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Virtual Global Learning Fellows

2024 Virtual Global Learning Fellows

Cheryl L. H. Armstrong Assistant Professor Director of Undergraduate Certificate in Nutrition Program School of Health & Human Sciences Cheryl L.H. Armstrong is a licensed Registered Dietician Nutritionist with over thirty years of experience. She has a rich and diverse background that includes academics and the food industry, ranging from hospitality, culinary arts, and food service systems management to nutrition and dietetics instruction. She utilizes this diverse background to create evidence-based experiential learning experiences that promote the skills and confidence necessary to provide nutrition recommendations that are culturally responsive and credible. Her virtual exchange will occur in her Culinary Medicine – Cooking Up Nutrition course, a hybrid, hands-on, experiential course in a teaching kitchen learning environment. The goal will be for her students and students at Uzhhorod National University in Ukraine to learn about each other’s food, an intangible part of one’s cultural heritage, in a fun and interactive teaching kitchen environment. Dr. Armstrong holds a Ph.D. in taste and sensory perception and a post-doctorate in protein metabolism from Purdue University.
Karen Baldner Visiting Lecturer Herron School of Art & Design Karen Baldner is a Visiting Lecturer at Herron School of Art and Design, teaching Book Arts, Letter Press, and Papermaking. She anticipates to partner with an institution in Germany for her virtual exchange in her Bookbinding course. The project will consist of students collaboratively conceptualizing, designing, and building an actual book with two identical copies. The project will focus on narrative building through shared experiences that bridge cultural differences, leading to cross-cultural sensitivity through problem-solving using virtual learning collaboration. Karen Baldner earned an M.F.A. in Printing from Indiana University.
Judith Carlstrand Visiting Lecturer in Spanish Coordinator of Spanish I and II School of Liberal Arts Judith Carlstrand teaches Spanish courses in language, culture, second language acquisition, and methodology in the Department of World Languages and Cultures. Dr. Carlstrand seeks to pass on to future Spanish teachers an appreciation of global citizenship and respect for other perspectives. Her virtual exchange will occur in the course Spanish for Healthcare Personnel, which is an interactive course that emphasizes local and global healthcare issues, as well as cultural practices and perspectives of Hispanic/Latino patients and healthcare workers in the U.S. and around the world. In her virtual exchange with the University of Guadalajara in Mexico, students will gain confidence as they come to know students from another culture and converse with them about issues common to their respective communities. Dr. Carlstrand has a Ph.D. in Latin American and Brazilian Literatures from the University of Texas at Austin.
Mary Ann Cohen Senior Lecturer School of Liberal Arts Mary Ann Cohen is a Senior Lecturer in the English Department and has taught writing for over thirty years. Cohen teaches beginning composition courses for both native and non-native speakers of English, Professional Writing, and Business & Administrative Writing. She is interested in building on her past experiences with international students by using her Business & Administrative Writing course for her virtual exchange. In this collaboration with Uzhhorod National University in Ukraine, students from both countries will develop a portfolio by developing questions and interviewing their student partners to learn about each other’s cultures, interests, and values. The portfolio may include questionnaires, brochures, letters, memos, or presentations. Mary Ann Cohen received a B.A. in Journalism and English from Indiana University, an MA in English from IU Indianapolis, and a TESOL certificate from IU Indianapolis.
Amy Johnson Lecturer Coordinator of Study Abroad School of Health & Human Sciences Amy Johnson is a Lecturer in the Department of Tourism, Event and Sport Management in the School of Health and Human Sciences. Johnson’s teaching interests are in cultural understanding and global learning in geography under the tourism discipline. She believes students can gain valuable insights when learning about diverse parts of our world, and this diversity is taught by sharing differences among people, places, and cultures that are encountered through tourism. The course for her virtual exchange is Tourism Geography, which is a general education course offered by the university under the Cultural Understanding learning domain. One of her overall goals for her virtual collaboration with DUOC UC in Chile will be to allow her students to connect and communicate. Amy Johnson holds a B.A. degree from Carrol University in Waukesha, Wisconsin, and a M.A. from Indiana State University.
