Willenborg Fellows

Sheila Bauer-Gatsos, Director of the University Core Curriculum and Chair of English. Professor Bauer-Gatsos’s work in the academy was devoted to redesigning the course, Writing as Social Action (English 335) to include more intricately planned engagement for students (as narrative storytellers, op-ed, social media or grant-writing assistants) with community partners and social change advocacy organizations. 

Patrice Dzire, Expert in Residence for Legal Studies, Political Science, and International Relations.  Ms. Dzire has over 20 years working as an attorney and nonprofit executive here in the US and internationally, most prominently in post-apartheid South Africa.  Dominican University’s new core curriculum includes a four year career development course sequence into the core for undergraduates and Ms. Dzire, who teaches in that sequence, will be using her work in the academy and with the Willenborg community of practice to integrate students engagement with civic minded groups and leaders into that course experience.

Theresa “Nacho” Montiel, Assistant Professor of Graphic and Web Design.  Professor Montiel, a former art director and community artist, is using her work in the academy and in the community of practice to develop a hybrid course that will enable students to pursue in-class learning and pre-graduation job training through the framework of an internal advertising agency that serves the art and marketing needs of social service organizations, community partners, student organizations and offices inside Dominican University.

Christine Wilson, Core Curriculum Instructor.  Professor Wilson will be teaching a course, Life in the Natural World (LAS 201) in the spring semester.  In last year’s iteration of that course, Professor Wilson already made waves as a change maker by having the students in her class craft an environmental and economic-justice focused proposal for carpooling and public transportation use on campus that has been taken up by the University as a pilot. In joining the academy, Professor Wilson seeks to build new citizen-scholar initiatives in the core curriculum and among writing students.

Hassan Zamir, Associate Professor School of Information Studies.  Professor Zamir wishes to involve students in community-based research projects in his Introduction to Data Science course and, through it, intends to “foster interdisciplinary collaboration, instill a sense of civic responsibility, and provide meaningful partnerships with local community organizations.”  Professor Zamir has already demonstrated to many of us the vital role of public scholarship through his scholarship and writing on  the socio-political impact of Artificial Intelligence and social media’s impact of these technologies on privacy, political preferences, and cultural values.