Conference » Advisory Board

The Teaching Professor Conference is honored to introduce the 2010 Advisory Board.

We appreciate the advisory board’s guidance in selecting the best sessions from an abundance of excellent proposals. The board’s efforts and knowledge have helped us put together a first-rate teaching and learning conference.

  • Conference Chair: J. Ricky Cox, professor, Murray State University
  • Conference Co-Chair: Marilyn Steinberg, assistant professor, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences
  • Past Conference Chair: Keith Whittington, associate professor, Rochester Institute of Technology
  • Conference Advisor: Ike Shibley, associate professor, Penn State-Berks

Advisory Board Members

  • Rob Kelly, editor, Magna Publications
  • Deborah Mink, director of Student Academic Services, Winthrop University
  • Donna Qualters, associate professor, Suffolk University
  • Suzanne Sumner, full professor, University of Mary Washington
  • Maryellen Weimer, editor, The Teaching Professor and professor emerita, teaching and learning, Penn State-Berks
cox_rickyRicky Cox is a professor in the Department of Chemistry at Murray State University. He has been active in developing and publishing new technology-based teaching methods and integrating Tablet PC technology in the chemistry curriculum. In 2005, he won the Board of Regents Award for Teaching Excellence for the College of Science, Engineering and Technology and served as the teaching scholar-in-residence at the Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology. In 2007, he was named outstanding college/university teacher by the Kentucky Academy of Science. He currently serves as interim director of the Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology at MSU.

kelly_robRob Kelly edits Online Classroom and Academic Leader and assists with The Teaching Professor newsletter and conference. He has been with Magna Publications since 2000.

mink-debi-webDebi Mink is an assistant professor in the Richard W. Riley College of Education at Winthrop University. She teaches elementary mathematics methods, introduction to field experience and supervises interns. Her research interests lie in working with English language learners and integrating mathematics and children’s literature. In fall 2006, she and her husband, Chuck, retired from the Miami Dade County Public School System after 33 years of service. In Miami, Debi worked as a classroom teacher, professional development specialist and administrator.

donna-qualters2Donna Qualters is director of the Center for Teaching Excellence and associate professor of Education at Suffolk University in Boston. Donna has been involved in teaching/learning at Northeastern University, MIT, UMass Medical School, and Endicott College. She has published and presented in the areas of assessment, teaching/learning, teacher identity/change, reflective practice and interdisciplinary ethical inquiry.  Her book, Jonas Chalk, is an innovative interdisciplinary approach to changing teaching culture. Donna has been honored by the Professional Organization and Development Network in higher education (POD) and is Vice Chair of the Massachusetts American Council of Education Women Leaders in Higher Education.

shibleyike_webIvan A. Shibley, Jr. (Ike) is associate professor of chemistry at Penn State-Berks, a small four-year college within the Penn State system. He received his B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and his Ph.D. in biochemistry from East Carolina University. Between undergraduate and graduate school he spent four years in the Navy where he taught nuclear physics and radiation safety. He now teaches introductory chemistry, general chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry, philosophy of science courses, first-year bioethics seminar, and senior science seminar. His research involves pedagogical approaches to improving science instruction at the college level. He has won both local and university-wide awards for his teaching including this year’s Eisenhower Award presented to a tenured Penn State faculty member who exhibits excellent teaching as well as mentoring other teachers. Ike has been involved with The Teaching Professor Conference since its inception.

steinberg_marilyn1Marilyn H. Steinberg has been at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences for more than seven years, and previously at a university in Boston for 14 years, where she managed the science libraries. She has given presentations at national and regional education, medical, and academic library conferences in the areas of information literacy and faculty/librarian collaboration.

suzannesumnerSuzanne Sumner, professor of Mathematics at the University of Mary Washington, earned her Ph.D. and M.S. from North Carolina State University. Dr. Sumner earned her B.S. at the University of North Carolina, where she was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. From 2003 to 2008, Dr. Sumner served as director of the Teaching Innovation Program at UMW. Her interdisciplinary research and pedagogical collaborations connect applied mathematics with biology, environmental science, geology, and classics. Dr. Sumner is a recipient of five teaching awards during her years at NCSU and UMW, and in 2007 she was named a Project Kaleidoscope Village Elder.

weimermaryellen_webMaryellen Weimer has edited The Teaching Professor newsletter since 1987 and writes the Teaching Professor blog at www.teachingprofessor.com. She is a professor emerita of Teaching and Learning at Penn State-Berks and won Penn State’s Milton S. Eisenhower award for distinguished teaching in 2005. Dr. Weimer has consulted with more than 400 colleges and universities on instructional issues and regularly keynotes national meetings and regional conferences. Her Ph.D. is in Speech Communication from Penn State.

whittington-keith-webKeith Whittington is an associate professor at Rochester Institute of Technology who believes it is critical for a teacher to actively engage students in the learning process in order to maximize student learning. Several years ago he transformed the way computer programming courses were taught by incorporating active learning techniques into the classroom. His teaching methods significantly increased student retention, grades, and satisfaction and received an NSF grant to further support his work. He received RIT’s 2007 Eisenhart Award for Outstanding Teaching.