The week before my first teaching experience, I had a 20-minute chat with the assistant department chair on how to teach college students. He handed me a printout of class roles for two lab sections of Introduction to College Algebra—36…

Many people would likely categorize the phrase, “it’s always been done that way” as a weak justification for a particular course of action. This phrase is contained in a larger quote attributed to Grace Hopper (1906-1992), Rear Admiral in the…

On a Wednesday in mid-April, I decided to step away from work and go watch my oldest son Elliot compete in cabinetry at SkillsUSA NC state competition. I debated going for a moment—there are things to grade, a meeting or…

Recently in one of my productive distraction moments, I came across a tweet thread from Dr. Hannah Snyder (@Hannah_R_Snyder) that spurred reflection for me in my teaching, and has led to this discussion in this platform more broadly. Two articles…

As we start the new year and new semester, it is the season of planning, and we are likely planning for the larger events of next year or years ahead—conferences, speakers, special promotions. Let’s talk about inclusion for these events….

As many of our campuses are all in the rhythm of the semester, let’s explore what is being done or could be done to support inclusive opportunities throughout the many outstanding and engaging events on campus. College campuses are ripe…

I have something on my mind that keeps coming up in my conversations around ableism in academia, neurodiversity in higher education, accommodations, universal design for learning (UDL), and topics in this realm. As I work to draft a couple blog…

The interview . . . the chance for face-to-face engagement . . . to assess and share knowledge, skills, excitement, “fit.” We use it for so many reasons including acceptance into a program, a school, a job—to award a scholarship,…

One of the hallmark high-impact practices is engagement in diversity (AAC&U). Many campuses equate this to their study abroad experiences, which could be short-term, semester long, or combination programs. On our campus, Elon University, we have a high level of…

As I challenge us to think about our structures and systems in academia that promote ableism (NCCJ, n.d.) often under the guise of rigor (Ketcham 2022), perhaps introducing some ways to enact change would be helpful. I do know that…