About the Authors
Editors
Denise FitzGerald Quintel (she/her) is an Associate Professor and Discovery Services Librarian at Middle Tennessee State University. Her research involves information-seeking behavior, user-centered design, web analytics, and privacy. She has published work in the Journal of Academic Librarianship, Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship, and Information Technology and Libraries. Denise is a member of the Asian Pacific American Library Association (APALA) and the Library Freedom Project. She currently serves as an Assistant Editor for Weave: Journal of Library User Experience.
Amy York is an Associate Professor and User Services Librarian at the James E. Walker Library at Middle Tennessee State University. Her work currently focuses on using instructional technology to teach information literacy and research skills, but she has also worked with and written about distance learning services, web services, and digital collections. Amy has published articles in OCLC Systems and Services, College & Research Library News, Collaborative Librarianship, and the Journal of Library Administration. She is also a past editor and current reviewer for Tennessee Libraries, the journal of the Tennessee Library Association.
Contributors
Emma Antobam-Ntekudzi is a Reference & Instruction Librarian at Bronx Community College. In her role, Emma helps students, staff, and teaching faculty with research needs and provides library instruction sessions. Her interest in librarianship began during her time as a Library Associate at the New York Botanical Garden’s LuEsther T. Mertz Library. She received an MLS and an MA in Urban Affairs from Queens College. In 2018, she was honored as the NYLA-NYBLC Diversity & Inclusion Scholar, and in 2021, she was awarded the SLA James M. Matarazzo Rising Star Award. Her personal interests include reading, journaling, and spending time with family.
Christian Barborini is an MS student in the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia, as well as a researcher at the BC Centre on Substance Use (BCCSU) and the Centre for Gender & Sexual Health Equity (CGSHE). Christian’s research, co-supervised by Dr. Rod Knight and Dr. Mark Gilbert, focuses on cannabis use in relation to the gender experiences of trans and non-binary youth. Prior to this, they completed their Honours BS at McMaster University in Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences. In addition to their science background, Christian’s research is informed by their years of experience working and organizing within 2S/TLGBQIA+ community. They are committed to approaching their research from an intersectional, community-based lens that accounts for various forms of marginalization experienced by 2S/TLGBQIA+ youth who use substances.
Maddie Brockbank (she/her) is a PhD Candidate and Vanier Scholar in the School of Social Work at McMaster University. Maddie has her Bachelor of Social Work (2019) and Master of Social Work (2020) from McMaster. Her research, practice experience, and community organizing initiatives have been in the area of anti-violence work with men, specifically in exploring the links between sexual violence prevention, anti-carceral feminisms, and engaging men. Additionally, she has research experience in the areas of houselessness, disability, social systems, curriculum development, and creating safety for marginalized students in university pedagogy. Maddie has been recognized for her academic excellence and community leadership as a recipient of the Young Woman of Distinction Award (YWCA Hamilton), the President’s Award for Excellence in Student Leadership (McMaster University), a Hamilton Hero award (Hamilton Ticats), a Women Who Rock award (EMPOWER Strategy Group), and a Mary Keyes Award for Outstanding Service and Leadership (McMaster University).
Samantha Clarke is the Grants Coordinator for the Office of the Vice-Provost, Teaching and Learning at McMaster University. She developed and implemented an institutional granting opportunity for instructors who seek to improve teaching and learning, with a focus on initiatives to support student engagement, belonging, and wellness. She also supports institutional applications to several external granting opportunities. Sam recently completed her PhD in medical history, examining how the Cold War atmosphere of distrust shaped the reception of novel vaccines to prevent polio in divided Germany. In her spare time, she is an avid gardener, embroiderer, and camper.
Christina M. Cobb is an Assistant Professor in the University Studies Department teaching mathematics at Middle Tennessee State University. Dr. Cobb works to give all her students the tools needed to be successful in her mathematics courses and beyond. She teaches with so much passion and energy that her students love to come to class. Dr. Cobb was awarded one of the Outstanding Teaching awards at MTSU in fall 2019. She has presented numerous times nationally about innovative ways to teach mathematics and serves as the co-chair of the Mathematics Network for the National Organization for Student Success (NOSS). Dr. Cobb was a co-principal investigator for the 2019 TBR SERS grant “Strategies to Enhance African American Males in a Prescribed Mathematics Course Success Rates.” Dr. Cobb has a great rapport with her students and was recently named the Inclusive Teaching Fellow with the LT&ITC at MTSU.
