Xinnian Chen
Xinnian Chen is Professor in Residence in the Department of Physiology and Neurobiology. She teaches Enhanced Human Physiology and Anatomy courses to 350 biology majors and direct laboratories associated with these courses. Her current research interests include understanding the mechanisms through which can increase students’ engagement in classrooms and ways to promote institutional adoption of evidence-based teaching pedagogies. More information on Dr. Chen can be found here.
Cara Bernard
Cara Bernard is Assistant Clinical Professor of Music Education at the University of Connecticut in the Neag School of Education, where she teaches courses in choral and elementary methods, curriculum, and supervises student teaching. Dr. Bernard currently serves on the editorial committees of Music Educators Journal, Arts Education Policy Review, Journal of Popular Music Education, and serves as associate editor of Visions of Research in Music Education. She has served on the CT State Education Department’s Arts Equity Incentive Committee and the National ACDA Diversity Initiative Sub-Committee, where she created policy, curriculum, and outreach to make the Arts accessible and equitable for all students. Currently, she is President-Elect of CT American Choral Directors Association (ACDA). Learn more about Dr. Bernard here.
Stephen Stifano
Stephen Stifano is an Associate Professor in-Residence and the Director of Undergraduate Studies in Communication. He pairs a quantitative research background alongside work as a designer, event producer, and independent filmmaker. Dr. Stifano teaches and supervises COMM 1000, the introductory course in Communication which was recognized as the 2016 Basic Course Program of Distinction by the National Communication Association. He is also the department's faculty lead on a series of courses in Multimedia Production, where he has personally created five new courses to expand the department's curriculum. From 2019-2021, Dr. Stifano spearheaded a massive reimagining of the Communication curriculum to improve student experiences, streamline course offerings, and tailor the program to student needs upon graduation. Learn more about Dr. Stifano here.
Jonathan Moore
Is an advocate for keeping technology human. He is interested in the growing field of Gamification in Business with a focus on user experience design. Although he has a heavy focus on emerging technologies and analytics, many of his interests intersect with the concept of a sustainable world. This ideal is often aligned with many of the projects he takes on and the research he tries to involve himself in. Within the past few years, he has worked to develop a company with a group of colleagues focused on SAAS (Software as a Service) within different markets. he considers himself a jack of all trades and an advocate for student focused teaching and experiential learning. Find out more about Mr. Moore here.
Julie Choffel
Julie Choffel has been teaching creative writing and literature at UConn for the last ten years. Her work with students approaches writing and reading as creative, experiential, and collaborative practices. She is the author of The Hello Delay (Fordham UP) and a handful of chapbooks. Her newest poems can be found published or forthcoming in Zócalo Public Square, New American Writing, Barrow Street, Posit, Orion, and on a bus headed your way via Poetic Journeys.
Cynthia Van Fleet
Cindy Van Fleet has been an educator for over 40 years. As a high school Family and Consumer Science teacher she had the opportunity to become involved in the UCONN ECE program, beginning in 2004 and continuing until she retired in June of 2018. In 2008 she was hired as an adjunct in the Human Development and Family Studies Department and has continued to teach post retirement. Cindy has served as an ECE faculty liaison, an ECE Instructor, Received the Meriden Teacher of the Year award in 2013 and the UConn Early College Experience Instructor of the Year of Excellence in Course Instruction in 2011. Cindy lives in Wolcott, where she and her husband raised their three children. She and her husband enjoy traveling and spending time with their three grandchildren.
Amani Jayakody
Amani Jayakody is a Ph.D. ABD candidate in Experimental Condensed Matter Physics at the Department of Physics, University of Connecticut.
Mandy Long
Mandy Long is a Ph.D. candidate in the Philosophy Department. Learn more about Mandy here.
Tracy Walters
Tracy Walters is a PhD candidate in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences. Learn more about Tracy here.
Consult with our CETL Professionals
Consultation services are available to all UConn faculty at all campuses at no charge.