Teaching & Learning Track
Senior Co-Director and Instructor: Teaching & Learning
Dr. Chris Cain
Professor of Education and Director of the Center for Engaged Teaching & Learning, Mars Hill University
Dr. Chris Cain is a Professor of Education and the founding Director of the Center for Engaged Teaching & Learning at Mars Hill University. He holds degrees from Mars Hill, East Tennessee University, and the U.T. system, and has been certified by The National Board Professional Teaching Standards for over 20 years.
His grant, research, and publication interests include early intervention, conceptualization of foundational and advanced mathematics, assistive technology and current litigation/legislation focused on individuals with exceptionalities. Dr. Cain is particularly interested in understanding equality in education through the technology-driven transformation of teaching and learning that has taken place over the past few years. He is a strong advocate for the use of active learning methods / approaches to engage all learners.
Co-Director & Instructor: Teaching & Learning Track
Dr. Benjamin Van Dyke
Assistant Professor of Psychology & Faculty Director of the First-Year Experience, Young Harris College
Dr. Van Dyke joined the faculty of Young Harris College in Fall 2019. His research and teaching interests focus on mental and physical health, especially pain and insomnia. He also teaches courses on research methods and statistics and the history of psychology and is passionate about applying psychological science to promote student motivation and engagement. Since Fall 2021, Ben has overseen the college’s first-year seminar program. Ben is active in mentoring student research and serves as the faculty advisor for YHC’s gender and sexuality alliance and Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK) Circle. Ben was nominated for the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 YHC Exemplary Faculty Award, received a 2021-2022 Unsung Hero Award, and has been recognized with multiple Most Valuable Professor awards.
Ben earned his PhD in clinical psychology with a concentration in clinical health psychology and a minor in statistics and quantitative psychology from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, AL. He completed his predoctoral internship in adult behavioral medicine and postdoctoral fellowship in behavioral pain management at Geisinger Medical Center in Pennsylvania.
Lead Instructor: Teaching & Learning Track
Dr. Lillian Nave
Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning for Student Success Coordinator & Senior Lecturer in First-Year Seminar (Art), Appalachian State University
Lillian Nave is a Senior Lecturer in First Year Seminar and is the CETLSS (Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning for Student Success) Coordinator at Appalachian State's Hickory Campus where she leads faculty development initiatives and implements Universal Design for Learning programs for both campuses. As the host of the Think UDL podcast, she interviews practitioners all over the world who are improving educational environments through equitable and inclusive practices based on the UDL principles. She writes scholarly and practical pieces on UDL implementation and shares this scholarship in articles, podcasts, workshops, and presentations.
Her background is in Art History, and she taught at the State University of New York at Oneonta and Assumption College in Worcester, Massachusetts, before coming to North Carolina. She incorporates the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) into her classes and her teaching has been recognized by Appalachian State with the Faculty Award for Excellence in General Education Teaching, Non-Tenure Track (2017) and the Rennie W. Brantz Award for outstanding teaching in the First-Year Seminar (2019), and the University of North Carolina Board of Governors Appalachian State University School/College Excellence in Teaching Award (2019).
Lillian is a sought-after speaker at conferences and universities. She has presented about UDL practices at SXSW-EDU in Austin, TX, at Lilly Asia: Evidence-Based Teaching and Learning in Hong Kong, and CAST’s UDL Symposium: Empowering Learners at Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA, as well as in Ireland, South Africa, Australia, and Greece.
Instructor: Teaching & Learning Track
Dr. La-Juan Bradford
Assistant Professor of Education and Director of Academic Support, Lee University
Dr. Bradford has served as Lee’s Director of Academic Support for fifteen years. In her role, she supports students with disabilities, various challenges and learning differences. Her responsibilities include ensuring students have academic accommodations, mentoring students, and collaborating with professors to make sure each student has accessibility.
Another passion for Dr. Bradford is Deaf Culture and American Sign Language (ASL). During her time at Lee University, she has established a minor and emphasis major in Deaf Studies. She is the ASL Club sponsor, and she mentors the other ASL instructors.
La-Juan holds her EdD in Educational Leadership with emphasis in Deaf Education and a Masters in Special Education from the University of North Florida. He received her BA from Lee University in English and Secondary Education.
Instructor: Teaching & Learning Track
Dr. Lucy Holman
Assistant Professor of Communication, University of Pikeville
Dr. Lucy Holman is an Assistant Professor of Communication at the University of Pikeville. Inspired by the power of story, Holman has a strong background in strategic communication, public relations, journalism, and crisis communication. Her experience in higher education brand management and marketing includes leading an exceptional public relations team during Pikeville College's transition to the University of Pikeville in 2011. Holman holds undergraduate degrees from Pikeville College and Morehead State University, a master's degree in strategic public relations from The George Washington University, and a doctorate in higher education leadership from Morehead State University.
