Tell us a little about your career here at VCU:

I am entering my 11th academic year at VCU. I am a Professor in the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship at the School of Business, and I am also the Executive Director of the Institute for Transformative Leadership. My research is on leadership and mindfulness, and how leaders can create spaces and places of belonging for others and transform cultures to empower others to be their best.

What will be your role and/or your responsibilities as a faculty fellow?

As a Faculty Fellow, I will work predominantly with Deans and other senior level organizational leaders, creating spaces for deep connection and leadership growth, as well as a safe place for candid conversations.

What do you hope to accomplish as a faculty fellow?

I hope to help leaders across our campus feel supported, valued, and that they are able to grow and develop in their roles as they then help support VCU's transformation.

How will you use this experience to further your own career and/or support the development of other faculty?

My passion is supporting and helping develop others through transformative experiences. My hope is that via developing and supporting VCU senior leaders, all faculty, staff, and students experience more supportive transformative leadership at VCU which creates and reinforces a deep culture of care which can permeate all levels of our organization.

What is something most people don't know about you? (i.e., hidden talent)

Most people don't know that I was a high school and college hurdler. I used to be somewhat fast in my day, and I once auditioned for a commercial in which I had to hurdle over a fire hydrant. I didn't end up getting the role and instead it went to a British Olympian.

If you had to choose an “un” word to describe yourself, what would it be and why?

UNRELENTING. To me, focusing our time, resources, and attention on our goals and vision ensures that these come to fruition, and doing so day in and day out requires much courage, deep care for self and others, and unrelenting forward progress despite obstacles.

Tell us a little about your career here at VCU:

It is my pleasure to serve as a Faculty Fellow focused on institutional effectiveness and academic programs. This data-driven work will allow me to contribute to building stronger programs at VCU that serve all of our students' needs and meet our learning goals. I'm especially excited to think about how VCU can drive stronger civic engagement. 

What will be your role and/or your responsibilities as a faculty fellow?

I hope to get a better understanding of VCU's academic and engagement beyond my department and my college. As a faculty member, it's important to have these opportunities to see the forest for the trees. 

What do you hope to accomplish as a faculty fellow?

I hope to get a better understanding of VCU's academic and engagement beyond my department and my college. As a faculty member, it's important to have these opportunities to see the forest for the trees. 

How will you use this experience to further your own career and/or support the development of other faculty?

This work will expand my own experience beyond MA program development into other, more wide-ranging areas. I look forward to offering constructive feedback to colleague's proposals and pilot efforts and to support academic program productivity throughout the university. 

If you had to choose an “un” word to describe yourself, what would it be and why?

Unwavering - I am resolute in my commitment to continuously improving my work, the work of my colleagues and VCU as a whole. I am always ready to climb over any obstacles in my way. 

What is something most people don't know about you? (i.e., hidden talent)

I live on an eight acre (hobby) farm in Hanover County, where I keep chickens and maintain a year-round crop schedule.

Tell us a little about your career here at VCU:

I’ve been a faculty member in the music department since 2008. I teach applied flute and piccolo lessons, chamber music, pedagogy, studio classes, plus music history and music education courses. I’ve presented on every inhabited continent, promoting music by living composers.  In addition to being a program chair for regional, national and international conferences for music organizations, I’ve served on Faculty Senate, the REAL Council, the School of the Arts Promotion and Tenure committee as well as several department level committees.

What will be your role and/or your responsibilities as a faculty fellow?

I’ll be facilitating policy review, revision, and responses, focusing on the university promotion and tenure policy document to start. 

What do you hope to accomplish as a faculty fellow?

I hope to incorporate faculty feedback on important policies and look forward to being involved in the university governance process from the admin side.

How will you use this experience to further your own career and/or support the development of other faculty?

This fellowship will allow me the opportunity to incorporate important administrative work while maintaining an active research agenda as a performing artist so that I can contribute on both fronts.

If you had to choose an “un” word to describe yourself, what would it be and why?

Unwavering
Having spent most of my career at VCU, I feel strongly committed to supporting the university’s mission and vision. 

