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 Provost Clark 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, Provost Clark, in collaboration with the OTL, is celebrating teacher-scholars by highlighting faculty who exemplify this work.  

Please join us for these future teacher-scholar lectures.  All events will be held on Wednesdays from 5:00-6:30 p.m. in the Community Commons Faculty Lounge, CC 2800.

Upcoming Lectures

Please join us for upcoming teacher-scholar lectures for the 2024-2025 academic year by visiting the OTL’s CrimsonConect group

Past Lectures

Paul Michalec

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. 

Click here to watch Dr. Paul Michalec’s lecture.

Julie Morris

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.

 

Steve Iona

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. 

 Click here to view Dr. Steve Iona’s lecture.

Deb Ortega

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.
 

Click here to view Professor Ortega’s lecture.

Chadd Clary

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. 

Click here to view Professor Clary’s lecture.

Roberto Corrada

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.

Click here to view Professor Corrada’s lecture.