PFF program, I bring Duke students into dialogue with mentors at liberal arts colleges, community colleges, and historically Black universities. Guided by an advisory board of senior faculty from these partner campuses, fellows participate in mentoring, site visits, and panels that open their eyes to varied academic environments. Within the Graduate School, I have also built a wider community of practice by involving librarians, technology specialists, and postdocs as instructors in the CCT. This distributed model not only broadens perspectives but also provides meaningful leadership experiences; one postdoc I recruited to teach GS750 later secured a tenure-track role, crediting that opportunity as decisive.
Evidence-Informed Practice
My approach is consistently evidence-informed and scholarly. I design and adapt modules as cycles of inquiry: planning, evaluation, and refinement. For example, I created GS780S (Graduate Instructor of Record Seminar) to support doctoral students teaching full modules for the first time. Structured as a collaborative learning community, it reduces isolation and builds confidence through reflection, peer review, and shared problem-solving.
I also redesigned GS760 (College Teaching Portfolio), shifting its emphasis from visual communication to reflective portfolio development explicitly informed by the UK Professional Standards Framework. While preparing students for U.S. job searches, it also equips them with tools they can adapt if they later pursue Advance HE Fellowship or other international recognition. In each case, I embed evaluation and use the results to challenge assumptions, refine design, and model evidence-based practice.
Innovation & Digital Pedagogy
I also look ahead to digital pedagogy and innovation. As program director, I have supported GS762 (Digital Pedagogy) and co-developed GS764 (Generative AI in College Teaching). These courses prepare early-career academics not only to use digital tools effectively but also to engage critically with the ethical and pedagogical questions they raise. Topics such as integrity, inclusivity, and the impact of AI on assessment help participants anticipate challenges in their future teaching. By linking innovation with critical inquiry, I ensure that our programs stay relevant while remaining grounded in core values.
Reflection & Ongoing Development
Finally, I lead through reflection and continuing professional development. Running large, multi-faceted programs has shown me that leadership in academic development is less about authority and more about creating conditions where others can thrive. I have made mistakes—such as launching modules based on assumption rather than evidence—but learned to design incrementally and listen closely to participants.
Completing the Senior Fellowship process sharpened my ability to articulate my practice against the UKPSF, and I now bring that framework into my own teaching and mentoring. Engagement with professional societies in the U.S. and internationally continues to refine how I see my role and situates my work within global networks of practice. In the years ahead, I plan to expand outward: designing new modules where needed, building partnerships that connect U.S. and U.K. colleagues, and sustaining a clear focus on equity even when policy environments resist it.