Lingma Lu Teaching Professor Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering Lingma Lu is a Teaching Professor in the Department of Computer Science in the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering. Lu is actively engaged in curriculum development and scholarly activities, including high-impact practices such as serviced learning and global learning, and she has developed several international collaboration programs, such as 2+2 programs and pre-masters programs with overseas institutions in India and China. Students in Lu’s Advanced Database Programming, Oracle course will participate in a virtual exchange with São Paulo State Technological College in Brazil. Students will learn to collaborate with a collaborator or client from another country, preparing them for the workforce. Lingma Lu holds a M.S. from Purdue University.
Otrude Moyo Professor Director of the Masters of Social Work IU South Bend Campus Director IU School of Social Work Otrude Moyo is a Professor at the IU School of Social Work on the South Bend campus. Moyo engages local-global perspectives on how organizations, communities, and societies address social issues. By using local-global perspectives in teaching and learning, she attempts to go beyond comparative understandings to explicate adverse global interconnections, interdependencies, and inclusion processes. Engaging local-global perspectives in her research ensures collaborative knowledge-building, particularly with communities that have been historically marginalized. Moyo’s course, Social Work Practice II: Organizations, Communities, and Societies, will incorporate a virtual exchange methodology, allowing students to engage in peer-to-peer mutual learning while allowing them to cultivate confidence in the intercultural sharing of ideas about how to improve human service delivery and environmental justice as a topic of concern. She will be partnering with an instructor at Lupane State University in Zimbabwe. Dr. Moyo earned a Ph.D. in Social Policy from Brandeis University.
Mike Polites Teaching Professor School of Liberal Arts Mike Polites is a Teaching Professor in the Department of Communication Studies in the IU Indianapolis School of Liberal Arts. Polites believes that communication is at the root of everything we do at home, at work, and in relationships. To that end, approaching similarities and differences of how we communicate in the U.S. with an international partner offers students a unique perspective that will benefit them and their communication. The virtual exchange with Uzhhorod National University in Ukraine will occur in Polites’ Humor and Communication course. The collaboration will allow students to gain perspectives on the use of humor on an international level. Polites received an M.A. in Communication Studies from Ball State University.
Vincent Starnino Associate Professor IU School of Social Work Vincent Starnino is an Associate Professor at the IU School of Social Work. Starnino’s area of expertise is in holistic practice approaches, specifically as it pertains to treating trauma and mental health issues. Starnino will implement a virtual exchange in his Advanced Social Research: Qualitative Methods course for Ph.D. students. In the Ph.D. program, students are being prepared to become leaders as social work educators, administrators, policy developers, and/or advanced practitioners. As part of their development, Ph.D. students are encouraged to participate in scholarship opportunities across disciplines and cultures. This virtual exchange with Korea University will allow students to expand their knowledge network and develop a strengthened global lens for approaching future research, practice, and scholarship. Dr. Starnino earned his Ph.D. in Social Work at the University of Kansas.
Rosa Tezanos-Pinto Associate Professor of Spanish and Hispanic Studies Adjunct Associate Professor of Women's Gender, and Sexuality Studies School of Liberal Arts Rosa Tezanos-Pinto is an Associate Professor of Hispanic Studies and Latino Studies in the Department of World Languages and Cultures in the School of Liberal Arts. She has expertise in Hispanic women’s writing, human rights, testimonial writing, Latino studies, and curriculum creation and implementation of Spanish and Latino studies courses. The Spanish program is reorganizing its courses to embrace the mission of Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL). By engaging in this virtual exchange with Agrupación de Lengua y Cultura Españolas in Vienna, Austria, students in her courses, Writing Spanish and Writing Spanish for Heritage Speakers, will increase their abilities to communicate in Spanish and learn about the benefits of being bilingual while living in countries where the primary language spoken is not Spanish. Dr. Tezanos-Pinto has a Ph.D. in Romance Languages and Spanish from the University of Miami.

