Fellows Directory

Amelia Acker

Amelia Acker is an assistant professor in the School of Information where she directs the Critical Data Studies Lab. Amelia researches people who build and maintain archives, data technologies, and information infrastructure. Amelia's PTF project is SCiSCHOOL, a science fiction book club that brings graduate students together to discuss the ethics and social impacts of near and future information technologies in our daily lives.

Tanya Clement

Tanya E Clement is an Associate Professor in the Department of English at the University of Texas at Austin. Her primary areas of research are textual studies, sound studies, and infrastructure studies as these concerns impact academic research, research libraries, and the creation of research tools and resources in Digital Humanities (DH).

Vernita Gordon

I did my undergraduate work at Vanderbilt, with a double major in physics and math, and my Ph.D. work in physics at Harvard. At both institutions, I saw and experienced the positive difference that caring, committed instructors and a nurturing university community can make in students' lives. I have been a faculty member in the Physics department at UT Austin since 2010. I have taught introductory calculus-based mechanics for Physics majors, a Plan II Physics course for liberal arts honors students, and an upper-division course on Biological Physics.

Joel Johnson

Joel Johnson is a Second-Year Teaching Fellow and served as the First Year Representative on the PTF Steering Committee in 2019.

Lee Ann Kahlor

Julia Mickenberg

Julia Mickenberg is Professor of American Studies and an affiliate in the Center for Women and Gender Studies, the Schusterman Center for Jewish Studies, and the Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies. She is the author of American Girls in Red Russia: Chasing the Soviet Dream (Chicago, 2017) and Learning from the Left: Children's Literature, the Cold War, and Radical Politics (Oxford, 2006) and editor or co-editor of several other books, along with articles in journals ranging from the Journal of American History to Radical Teacher.

Nico Osier

Nico Osier (they/them) is an assistant professor in the School of Nursing and Dell Medical School Department of Neurology. They love engaging students in their Genetics in Health Care course by applying principles of universal design for learning and experiential learning. They are an Experiential Learning Initiative Ambassador and a Provost Teaching Fellow. They are well-known for their stylized syllabuses, creative project, and epic use of Bitmoji.

Ruth Shear

Ruth Shear is a Professor of Practice in the Chemistry Department, and a Research Educator of the Urban Ecosystems research stream in the Freshman Research Initiative (FRI). After a PhD in Chemical Physics from Griffith University (Australia) and postdoctoral work at Stanford and Cornell, she started as a lecturer at UT Austin in 1996. After running the physical and analytical chemistry teaching labs for 10 years, she helped create FRI in 2006. She has been teaching Research Methods in various forms ever since.

Sarah Sloan

Sarah Sloan is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Steve Hicks School of Social Work. Her practice interests include social justice, mental health and working with LGBTQIA+ communities. She worked with students at the UT Counseling and Mental Health Center from 2003-2012. Her project is about understanding Critical Race Theory and how it can help social workers understand that inequitable systems that marginalize people of color, lead to inequitable outcomes for the same people, and contribute to the oppression of other people with non-dominant identities.

Stacy Sparks

Stacy Sparks is a Professor of Instruction in the Chemistry Department and focuses much of her teaching on General Chemistry courses. She directs the Chemistry Learning Assistant Program, which provides an experiential learning experience for 80 undergraduate students each semester, building their teaching and leadership skills and preparing them to assist general chemistry and organic chemistry students in the classroom.

 

Gwendolyn Stovall

For the last 10+ years, Gwen Stovall has worked as a biochemist and aptamer researcher in the CNS Freshman Research Initiative, where she leads a Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE) to identify aptamers, understand the underlying mechanisms and parameters of aptamer selections, and investigate aptamer specificity. As an educator, Gwen is committed to student empowerment and success, and seeks to improve student outcomes by mentoring, teaching, challenging, and engaging students.

Pauline Strong

Dr. Pauline Strong is a Professor of Anthropology and served as director of the Humanities Institute and its Difficult Dialogues Program from 2009 until 2022. She is also affiliated with American Studies, Native American and Indigenous Studies, Women’s and Gender Studies, and Human Dimensions of Organizations. Her research focuses on representations and self-representations of indigenous people in the US, and her teaching areas include cultural anthropology, feminist anthropology, culture and health, museum studies, youth organizations, and indigenous cultures and histories.

Danica Sumpter

Danica strives to maintain an evidence-based teaching practice as a Clinical Associate Professor in the School of Nursing. In addition to focusing on learner needs, she also prioritizes faculty development. Her previous work as division chair, past co-chair of the DEI Committee, and with the Black Mamas Community Collective all serve to inform her current efforts as a Macy Faculty Scholar.

Ann Thijs

Ann Thijs is an interdisciplinary scientist with a passion for undergraduate education. Ann earned a dual undergraduate degree in Biology and Engineering, and a Masters in Environmental Engineering from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in her home country of Belgium. As a postgraduate, she worked in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences on several national and international

Heidi Toprac

Heidi is a Professor of Instruction in the Department of Finance and the Director of the Undergraduate Internship Program for McCombs. She is a recent recipient of The Texas Ten award, in recognition of the positive impact her teaching has had on the lives of her students. Her PTF project focused on enhancing personal financial literacy among students of all majors at UT.

Kristina Zvinakis