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Engaged Teaching Scholars

The goal of the Engaged Teaching Scholars program is to better integrate faculty members into the WVU Teaching and Learning Center, while supporting their scholarly teaching efforts. Engaged Teaching Scholars, in consultation with the Administrative Director of the Center, will identify and produce a scholarly teaching project to benefit those who teach across West Virginia University.

The Engaged Teaching Scholars are led by the Faculty Director and Provost Fellow of the Center. The annual call for Engaged Teaching Scholars goes out in the spring semester and scholars are notified of their appointment for the following academic year. The nine-month term begins in August and scholars from previous years are welcome to reapply. The WVU Teaching and Learning Center will provide Engaged Teaching Scholars with a stipend in the amount of $2,000.

2025-2026 Engaged Teaching Scholars

Omar Al-Shebeeb
Teaching Assistant Professor
Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources
West Virginia University

Cathy Mezera
Teaching Associate Professor
College of Creative Arts and Media
West Virginia University

Kimberlyn Gray
Associate Professor of Biology
School of Arts and Sciences
WVU Institute of Technology

Aida Jimenez Esquilin
Associate Professor of Biology
School of Arts and Sciences
WVU Institute of Technology

Andrea Shafer
Assistant Professor of Education
Liberal Arts Division
WVU Potomac State College


2024-2025 Advisory Group

Faculty and student representatives provided direction during the first year of the Center’s growth. Under recommendation from the Center's Advisory Group, the WVU Teaching and Learning Center transitioned to the Engaged Teaching Scholars program in the 2025-2026 academic year.

Rhonda Black
Director of First-Year Experience, West Virginia University

Sheri Chisholm
Associate Professor of Biology and Honors Program Coordinator, WVU Potomac State College

Gina Martino Dahlia
Teaching Professor and Associate Dean of Student Success and Enrollment, College of Creative Arts and Media

D. Jake Follmer
Assistant Professor, Educational Psychology, West Virginia University

Lakshmi Garladinne
Associate Professor, Oral and Maxillofacial Radiologist, West Virginia University

Kelli George
Teaching Assistant Professor, Human Nutrition and Foods, West Virginia University

Kimberlyn Gray
Associate Professor, Chemical Engineering, WVU Institute of Technology

Vicki Huffman
Biology Professor and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, WVU Potomac State College

Katrina Stewart
Service Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, West Virginia University

Stephanie Young
Teaching Professor and Eberly College Director of the STEM Collaborative, West Virginia University

Zachary L. Ellis
Undergraduate Student Representative, Biochemistry, West Virginia University

Kaitlin Stewart
Doctoral Student and Graduate Teaching Assistant, Geography, West Virginia University