The Institute for Learning and Teaching

Advisory Board

The Institute's Advisory Board is drawn from across the University. Board members have distinguished themselves by their commitment to enhancing learning and teaching, their service to the University, and their ability to offer insights into how the Institute can best pursue its mission. The director of the Institute regularly seeks input from members of the board on issues ranging from long-term directions to specific initiatives.

Timothy G. Davies

Position: Professor of Education and Director of the School of Education
Voice: (970) 491-5199
Email: Timothy.Davies@ColoState.edu

Tim Davies joined the School of Education in 1995 having served 32 years in community college leadership positions. His experience as community college president and vice president provided the knowledge base necessary to develop the Community College Leadership doctoral specialization in the School. During his faculty tenure within the School Tim has been awarded the N. Preston Davis Award for Instructional Innovation (1997), The College of Applied Human Sciences Outstanding Teacher Award (2001), the Community College Leadership Appreciation Award (2003), the College of Applied Sciences Outstanding Advisor Award (2006), and the Jack E. Cermack University Advising Award (2006). Currently, Tim is the Director of the School of Education and teaches qualitative research and leadership courses. His most recent publication is a book released this summer with colleague Rick Ginsberg, The Human Side of Leadership: Navigating Emotions in the Work Place.

Gaye Digregorio

Position: Director, Center for Advising and Student Achievement
Voice: (970) 491-7095
Email: Gaye.Digregorio@ColoState.edu

Gaye Digregorio attended Colorado State University as an open option freshman student and says that she never dreamed that she would end up working at CSU many years later. She graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Human Development and Family Studies and, after working in small business management, she got her Masters in College Student Personnel at Bowling Green State University. Her first position in higher education was as an academic advisor at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Two years later she returned to Colorado State, where she now serves as the Executive Director of the Center for Advising and Student Achievement.

David Gilkey

Position: Assistant Professor of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences; Director, Preparing Future Faculty Program
Voice: (970) 491-7138
Email: David.Gilkey@ColoState.edu
Web: http://www.cvmbs.colostate.edu/erhs/faculty/gilkey/gilkey.htm

Dr. Gilkey's research interests are diverse and include environmental and occupational human health, complimentary and alternative human health, construction safety and ergonomics, back pain and musculoskeletal pain syndromes among workers. As Director of Undergraduate Education, he is committed to ensuring that the program meets the highest quality education standards in the country. In addition to his interests in curriculum content and traditional teaching methods, he is also interested in expanding the use of instructional technology tools to enhance the educational experience of students on and off campus.

Thomas Gorell

Position: Senior Vice President of Administrative Services
Voice: (970) 491-5257
Email: Thomas.Gorell@ColoState.edu

Dr. Gorell is the former Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs. He received his Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from Northwestern University in 1970, his master's in Zoology from the University of Arkansas in 1966, and his bachelor's in Biological Sciences from Quincy College (Quincy, Ill.) in 1963. He is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Endocrine Society, National Association of Biology Teachers, Sigma Xi and the Society for the Study of Reproduction.

Blane Harding

Position: Director, Academic Advising, College of Liberal Arts
Voice: (970) 491-5421
Email: Blane.Harding@ColoState.edu

Since his arrival on campus in 1991, Blane Harding has been voted, "professor of the year" by his students numerous times and is the recipient of numerous awards for teaching, advising, and service to the University. In addition to his work as director of advising for the College of Liberal Arts, he is a member of the faculty in the Department of Ethnic Studies.

Teri Howlett

Position: Graduate Student, Horticulture
Voice: (970) 218-2599
Email: Teri.Howlett@ColoState.edu

Teri Howlett currently is pursuing her Ph.D. in horticulture studying the complex interactions between tree physiology and bark beetles. She completed her M.S. at CSU in 2007 conducting USDA IR-4 work that researched herbicides on ornamentals. Teri loves teaching each semester’s fresh faces in general horticulture as a GTA. She is also the instructor for Hort 792 seminar, where she balances the objectives of graduate student success while at CSU and beyond graduation. She is the grateful recipient of the 2008 NACTA-CSU College of Agricultural Sciences Charles N. Shepardson Graduate Student Teaching Award. Following graduation, Teri plans to teach and conduct research at the collegiate level.