Angela Dixon currently works as a Reference & Instruction Librarian at George State University Library – Dunwoody Campus. She holds an A.A.S. in Electronics Engineering and a B.S. in Technical & Professional Communication. Angela obtained her MLIS from Valdosta State University. Her research interests include digital privacy issues that directly impact and affect BIPOC communities. Her passion is working with first- and second-generation college students. She has presented at local, state, and national conferences. Angela holds active membership in Georgia Library Association (GLA), American Library Association (ALA), and Library Freedom Project (LFP).
Wil Prakash Fujarczuk is an enthusiastic educator guided by critical pedagogy, intersectional feminism, and anti-oppression, and he is committed to facilitating transformative learning opportunities for participants. He is the manager of the sexual violence prevention education program at McMaster University’s Equity and Inclusion Office and the resource person for the gender and sexuality working group of the President’s Advisory Committee on Building an Inclusive Community. Wil also has a consent-educating drag persona named Unita Ask. He is the co-chair of the Canadian Association of College & University Student Services’ Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Community of Practice, a member of the City of Hamilton’s LGBTQ Advisory Committee, a qualified safeTALK trainer with LivingWorks, and an executive member of the Canadian Association for the Prevention of Discrimination and Harassment in Higher Education. Wil holds a BS in Biology (McMaster University), a BEd (University of Western Ontario), and an MA in Peace Education (UN-mandated University for Peace).
Renata Hall lives all things social justice! With an educational background in psychology and biology from Dalhousie University and social work from McMaster University, Renata looks to shake the room through her love of building community connections, challenging the status quo, and amplifying the voices of the margins. Seasoned in racialized peer support, counseling, and teaching through McMaster University, housing and homelessness support with the YWCA Hamilton, as well as food equity and community network building through her grassroots initiative StreetEatzHamOnt, Renata brings passion and a sharp Black Feminist and Critical Race lens to every conversation and every table. As she is comfortably situated in the education and policy sector, Renata looks to bring a liberating, empowering, and critically conscious force to the Hamilton Community at large.
James Hamby is the Associate Director of the Margaret H. Ordoubadian University Writing Center at Middle Tennessee State University, where he also teaches courses in composition and literature. He serves on the editorial boards of Praxis, Southern Discourse In the Center, and WLN: A Journal of Writing Center Scholarship. He is currently serving his second term as Tennessee Representative on the executive board of the Southeastern Writing Center Association and has presented writing center research at many conferences.
Meredith Anne (MA) Higgs is an Associate Professor of University Studies at Middle Tennessee State University teaching undergraduate prescribed mathematics and undergraduate and graduate Professional Studies coursework. Her research and educational agenda emphasize retention and success of students who are non-traditional, academically at-risk, diverse, and enrolled in distance education. She emphasizes High Impact Practices (HIPs), active learning, and gamification in her classroom and student engagement activities. She is the Co-chair of the National Organization for Student Success Mathematics Network, has co-authored OER works in addition to journal articles and teaching contributions, and is a well-regarded, high-energy national conference presenter. For her work, she has been recognized with the MTSU Outstanding Professor award, the national Gladys R. Shaw Award for Outstanding Service and Support for Student Success, and the Association for Continuing Higher Education South: Outstanding Faculty Award.
Albert Kagan has contributed to the application and practice of using information-based technology for business organizations from a security standpoint. He has served as a subject matter expert for Homeland Security issues for over fifteen years. Professor Kagan has been an investigator on over 60 external research grants that have attained approximately $20 million in external funding. He has participated in projects that have total grant funding of over $38 million. He has held editorial or reviewer positions at numerous academic journals and has received two awards from professional associations for his research activities. In 2015, Professor Kagan was a finalist for the Jefferson Fellows Program sponsored by the U S Department of State. He has published nearly 190 referred articles and presentations.