• 2023 Virtual Global Learning Fellows

  2023 Virtual Global Learning Fellows

  Sydney W. Craig Assistant Professor of Fine Arts, Coordinator of Foundation Studies Program Herron School of Art + Design Sydney W. Craig is an educator and artist and considers her students as a medium she continually explores in her creative practice. As Coordinator of Foundation Studies at Herron School of Art + Design, Craig oversees the First-Year Experience programming and curriculum development, allowing her to share her passion for experimentation, playful discovery, and problem-solving. Through this Fellowship, Craig's virtual exchange will allow students to experience the value of connecting and learning alongside similarly aged students at universities in other countries. Herron Foundation students in the Studio Art and Technology course will explore connections through memory as they collaborate with students from the Technical University of Applied Sciences, Würzburg-Schweinfurt in Germany. Students will critically examine storytelling through a digital exchange of communication and information as they work together to fabricate memories, and the culmination of this exchange will be shared through a virtual exhibition of the artifacts. Craig holds a B.F.A. and an M.F.A. from Herron School of Art + Design in Printmaking and a B.A. in the History of Art from Indiana University.
  Michin Hong Associate Professor School of Social Work Michin Hong is a social work researcher and educator with expertise in racial/ethnic health disparities. Her research is focused on examining modifiable factors affecting health and access to health care among ethnoracial minority groups. She has led/co-led multiple international research projects and is dedicated to promoting cultural humility and understanding among students. She co-developed and co-leads a study abroad course in South Korea. Her virtual global learning program with Ewha Womans University will precede the study abroad course in the summer of 2023. Students will collaborate on a cross-cultural project focusing on health/behavioral health. This program will offer a meaningful global learning experience, facilitate the sharing of perspectives related to the students' academic discipline, and enhance students' personal growth as they reflect on their values, thoughts, and appreciation of cultural diversity before traveling to South Korea. Hong received her doctorate in Social Work from University Maryland.
  Douglas Jerolimov Instructional Consultant IU Indy Center for Teaching and Learning Douglas Jerolimov is a historian of technology by training, but the topics he's explored have been about highly industrialized and technologized intercultural settings of travel and communication, so Jerolimov considers himself a cultural geographer. He focuses on learning environments and thinks about settings as elements of the learning process. He is planning to contribute to the development of resources or tools to improve the effectiveness of instructors who teach in virtual exchange settings. The resources might be used to scaffold the development of instructional materials for instructors to use, to assess the effectiveness of teaching and learning in virtual settings (for feedback), or to improve the virtual exchange settings themselves where cross-cultural and global learning happens. Jerolimov holds a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, an M.A. from California State University, Hayward, and a Ph.D. in the history of technology from the University of Delaware, and a Ph.D. in instructional design and technology from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
  Kimmaree Murday Principal Digital Learning Consultant IU Indy Center for Teaching and Learning Kimmaree Murday has studied the intersection of technology and learning since her days as an undergraduate student. She has worked on IU’s Keep Teaching website, a resource adapted by dozens of other institutions at the height of COVID-19, as well as university-wide training for major technology transitions, including Canvas and Zoom. With graduate degrees in Second Language Acquisition, Murday understands the power of cross-cultural connections. The opportunity to work with the Virtual Global Learning Fellows program is a chance to help create training and resources in a field that is particularly meaningful to her. Murday received her B.A. in Spanish and Mathematics from U.Va. and her M.A. and Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University.

