Meet the Office of Faculty Development Staff
Dr. Andrea L. Beach is the Director for Faculty Development in Academic Technology and Instructional Services (ATIS) and an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Leadership, Research, and Technology at Western Michigan University, where she teaches in the Higher Education Leadership doctoral program. Her research centers on issues of organizational climate in universities, support of innovation in teaching and learning, and faculty development as an organizational change lever. She is co-author of Creating the Future of Faculty Development: Learning from the Past, Understanding the Present, and has published on the variation of faculty work, characteristics of the faculty development community, faculty development priorities at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and faculty learning communities. She is currently PI and Co-PI on two NSF-funded projects that address change strategies in undergraduate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) instruction.
Dr. Allison J. Kelaher Young has been working in the field of education for twenty-three years, though her interest in teachers and teaching began long before her formal education as both of her parents were teachers. During her undergraduate program, Allison studied Psychology at Swarthmore College as well as pursuing a teaching certification in secondary social studies. These experiences led her to a doctorate in Education and Psychology from the University of Michigan, where she studied the relations between motivational beliefs and perceptions of classroom content. Since 1996 she has been teaching in the Department of Teaching, Learning, and Educational Studies, where she enjoys working with undergraduate students in the secondary education program. Her current research involves exploring teacher candidates' beliefs about themselves as learners and their beliefs about teaching. Her publications have appeared in the Journal of Excellence in College Teaching, College Teaching, and Research in Higher Education.
Cara LaLumia-Barnes is a graduate student in the Department of Educational Leadership, Research, and Technology and is the graduate assistant to the Office of Faculty Development. Cara studied English as an undergraduate at Western Michigan University and is in her first year of the Higher Education and Student Affairs masters program. Her interests in the higher education realm are diverse, but primarily involve expanding and improving advising support services for adult learners, undecided students, and recipients of the Kalamazoo Promise.