What is your favorite restaurant in Richmond? 

I love the Gold Lion Community Cafe, Philly Vegan, Sen Organic… basically supporting RVA eateries that offer vegan options! 

Tell us a little about your career here at VCU:

I have been the Online Learning Librarian at VCU for about five years. One aspect of my role is providing support to my peers as they create online instructional content. I always appreciate hearing back from them when something worked well or how they have further innovated.  

What will be your role and/or your responsibilities as a faculty fellow?

I have two things to focus upon; launching a mentoring program where some of the work is already underway and collaborating with the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence in developing programming on online learning and genAI.

What do you hope to accomplish as a faculty fellow?

I hope to support relevant and worthwhile programming that has practical impacts in the work of others across campus.

How will you use this experience to further your own career and/or support the development of other faculty?

I hope that in many of my interactions, I can encourage folks around campus to utilize the amazing resources available to them through VCU Libraries and better connect them to the expertise of my library colleagues. 

If you had to choose an “un” word to describe yourself, what would it be and why?

Uncertain. Curiosity and humility are things that I find essential to navigating life and library work. I don’t know anything with absolute certainty and that’s okay because there is always more to learn, ways to deepen understanding, valuable evidence and experience that is contrary to what we think we know. 

What is your favorite thing to do in Richmond? 

I enjoy walking around and one of my favorite strolls is what I call ‘Cabell to Cabell.’ From my office in the Cabell Library, I walk down Cherry Street to Hollywood Cemetery where the grave of James Branch Cabell is. 

Tell us a little about your career here at VCU:

I've been a member of the Focused Inquiry faculty since 2007. Over the years, I've taught UNIV 111, 112, and 200, along with a few of our department's electives. My original discipline is philosophy, and I came to the program with a strong interest in teaching critical thinking and ethical reasoning and have helped to develop those parts of the FI curriculum. I've also enjoyed teaching philosophy courses during summer sessions. Well before the pandemic, I got involved in faculty development initiatives to improve online teaching and learning and have taught innovative asynchronous courses alongside my traditional ones.  Service has also been a significant part of my career at VCU; I've served on a number of assessment, curriculum, and policy committees at departmental and university levels.

What will be your role and/or your responsibilities as a faculty fellow?

Primarily, I'll be working to help develop the Advanced Recruitment Consultant Training Program (ARCTP).

What do you hope to accomplish as a faculty fellow?

One of my primary goals is to contribute to the development of the ARCTP training. The program is instrumental to the university's recruitment and hiring practices for faculty and administrators. I intend to apply my background in curriculum development and online learning to make it more streamlined and accessible.

What is something most people don't know about you? (i.e., hidden talent)

I'm not closely related to Karl or any of the Marx brothers.

If you had to choose an “un” word to describe yourself, what would it be?

UNFLAPPABLE

Tell us a little about your career here at VCU:

I joined the VCU College of Engineering in 2001, and I'm currently a professor in Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering.  Courses I have taught include Mechanical Systems Design, Robotics and Professional Development. I currently coordinate the ConnectED engineering course Great Inventions: How They Work and Their Impact on Society.  I also lead the MechanoUrology Lab along with urologist Adam Klausner, and our team works to develop non-invasive diagnostics for bladder disorders.  In addition, I have served in several administrative roles in the Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, including Director of Undergraduate Studies (2007-2022), Associate Department Chair (2010-2023), and Interim/Acting Department Chair (2022-2025). I also served as the Director of Cooperative Education for the College of Engineering (2015-2022). 

What will be your role and/or your responsibilities as a faculty fellow?

I will be working in the office of the Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, Andrew Arroyo. My project will involve making the course and program approval process more efficient.

How will you use this experience to further your own career and/or support the development of other faculty?

I hope that making the course and program approval process more efficient will allow program directors and curriculum committee members to make better use of their valuable time. In addition, this experience will give me a larger and better network of colleagues from other VCU colleges and schools.

What is your favorite restaurant in Richmond? 

My favorite restaurant in Richmond is YaYas Cookbook.