Nancy Irlbeck

Position: Professor of Animal Sciences and Associate Dean of Academic Programs, College of Agriculture
Voice: (970) 491-0668
Email: Nancy.Irlbeck@ColoState.edu
Web: http://ansci.colostate.edu/content/view/63/56/

Dr. Irlbeck joined the faculty in Animal Sciences in 1990, and has been recognized at the College, University and national levels for her excellence as a teacher and advisor. Her research interests include captive wild animal nutrition. She has served as the consulting nutritionist at the Denver Zoo since January 1992. She and her graduate students are developing a zoological browse database that has received national and international attention. Dr. Irlbeck has also written a textbook, Nutrition and Care of Companion Animals, and is in the process of writing texts for captive wild animal and alternative animal nutrition.

Naomi Lederer

Position: Associate Professor and College Liaison Librarian, Libraries, and Chair, Faculty Council on Teaching and Learning
Voice: (970) 491-0593
Email: Naomi.Lederer@ColoState.edu
Web: http://lib.colostate.edu/howto/nl.html

Ms. Lederer serves as a Liaison Librarian for the departments of English, Speech, History, Art, Journalism & Technical Communication, and Design & Merchandising. She earned her M.S. Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her M.A. in English Literature from Arizona State University. She is the author of Ideas for Librarians Who Teach: With Suggestions for Teachers and Business Presenters, published in 2005 by Scarecrow Press, as well as numerous articles in scholarly journals.

Janice Nerger

Position: Professor of Psychology and Associate Dean, College of Natural Sciences
Voice: (970) 491-6864
Email: Janice.Nerger@ColoState.edu
Web: http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/NatSci/Jan/jannerger.html

Andrea Reeve

Position: Director, Academic Advancement Center and Student Support Services
Voice: (970) 491-7875
Email: Andrea.Reeve@ColoState.edu

Prior to beginning her service at the University in 2005, for seven years, Andrea Reeve directed two national clearinghouses on educational opportunity at the Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education in Washington, DC, and served as a faculty member for the Council for Opportunity in Education’s national Professional Development Seminars on Retention. She has expertise with TRIO programs, retention in higher education, pre-college access, diversity and freshman seminars. Prior to her work at the Pell Institute, she directed the University Studies First-Year Program at the University of Wyoming, coordinating 80 sections of the first-year seminar and retention initiatives for Academic Affairs. She serves on national committees related to TRIO, the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education, and has numerous publications.

Bolivar Senior

Position: Associate Professor of Construction Management and past chair, Faculty Council on Teaching and Learning
Voice: (970) 491-7337
Email: Bolivar.Senior@ColoState.edu
Web: http://lamar.colostate.edu/~senior/

Bolivar Senior focuses his teaching on courses that specialize in financial management and project planning. His research concentrates on lean construction and construction simulation. He has been involved in student advancement activities on campus through service as chair of two of the eleven Faculty Council standing committees, the Committee on Scholastic Standards and Awards and the Committee on Teaching and Learning.

Thomas Siller

Position: Associate Professor of Civil Engineering and Associate Dean for Instruction, College of Engineering
Voice: (970) 491-6220
Email: Thomas.Siller@ColoState.edu
Web: http://www.engr.colostate.edu/ce/facultypage.cfm?pass=32

Paul Thayer

Position: Vice President for Student Affairs and Assistant to the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Affairs
Voice: (970) 491-5313
Email: Paul.Thayer@ColoState.edu

A nationally recognized expert on undergraduate retention and student success, Paul Thayer is the former Executive Director of the Center for Advising and Student Achievement (CASA). When CASA was developed in 2003, Dr. Thayer was charged with creating and leading a center focused on enhancing student success. From 1997-2003, he served as the Director of Undergraduate Student Retention/Director of the Center for Educational Access and Outreach. In that role, he led four federally funded and two institutional programs aimed at increasing access and retention among first-generation, low-income, and historically under-represented populations. His work in higher education began at Colorado State University in 1979, when he came to campus as the Director of Upward Bound.