Fellows Directory

Christopher Shank

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.

 

Cathy Stacy

Dixie Stanforth

Dixie has been teaching in Undergraduate program in Kinesiology & Health Education since 1985. She has developed a successful curriculum for pre-allied health professionals within KHE, providing both theoretical content and practical experiences in a number of Specializations. She is a spokesperson for the American Council on Exercise, and serves on the Editorial Board for the ACSM Health & Fitness Journal. She has been a fitness editor for Shape magazine and a 5-star speaker for IDEA, presenting extensively at both national and international conferences.

Michael Starbird

Michael Starbird is a University Distinguished Teaching Professor of Mathematics at The University of Texas at Austin. He has been at UT his whole career except for leaves, including to the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. He has received more than fifteen teaching awards including the Mathematical Association of America's 2007 national teaching award, the Minnie Stevens Piper Professor statewide award, the UT Regents' Outstanding Teaching Award, and most of the UT-wide teaching awards.

Mary Steinhardt 

Mary Steinhardt joined the Provost's Teaching Fellows program as a Senior Fellow and has contributed as a leading member of the New Faculty Symposium Committee for many years. She continues to participate in the New Faculty Symposium, Eyes on Teaching, and monthly meetings.

Lydia Steinman

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.

Jeremi Suri

Katie Tackett

Katie is an Associate Professor of Practice in the Department of Special Education, where she also serves as the Undergraduate Advisor. Her PTF project is aimed at building community and communication throughout a Special Education major's time on the Forty Acres.

Carole Taxis

Nina Telang

Nina Telang is an Associate Professor of Instruction in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, and a Kilby Faculty Fellow. She is passionate about student success and well-being, and has implemented student success programs in her first and second-year courses.

Sean Theriault

Project Title: COLA’s Teaching Mentor Program 

 

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.

Carlos Torres-Verdín

Carlos Torres-Verdín received a M.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, and a Ph.D. degree in Engineering Geoscience from the University of California at Berkeley in 1991. During 1991-1997, he held the position of Research Scientist with Schlumberger-Doll Research. From 1997-1999, he was Reservoir Specialist and Technology Champion with YPF (Buenos Aires, Argentina).

Jessica Toste

Dr. Jessica Toste is an Associate Professor in the Department of Special Education at The University of Texas at Austin. She has research affiliations with the Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk and the Texas Center for Equity Promotion. Toste was the Chair of Provost’s Teaching Fellow in 2022-2023.

Clint Tuttle

Clint has seen that many students lack the tools and techniques to define their own personal path to success and lack confidence in making decisions about their futures. They seek a “safe path” rather than the one that aligns to their own passions. Every teacher at some point has taught a disengaged student who was more concerned about the grade than the learning. A student who knows why they’re in pursuit of certain knowledge can be more engaged and learn better.

David Vanden Bout

Project Title: Data Drive Course Design: Differentiation of Chemistry Concept Retention between Standard and Hybrid Courses. 

 

Anita Vangelisti

Anita Vangelisti is a professor and Senior Associate Dean in the Moody College of Communication. Her research focuses on the associations between communication and emotion in the context of close, personal relationships. She holds the Jesse H. Jones Centennial Chair in Communication, received the Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award and the College of Communication Teaching Excellence Award, and is a fellow of several academic associations.

 

Steven Vokes