Judith Herb College of Arts, Social Sciences and Education

THInC offers valuable connections to esteemed faculty mentors, a selection of whom is listed below. Engaging in mentorship represents a significant opportunity for students to deepen their educational experience and receive steadfast support throughout their academic and professional journey. Mentors serve as invaluable guides, providing indispensable advice, encouragement, and resources to help students realize their fullest potential. 

Email the Herb Innovation Center team at herbinnovationcenter@utoledo.edu to get connected with a faculty mentor.

Colleen Fitzpatrick, Ph.D.

Areas of research interest:  Exploring the complex and interactional role the context of a classroom, school, district or state plays in how teachers and students experience teaching and learning social studies in grades 6-12.  Within this, she has a particular focus on how teachers teach and students learn about religion in social studies classrooms.

Lynne Hamer, Ph.D.

Areas of research interest:  Historical foundations of education/historical intersections between schooling and marginalized populations; life writing/educational biography and oral history

Edward Janak, Ph.D.

Areas of research interest:  Historical foundations of education/historical intersections between schooling and marginalized populations; life writing/educational biography and oral history; pop culture/mass culture and education

Natasha Johnson, Ph.D.

Areas of research interest:  Chemistry education; multicultural science education; STEM interest, access, and persistence

Revathy Kumar Ph.D.

Areas of research interest:  Social and cultural processes involved in constructing a sense of self and identity among adolescents and young adults in culturally diverse societies, the role of teachers, teacher-education programs, schools, communities, and families in facilitating minority and immigrant adolescents’ development, learning, and motivation

Sekhar Pindiprolu, Ph.D.

Areas of research interest:  Teaching and learning strategies, computer-assisted instruction, designing instruction, program evaluations

Dale T. Snauwaert, Ph.D.

Areas of research interest: Justice, education for peace and justice, democracy, democratic education

Robert A. Schultz, Ph.D.

Areas of research interest:  Gifted/Talented education; Social and Emotional Needs; Creativity; Curriculum Theory and Philosophical Foundations of Education; Assessment and Evaluation; Qualitative and Mixed Methods Research Methods; Parents and Parenting

Mark Templin, Ph.D.

Areas of research interest:  Science instruction, science teacher education, activity theory

Svetlana Beltyukova, Ph.D.

Areas of research interest: Psychometric Analysis, Survey Development, Parametric and Nonparametric Statistical analysis, Quantitative and Mixed-Method Research Design, Program evaluation

Michael Toland, Ph.D.

Areas of research interest:  Sense of belonging, developing surveys, undergraduate research, applied statistics, applied measurement