• 2022 Virtual Global Learning Fellows

  2022 Virtual Global Learning Fellows

  Amrita Datta Visiting Lecturer, Visual Communication Design Herron School of Art + Design Datta is interested in how diversity, equity, and inclusion impact design education in America. Her research examines strategies to help art and design faculty integrate the principles of DEI into their courses. All of this is done to increase classroom diversity through international learning for undergraduate students. As a Virtual Global Learning Fellow, she will be partnering with faculty from Yonsei University in Incheon, South Korea. Datta will be updating the sophomore-level Typography course to accommodate this collaboration. Datta earned a bachelor’s degree from Kent State University in Visual Communication Design and completed her master’s in Design from IU Indy. She is currently enrolled in the doctoral program at IU Indy in American Studies.
  Carmen Luca Sugawara Associate Professor School of Social Work Luca Sugawara is an international social work educator, researcher and advocate for global community-engagements. At IUSSW, she designed and teaches a graduate-level course in global community practice and a service-learning course that takes students to a post-conflict zone in Croatia. Most recently, she supported the development of a Master of Social Work program in a postwar region of Croatia. For her virtual exchange program, she will work with faculty and community practitioners from Osijek to increase transatlantic virtual global engagements between IU social work students and students from the University of Osijek. Luca Sugawara received her PhD from Catholic University of America in Washington DC.
  Meganne Masko Assistant Professor, Music and Arts Technology Purdue School of Engineering and Technology Masko is a board certified music therapist with clinical specialties in hospice, palliative care, and adult oncology. She is the Director of Music Therapy Programs and teaches courses in both the BS and MS in music therapy at IU Indy. Her teaching focuses on liberatory approaches to clinical practice with an emphasis on anti-carceral approaches to healthcare. She has a special interest in decolonizing STEAM education, interprofessional education, and applications of music technology in therapy. For her virtual exchange program, she will be working with colleagues from the United Kingdom to explore how the common histories of both countries impact the role of anti-Black racism in healthcare planning and delivery. Masko holds a doctorate in music from the University of Iowa.
  Nathan Rousseau Associate Professor of Sociology IU Columbus Rousseau’s teaching, research and service focus on education and race and ethnic relations in historical and contemporary global perspective. He is particularly interested in explicating the connections between diversity and stratification to create more inclusive paths to equality of opportunity. For his virtual exchange program, he seeks to work with colleagues from the United Kingdom to promote a dialogue among students about the consequences of colonization and to teach students how to engage in interracial communication to increase an awareness of the value of diversity. Rousseau holds a doctorate in sociology from the University of Oregon.
  Chalmer E. Thompson Associate Professor, Counseling/Counselor Education School of Education As a scholar, Thompson merges tenets of liberation and peace psychologies with her own theoretical developments to determine how best to improve people’s well-being at micro- and macro-levels. She attunes to the change processes that occur as practitioners (and lay people) concretely disrupt the evolution of racism and other intersecting forces of oppression. Building on her 20-year research partnership with the psychology faculty at Kyambogo University in Kampala, Uganda, Thompson intends to offer an opportunity for students from both universities.
  Nucharin (Tanya) Supakul, MD Associate Professor of Clinical Radiology Fellowship Director, Neuroradiology Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSM) Supakul has a strong interest in medical education. She has been a founder and director of Imaging Academic Outreach (iAOC) with the collaboration with Faculty of Health Science and Technology, Chulabhorn Royal Academy, Thailand since 2016 with the mission to establish the lifelong learning and affordable education center for radiologists, technologist and medical personal for Southeast Asian region. She is currently a Neuroradiology Fellowship Director for IUSM and has created an online platform for radiology education in response to COVID-19 pandemic not only for the trainees in the USA but also across the continents, broadcasting from the USA via Zoom, Facebook and YouTube live. This is a proof concept not only the virtual platform can supplement medical education during the pandemic, but also lifelong learning. This eliminates boundaries to share knowledge and connect with people during the pandemic and beyond.
  Charlotte Westerhaus-Renfrow Faculty Chair, Undergraduate Programs and Clinical Assistant Professor of Management and Business Law Kelley School of Business Westerhaus-Renfrow transforms academic, institutional, marketing, and recruitment objectives for the program into operational strategies for Kelley-IU Indy faculty, staff, undergraduate students, and other stakeholders. She teaches team dynamics, leadership, and negotiations courses. In 2019, she was selected as an Indiana University Bicentennial Professor; in 2021, she was a recipient of IU’s Bicentennial Medal; and she is a member of the Indiana University Alliance of Distinguished and Titled Professors. Westerhaus-Renfrow received her J.D. from the IU Maurer School of Law and a B.S. and M.Ed. from Ohio University.