An avid follower of news, politics, and Generation Z, Holman's professional and academic journey reflects her dedication to students, teaching, and a belief in the transformative power of education to change lives.
Instructor: Teaching & Learning
Dr. Megan Morgan Hoffman
Professor of Biology, Berea College
During her 30 years at Berea, Megan Morgan Hoffman has moved from a traditional lecture mode of teaching to a learning-centered approach, steadily increasing active learning with student-directed teams in all of her courses. Megan’s teaching style has been shaped by her 18 years of work with The POGIL Project (www.pogil.org), an organization whose mission “is to connect and support educators from all disciplines interested in implementing, improving, and studying student-centered pedagogies and learning environments.” The acronym POGIL stands for Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning, a description of a classroom approach patterned on current understanding of how people learn. In her work with The POGIL Project, Megan has facilitated nearly two dozen workshops for teachers across the country and has served as a mentor for new POGIL practitioners. In recent years, Megan has focused her attention on improving her students’ sense of inclusion and belonging in her classes.
Megan holds a B.A. in biology from Dartmouth College and a Ph.D. in neural science from Washington University in St. Louis. She teaches in the Biology Department curriculum and in Berea College’s General Education Program, including a non-majors’ science course and a first-year writing seminar.
Instructor: Teaching & Learning
Dr. Jonna Kwiatkowski
Professor of Psychology, Mars Hill University
Jonna Kwiatkowski’s central roles at Mars Hill University are Professor of Psychology and Chair of Social Sciences. At MHU she teaches classes on general cognition, intelligence and creativity, and research methods, and she contributes to the campus teaching and learning center through workshops on using cognitive and creativity principles in the classroom. She earned her PhD in Cognitive Psychology from the University of Maine where she began her work to understand the role of creativity in teaching and learning. This research supported the importance of focused and distributed thinking to creative insights. As research faculty at Yale University, she was part of a team that studied the balance of analytical, creative, and practical thinking to problem solving and success. This work recognized the value of multiple perspectives to enhancing teaching and learning. All that research was foundational to many other projects across her career including the development of an interactive 2nd grade science curriculum using electronic instruments to learn the science of sound, and research on the cognitive implications of relaxation and mindfulness to athletic and academic performance in student athletes. This work points emphatically to the importance of a purposeful flexibility in teaching and learning, which has guided the regular iterations that find their way into Jonna’s classroom each semester.
Instructor: Teaching and Learning
Dr. Christopher F. Silver
Assistant Professor of Psychology, Sewanee, The University of the South
Dr. Christopher F. Silver joined the faculty of Sewanee in the fall of 2022. His research focuses on diversity (stigma as identity) and the psychology of religion and spirituality. He is interested in perceived identity and between-group conflict. Before teaching at Sewanee, Chris taught statistics and qualitative methodology for the Learning and Leadership doctoral program at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He has taught all levels of students, from undergraduate to doctoral levels, and has served on master's theses and doctoral dissertations. Chris conducted workshops and trainings on the psychology of diversity at academic and professional conferences, organizations, and healthcare professionals. I have also led workshops on how human cognition results in prejudicial attitudes and bias from a functional level.
Chris earned his PhD in Research Psychology with a concentration in Social Psychology from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He also received his Ed.D. in Learning and Leadership from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC). He also earned two master's degrees, one in Research Psychology from UTC and a master's in Religion and Culture from Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
Higher Education Leadership Development Track
Coordinator and Lead Instructor: Higher Education Leadership Development
Dr. Larry Hall
Vice President for Academic Programs, Appalachian College Association
Dr. Hall joined the ACA staff in February 2018 after serving nearly 11 years as Provost of Lenoir-Rhyne University, where he led the academic, student life, enrollment management, and marketing components of the campus. Prior to LR, Larry served as a Dean of Arts and Sciences, Associate Dean for the Social Sciences, and Department Chair of History and Political Science at Belmont University in Nashville. In his various leadership roles, he led and/or contributed to practically every component of higher education administration: strategic planning; accreditation; personnel recruitment, evaluation, and development; systems and process improvement; student success and retention; campus organization and structure; curricular and co-curricular program development; budget planning and implementation; community outreach and marketing; and advancement/alumni relations.
