The 2015-2017 Center for Engaged Learning Research Seminar will be led by Nina Namaste, Neal Sobania, Amanda Sturgill, and Mick Vande Berg.

Nina Namaste is Associate Professor of Spanish in the Department of World Languages and Cultures at Elon University. Her research focuses on food imagery in contemporary Spanish, Mexican, Argentine, and Chilean literature, as well as (gender) identity issues, globalization, pedagogy, and assessment. Nina’s work as a Teagle Scholar included a project that evaluated students’ intercultural competency skills during semester-long study abroad experiences.

Neal Sobania has had a significant career as an international educator, focusing on both study abroad and off-campus domestic study, and was the 2006 recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Institute for the International Education of Students (IES). He is the editor of the forthcoming book, Putting the Local in Global Education (forthcoming from Stylus Press), and a scholar of African History.

Amanda Sturgill is Associate Professor of Communications at Elon University.  She has professional experience in newspaper journalism and marketing communications, and her research focuses on the intersection of education and community-based work, the relationship of region and media, and on new technologies and the news. Amanda routinely teaches study abroad courses and has published on methods of reflection in service-learning abroad.

Michael (Mick) Vande Berg has been the principal investigator of several study abroad research projects, including the Georgetown Consortium Project; frequently consults with faculty and staff about international education topics; and leads intercultural workshops in the United States and abroad. He is lead editor and author of Student Learning Abroad: What Our Students are Learning, What They’re Not, and What We Can Do About It (2012) and a recipient of The Forum on Education Abroad’s 2012 Peter A. Wollitzer award.