• 2021 Virtual Exchange Fellows

  2021 Virtual Exchange Fellows

  Cynthia M. Adams Vice Dean and Clinical Professor of Law Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law Adams directs international programs, leads faculty affairs, and manages curriculum and scheduling for the law school’s J.D., LL.M., M.J. and SJD academic programs. She teaches negotiations courses and has presented on negotiation skills-building at national and international conferences. During the 2021 fall semester, she will lead a virtual international negotiations course with the National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University School of Law in Taiwan. This virtual exchange simulates the growing virtual nature of the negotiation process and exposes students to the complexity of negotiating between businesses across borders. Adams received her J.D. from the McKinney School of Law
  Laila Al Dehailan Visiting Clinical Assistant Professor IU School of Dentistry Al Dehailan leads faculty calibration in her discipline, departmentally and school wide. In 2019, she had the opportunity to develop a new partnership with King Khalid University (KKU), Saudi Arabia. This allowed her to host the largest and longest exchange program at IUSD which she is now expanding for this virtual exchange program, comparing and contrasting dental education in Saudi Arabia and the USA and helping students develop a global perspective and approach to dental education and clinical practice. Al Dehailan obtained her dental degree from King Saud University in Saudi Arabia and subsequently pursued a master’s degree, clinical residency, and a doctorate from Indiana University School of Dentistry (IUSD).
  Suzanne Babich Professor, Associate Dean of Global Health and Acting Chair IU School of Public Health Babich works across institutional contexts and international borders to advance teaching, research and service in global health. She has a special interest in international, interdisciplinary education, and applications of technology for innovative approaches to programming. For her virtual exchange program, she will be working with colleagues from Kenya and Norway on a doctoral course in Leadership in Global Health Systems for all three campuses. Babich holds a doctorate in public health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
  Marian Gilhooly Lecturer, Science of Nursing Care IUPUI School of Nursing Gilhooly’s primary nursing experience has been in the medical-surgical and progressive care settings. She teaches in the bachelor’s and RN-to-BSN completion programs. Her virtual exchange program, offered to IUPUI students and Chulalongkorn University students already working as nurses, will offer a chance to share perspectives of nursing across continents. Gilhooly earned a bachelor’s in nursing from University of Virginia, completed a master’s in nursing education from Georgetown University.
  Amy Jackson Visiting Lecturer, Community & Health Systems IU Indy School of Nursing Jackson is in her second year as a Visiting Lecturer and first academic year as a Course Leader. For her virtual exchange program, during the fall 2021 semester, she will partner with Moi University in Kenya to discuss mental health topics related to our cultures and how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the mental health in our respective countries. Jackson holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Indiana University-Kokomo and a Master of Science in Nursing Education from the University of Indianapolis.
  Rebecca Lash Assistant Professor, IU School of Nursing Fort Wayne Lash has worked in nursing professional development, education, and research promoting clinical inquiry and clinical excellence among nurses in both community hospital and academic medical center settings. Her research focuses on health services and particularly ED utilization among oncology patients. Her long-term goals are to foster a passion for global learning and to address the burden of oncologic emergencies nationally and internationally. For her virtual exchange program, nursing students will be able to analyze current trends in global health issues and compare different national health care delivery systems. Lash received her doctorate in nursing science and healthcare leadership from UC Davis.
  Audrey Ricke Senior Lecturer, Department of Anthropology IU Indy School of Liberal Arts Ricke specializes in ethnicity, race, class, nationalism, transnationalism, and tourism. She is collaborating with anthropology faculty at Newcastle University in the United Kingdom to design two virtual exchange programs. These virtual exchange programs will occur between U.S. undergraduate and graduate anthropology courses on ethnic identity and tourism and U.K. sociology/anthropology courses. Students will analyze identity negotiation in the U.K. and the U.S. and the social dimensions and impacts of tourism in Newcastle upon Tyne and Indianapolis. Ricke received her doctorate in anthropology from Indiana University and master’s in anthropology from Wichita State University
  Frank Wadsworth Professor of Marketing and International Studies; Division Head IU Columbus School of Business Wadsworth leads study abroad trips to Hong Kong and has connected IU Columbus students with students in Hong Kong and the Philippines using technology. He has taught at the Hanoi School of Business in Vietnam, De La Salle University in the Philippines, and at the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA) in Bangkok, Thailand. For his virtual exchange program, he is teaching a course designed to help students gain an understanding of Hong Kong business and culture. Wadsworth earned his doctorate in business from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.