Prior to and after his move into administration, Larry taught Political Science (at Rhodes College and Belmont), specifically Political Theory, Political Economy/Public Policy, and American Government. He is a recipient of Belmont’s highest faculty honor, the Distinguished Professor Award for outstanding teaching, and was recognized by the American Political Science Association and Pi Sigma Alpha with its National Award for Outstanding Teaching in Political Science. He holds both his Ph.D. and M.A. in Political Science from The University of Tennessee, did additional graduate work in Economics at George Mason University, and received his B.A. from Carson-Newman College in Political Science and in History.
Instructor: Higher Education Leadership Development
Dr. Amanda Jo Slone
Assistant Provost and Professor of English, University of Pikeville
Dr. Amanda Slone is Assistant Provost and Professor of English at the University of Pikeville. She has served the university for more than fifteen years in various roles, including Assistant Dean for Admissions, Associate Registrar, Director of First Year Experience, and full-time faculty. Amanda earned her MA in English from Morehead State University, MFA in Creative Writing from West Virginia Wesleyan, and PhD in Higher Education Leadership from Northwest Nazarene University. In 2021, Slone completed Harvard’s Women in Education Leadership Institute and, in 2022, was accepted as a presenter at the International Women in Leadership conference in Portsmouth, England. Amanda earned certification as an Everything DiSC facilitator through the Wiley Education Center.
Instructor: Higher Education Leadership Development
Mr. Corey Gannon
Executive Director of Admissions, University of Pikeville
Cory Gannon has spent nine years in Higher Education, primarily in areas related to Admissions, including recruitment, event planning, Dual Credit, and other aspects. Corey holds both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Business from the University of Pikeville. In his current role, he oversees Undergraduate, Graduate, and International Admission, along with supervising Upward Bound, which is a Trio Program, at the University of Pikeville.
Instructor: Higher Education Leadership Development
Dr. Tracy Parkinson
Executive Vice President and Provost, Mars Hill University
Tracy Parkinson joined Mars Hill University in 2020 after having served nine years at Coker University in South Carolina. Tracy is a graduate of an ACA institution (Carson-Newman) and is now serving at his second ACA institution, having previously served at King University until 2011. He is a first-generation college graduate and holds a Ph.D. in Modern Languages and Literatures and studied at the American University of Paris and the University of Santiago de Compostela. Tracy has assisted with the institute for new CAOs and with workshops for department and division chairs for the Council of Independent Colleges, he has chaired multiple review committees for SACSCOC, and he currently served on the executive committee of the Land of Sky P20 Council in Asheville.
Instructor: Higher Education Leadership Development
Dr. Katie Fisher
Dean of Student Life (Retired) and Adjunct Professor of Leadership, Lenoir-Rhyne University
Dr. Katie Fisher retired from Lenoir-Rhyne University in May 2023 after serving 14 years as the Dean of Student Life. She earned her Doctor of Education in Higher Education Administration and her Master of Education in Educational Leadership from Auburn University. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in physics from Agnes Scott College. Katie possesses a unique perspective on higher education leadership because of the many roles she has played over her professional life. Prior to becoming the Dean of Students, Fisher served several years as a professor and Chairperson of the School of Education at Lenoir-Rhyne. Over the course of her career, she served multiple leadership positions in the university, K-12 education, and the non-profit sector in student affairs and science education. Fisher has published scholarly articles related to her field and has served as a guest presenter and consultant for numerous non-profit organizations. In her retirement, she continues to consult and serve in adjunct faculty roles.
Instructor: Higher Education Leadership Development
Dr. Ja’Wanda Grant
Vice President & Dean of Students, Maryville College
Dr. Ja’Wanda S. Grant was named Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students at Maryville College in April 2023. Areas reporting to this role include Residence Life, Counseling and Disability Services, Campus Ministries, Student Life, Veteran and Military Services, Center for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and Community Engaged Scholars. Dr. Grant is also Project Director for a recently awarded $2.25 million grant through the U.S. Department of Education Title III Strengthening Institutions Program to meet the needs of students by creating a student success model with a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) focus. Prior to Maryville College, Dr. Grant was the Manager for Educational and Pathway Programs at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), where she launched student development frameworks with an emphasis on innovation and team science. The ORNL educational programs include internships for students (high school to graduate) and supplemental research training for faculty through sabbaticals or visiting appointments. While at ORNL, Dr. Grant also engaged with strategic universities and consortia to support national recruitment of talented and diverse students. Prior to ORNL, Grant served as the Special Assistant to the Provost for Scholarship Scholar Development and Institutional Alliances and Founding Director of the Honors Program at Xavier University of Louisiana.
