About Celebrating Teacher-Scholars
Launched in 2022, the Celebrating Teacher-Scholar Lecture Series highlights DU’s commitment to the teacher-scholar ideal by showcasing faculty who exemplify this commitment. These faculty are invited by the Provost to speak to their engagement in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), how they bring their own scholarship into the classroom, or how they train future scholars.
Teaching is a scholarly endeavor. At DU, we value teaching as core to our identity. In our pursuit of excellence as faculty members, we continuously reflect on our teaching practices and ways to grow as educators, embodying the teacher-scholar ideal.
Being a teacher and a scholar are not mutually exclusive, but complementary. When we cultivate a teaching practice informed by research, train the next generation of researchers, and bring cutting-edge scholarship into the classroom, we are engaging in scholarly teaching. Faculty who are not in the classroom with undergraduates and graduates may engage the community in teaching and learning as they share their research publicly, or refine their clinical practice in dialogue with pedagogical models.
To honor the diverse ways DU faculty live this value, with the Provost, in collaboration with the OTL, is celebrating teacher-scholars by highlighting faculty who exemplify this work.
Upcoming Lectures
Please join us for upcoming teacher-scholar lectures for the 2025-2026 academic year by visiting the OTL’s CrimsonConect group.
Past Lectures
Dr. Frédérique Chevillot
Professor Emerita, French
February 3, 2026
In her talk entitled “The Stories I Tell Myself: What Teaching & Scholarship Can Do To & For Us…”, Dr. Chevillot reflects the risk of shaping students’ intellectual, emotional, moral, and professional lives without fully knowing the outcomes. In this spirit, she explores why we tell ourselves stories, and how those stories help us understand the meaning and reach of our work.
Dr. Sheila Carter-Tod
Executive Director of the University Writing Program, Professor in the Department of English and Literary Arts, and Director of the Black Studies Minor
February 5, 2025
In her talk titled, “Navigating Roles/Negotiating Identities: Teacher, Scholar, Administrator Oh My,” Dr. Carter-Tod shared her insights on the interconnected roles of teacher, scholar, and administrator.
Dr. paul michalec
Clinical Professor, Theology
October 1, 2024
In his lecture titled, “Emergence of a Teacher-Scholar,” Professor Paul Michalec explored the scholarship and practice of teaching and learning in higher education that is transcendence, healing, and holistic.
Dr. Julie Morris
Teaching Professor, Biological Science
May 8, 2024
In her talk titled, “Planting Seeds & Cultivating Curiosity,” Dr. Morris shared her journey as an educator and emphasized the importance of fostering a growth mindset and a love for learning in students.
Click here to watch Dr. Julie Morris’ lecture.
Dr. steve iona
Teaching Professor, Physics and Astronomy
February 7th, 2024
In his talk entitled, “Can you Teach Teaching?,” Professor Steve Iona, Department of Physics and Astronomy, explores characteristics of good teachers and good teaching. The questions of who could be a teacher, what teachers need to know, and what teachers need to be able to do to be good teachers, are essential for teacher-scholars.
Dr. Deb Ortega
Director, Latinx Center
Professor, Graduate School of Social Work
October 4, 2023
Professor Ortega’s lecture titled, “It’s not ‘either or’…it’s ‘yes and’…” highlighted how teaching extends well beyond the classroom, permeating the work of faculty, as well as the importance of scholarship born out of teaching as a means by which to advance disciplines.
Dr. Chadd Clary
Associate Professor, Mechanical & Materials Engineering
April 12, 2023
Professor Clary’s lecture titled, “Leveraging Research and Experiential Learning to Educate Future Engineers” explored his work with undergraduate, Masters, and PhD students and reflected on his efforts to mentor students and to help them through the transition from student to engineer.
Dr. Roberto Corrada
Professor, Sturm Law School
Mulligan Burleson Chair in Modern Learning
October 18, 2022
Dr. Corrada’s lecture titled, “My Journey as a Teacher-Scholar: Embracing the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning” shared his journey through developing innovative approaches to teaching challenges and how he parlayed his creative solutions into scholarship.