Joseph Kennedy is a National Board for Professional Teaching Standards-certified mathematics educator with an M.Ed. in Instructional Design. As the Instructional Designer for Concordia College, he co-led the institution’s pivot to distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic and is the primary administrator of the college’s Learning Management System. He also serves as an intermittent adjunct faculty member in the Education and Mathematics departments and was recognized by his peers with the Flatt Distinguished Service award. A former national champion forensicator, he has coached the college’s nationally ranked speech team. Prior to entering higher education, he taught high school mathematics and computer programming, co-developed a new mathematics curriculum for his district, and pioneered competency-based courses for students who struggled in traditional classrooms. He has also served as a labor mediator between the Fargo Education Association and Fargo Public Schools and enjoys being a poll worker during elections.
Hannah Lee is a double alumna of UCLA, where she obtained her BA in English and MLIS. As the Discovery & Systems Librarian for California State University, Dominguez Hills, she collaborates with other library staff and faculty to develop policies, procedures and workflows that enhance access and discoverability of the library’s collections, web service integrations, and support the curation of the library’s digital content. Some of her interests include copyright, intellectual property, cybernetics, book arts, mentoring, and volunteering for non-profit organizations.
Kimberly Looby is the Instruction and Information Literacy Librarian at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She has a Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, a Master of Arts in Historical Administration from Eastern Illinois University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her professional interests include invisible disability in librarianship, first year students, and accessible assessment and data visualization for all librarians.
Lei Miao is an Associate Professor in the Department of Engineering Technology at MTSU. He earned his PhD from Boston University and his master’s and bachelor’s degrees from Northeastern University of China, in 2006, 2001, and 1998, respectively. From 2006 to 2009, he was with Nortel Networks in Billerica, MA. From 2009 to 2011, he was a visiting assistant professor at the University of Cincinnati. From 2011 to 2014, he was a wireless networking and software engineer with NuVo Technologies/Legrand North America. From 2014 to 2015, he was an assistant professor at the State University of New York at Farmingdale. He has almost 20 years R&D experience in system control and optimization, information systems, and Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). He has near 40 publications in referred conferences and journals. He is a member of the technical program committee of many international conferences and the guest editor of a Special Issue “Advances in Smart City and Intelligent Transportation Systems” of the MDPI journal Sustainability.
Jonathan B. Moore is the User Experience Librarian for J. Murrey Atkins Library at University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He holds an MSLS from UNC Chapel Hill in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. His work seeks to empower library users in the design and assessment of library spaces, resources, and services. He researches the behavior of library users during information seeking, the design and use of informal learning environments, and the role of library services in supporting social justice. His previous work has been published in Technical Services Quarterly and presented at the Triad Academic Library Association and NC LIVE annual conferences.
Jennifer (Jenny) Reichart is a nationally recognized Holmes Scholar and DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) leader in higher education. Her research examines complex equity problems affecting underserved students using design and systems thinking. As a practitioner, she has served as a counselor and community leader creating open pathways to, from, and within higher education. She has worked in higher education as a supervisor, faculty member, senior-level administrator, and executive leader for the past fifteen years. She is an expert in trauma-informed/resilience-focused instruction, a trailblazer in faculty and student self-care practices, and a certified emotional intelligence life coach in the area of higher education executive leadership. In her current position as Executive Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging at Richland Community College, she serves as an internal organizational culture consultant, community thought leader on the President’s Cabinet, and as the college’s Title IX, ADA, EEOC, Grievance, and Compliance Officer.
Bridgette T. Sanders is the Social Sciences Research & Instructional Services Librarian at J. Murrey Atkins Library, University of North Carolina Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina. She received her MLS from Atlanta University in Atlanta, Georgia. Her research interests include diversity, equity, and inclusion, reference and instruction, virtual reference, and library spaces. She is the co-editor of the ALA editions book Making the Most of Your Library Career. She has presented at several conferences including the EDUCAUSE West/Southwest Regional Conference, the Library 2.012 Worldwide Virtual Conference, and the EdMedia: World Conference on Educational Media & Technology. Her recent presentations include the REFORMA Virtual Conference, LibLearnX Conference, AAC&U 2022 Conference on Diversity, Equity, and Student Success, and the 2022 NC LIVE Annual Conference.