Dr. Grant has a doctorate in pharmaceutical sciences from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Mississippi–Oxford. She attended Higher Education Resource Services Leadership Institute for Women, a nationally renowned leadership development institute for women in higher education, in 2017. She holds memberships in numerous education- and leadership-focused professional organizations and has received awards including Change Agents for Mississippi and the American Association for Cancer Research Minority Scholar Award. Grant and her sister, Dr. Ja’Larna Grant, MD, established Celebrate Sisters Foundation, a non-profit that provides mentorship and college scholarships to young women from the Mississippi and Louisiana Gulf Coast region. Dr. Grant serves on the corporate board for Girls, Inc. of Tennessee Valley and the board of directors for Oak Ridge Computer Science Girls
Instructor: Higher Education Leadership Development
Dr. Kevin Ung
PI/Director of the TRIO McNair Scholars Program, Director of Undergraduate Research & Scholarship, and Adjunct Faculty, Helen DeVos College of Education, Lee University
Dr. Kevin Ung serves as the Principal Investigator (PI) for the TRIO McNair Scholars Program and the Director of the Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarship at Lee University. Dr. Ung supports first-generation, low-income, and underrepresented students towards student learning and success, and assists with the development and implementation of undergraduate research initiatives. He supports faculty-led undergraduate research and mentoring by providing best practices for effective student engagement and collaboration. Dr. Ung also serves as adjunct faculty across several departments with traditional and non-traditional students in both face-to-face and online modalities.
With previous experience in academic and co-curricular programs, residence life, multicultural development, career services, English-language programs, and first-year experience, Dr. Ung believes in the power of human collaboration, data-driven strategic planning, and results-oriented benchmarks in a student-centered approach. He serves as a consultant for university student success and retention strategies. Dr. Ung earned his BA in Sports Management and EdD in Higher Education Administration from Union University. He completed his MA in Intercultural Studies and TESOL from Wheaton College.
Instructor: Higher Education Leadership Development
Dr. Jason Pierce
Provost & Executive Vice President, Young Harris College
Dr. Jason Pierce serves as Provost & Executive Vice President at Young Harris College, the newest member institution in the ACA. He earned his BA and MA in English from the University of Maine, his MLitt in Scottish Literature from the University of Saint Andrews, and his PhD in English from the University of South Carolina. His academic career began at Mars Hill College (now University), where he taught composition and literature and served numerous roles, including department chair, division dean, college webmaster, honors program director, Title III grant director, institutional effectiveness director, Title IX coordinator, SACSCOC liaison, chief technology officer, and VPAA. He was recognized by the Mars Hill student body with awards for outstanding teaching and for outstanding service. He later served as VPAA at Tusculum College (now University), where he was responsible for academic affairs, student affairs, and student support services. He is currently in his sixth year of service at Young Harris.
Dr. Pierce has been a vocal supporter and beneficiary of the ACA for over 20 years. He made one of his first conference presentations as a faculty member at the fourth Annual Summit, then still called the "Tech Summit," and subsequently served on its planning committee; provided technical support for the ACA's first online, multi-institution course, an introduction to women's studies, shared by Mars Hill, Warren Wilson, and Wheeling (then Wheeling Jesuit); attended a multi-day workshop that would evolve into the TLI's teaching & learning track; served on the development committee of the ACA's short-lived online writing and photography review journal, Nantahala; co-led ACA-sponsored initiatives focused on honors programs and institutional effectiveness; and attended a Salzburg Global Seminar through the generosity of a Mellon Fellowship funded by the ACA. He continues to believe fervently in the inestimable value of institutional collaboration.
Instructor: Higher Education Leadership Development
Dr. Matt Roberts
Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, King University
Dr. Matthew Roberts is Vice President for Academic Affairs and the Provost for King University. His teaching career in literature, language, and education has focused on diverse learners and linguistic minority groups in Texas, North Carolina, and Tennessee. In 2007, Dr. Roberts was the recipient of the Cratis D. Williams Alumni Fellowship at Appalachian State University for his leadership in a family literacy and oral history publication that spanned five counties in western North Carolina. Prior to King, Roberts’ teaching experience includes appointments at Rice University, the University of Houston, and the Houston Independent School District. Now in his eleventh year as chief academic officer, Roberts has experience in various aspects of academic leadership—from introducing fully online programs at a traditionally liberal arts college to weathering the uncertainties and challenges that change can bring to small and tightly resourced institutions. Dr. Roberts’ scholarship is both broad and focused; he has studied the work of Lev Vygotsky under renowned cognitive psychologist, Michael Cole (UC Davis), and playwriting under Edward Albee at the University of Houston.
Dr. Roberts earned his BA from East Tennessee State University in English and Foreign Languages, his MA in Applied English Linguistics from the University of Houston, and his Doctor of Education from Appalachian State University with cognates in language and literacy acquisition.