Amy Stalker is an Associate Department Head at the Dunwoody campus of the Georgia State University Library. She holds a B.A. in Russian Area Studies from Wittenberg University and an MLIS from Valdosta State University. Amy is an active member of the American Library Association (ALA) and the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL). Her research interests include misinformation, digital privacy, and management approaches to employee development and morale. She has presented at local, state, and national library conferences, as well the Georgia Political Science Association Annual Conference and GSU’s Conference on Scholarly Teaching: Global Conversations in Higher Education. She has co-authored several articles, book reviews, and book chapters.
Rebecca Taylor is an elementary education teacher in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She has taught three years in fifth grade but has worked with and observed all elementary grade-levels. She has a passion for education and is constantly working to improve the learning environment for all students. Taylor also has a passion for opportunities to help teachers facing burnout and helping them find opportunities to grow as a teacher and manage stress. She has a bachelor’s degree in elementary education, a master’s degree in educational theories and practices, and is working through an Assessment, Learning, and Student Success doctoral program at Middle Tennessee State University.
Kristen Vogt Veggeberg is a nonprofit director, scholar, and writer from the south side of Chicago. She holds a BA in Medieval Studies (Honors) from the University of Oregon, an MPA in Public Administration from Southern Illinois University, and a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her research is on informal STEAM education, and her dissertation focused on discourses of equity amongst museum educators. She has been published in Anthropology and Education Quarterly, The National Teaching and Learning Forum, and Women in Higher Education, amongst other publications. Vogt Veggeberg currently oversees a multi-state STEAM and career exploration program for a major nonprofit, as well as serving as a Science Communication Research Associate at the University of Oregon. You can visit her at https://linktr.ee/krisveevee.
Yimeng Wang is a J.D. candidate (Class of 2024) and a Root-Tilden-Kern Public Interest Scholar at NYU School of Law. Born in 西安, Yimeng grew up on Treaty 13 land, the Traditional Territories of the Anishinaabe peoples, Haudenosaunee Confederacy, and Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. They graduated from the Arts and Science Program at McMaster University in 2021. During undergrad, they were involved with the Women and Gender Equity Network (WGEN), a student-run peer support service centering the needs of survivors of sexual violence, folks under the trans umbrella, and all individuals who experience gender-based oppression. They held the title of Coordinator in the 2020-2021 academic year. As a community member, they have organized with speqtrum (Hamilton), SACHA (Hamilton), Survived and Punished NY, and Red Canary Song (NY).
Sarah Whitwell is the Experiential Programming and Outreach Manager for the Faculty of Humanities at McMaster University. She completed her PhD in History at McMaster University and has several years of practical teaching experience in addition to her work in the field of teaching and learning. Sarah’s teaching philosophy emphasizes the importance of active and inquiry-based learning, as well as cultivating an inclusive and accessible classroom environment where everyone feels as safe and comfortable as possible.
Aimin Yan is a Professor and PhD supervisor at Shanghai Normal University of China. She completed her PhD at Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics (SIOM) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). Her research interests are information optics, optical image encryption, and 3D laser imaging. She has published more than 50 papers and applied for 15 invention patents. She teaches optoelectronics, Laser Principles & iTechnology, and Experiments of Modern Physics.
Hongbo Zhang is an Assistant Professor at Middle Tennessee State University. He completed his PhD at Virginia Tech. His research interests are Computer Vision, Robotics, and 3D Imaging. He has co-authored more than 70 publications. He has also mentored two PhD students and five master’s students. He is a panelist for NASA Development and Advancement of Lunar Instrumentation program. He is the topic editor for Chinese Optics Letters. He is also the guest editor for Electronics. He teaches Computer Vision, Human Computer Interaction, Control, and Electronics.
Jia-Xing Zhong graduated from Sun Yat-sen University with a B. Eng. degree in Computer Science and Technology in 2017. He received an M. NatSci. Degree in Computer Applied Technology from Peking University in 2020, under the supervision of Prof. Ge Li. Currently, he is a PhD student (Oct. 2020 – ) in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Oxford, supervised by Prof. Niki Trigoni and Prof. Andrew Markham. His main research interests are machine learning, computer vision, and robotics.
