Dr. Chelsea Chandler, Ph.D. serves as the Director of the Center for Faculty Excellence (CFE). Chelsea is an experienced educator who is passionate about justice, equity, and inclusion at the intersections of teaching, learning, and curriculum design. Chelsea has taught in a variety of settings including K-12, higher education, and informal education programs. 

Prior to joining the CFE, Chelsea held multiple positions in higher education. Her higher education teaching experience began with her appointment as an Assistant Professor of Curriculum and Instruction at Concordia University Chicago. She co-led the Curriculum and Instruction program and taught graduate teacher education courses on topics such as curriculum theory and design, culturally sustaining and responsive pedagogy, foundations of education, and teacher action research. Her experiences designing courses for different modalities at Concordia University led her to pursue career opportunities in the field of Learning Experience Design (LXD).

As a Learning Experience Designer, Chelsea focused on assisting University of Michigan faculty in the design of open, online courses and led her team in faculty development focused on inclusive course design and pedagogy. During her time at U-M, Chelsea also team taught a year-long Learning Experience Design lab course and mentored students during their residency with the Center for Academic Innovation.

Chelsea’s research interests include inclusive pedagogy and course design, curriculum development, and teaching and learning in online, hybrid, and face-to-face environments. She regularly presents her research at national conferences, publishes in academic journals, and is a member of the National Center for Institutional Diversity's Diversity Scholars Network at the University of Michigan.

Dr. Chandler holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Toledo, as well as a Master of Education in Teaching and Learning from BGSU. 

Holly Barber is an Instructional Designer with over 18 years of experience in higher education, with a video production background. At BGSU, Holly focuses on helping faculty design their courses in alignment with their learning outcomes as well as offering a variety of professional development workshops. Prior to working in higher education, she was a video editor for a Cleveland Indians weekly TV show called “Indian’s 411” and has worked for NBC 24 and WOUB. She has produced educational videos and specialized in educational technology at Owens Community College. While at OCC, as an Instructional Designer, she became Apple Certified and created educational resources for their iTunes University program. Her passion is in emerging technology within higher education as well incorporating videos for Active Learning and the Flipped Classroom model.

As an instructional designer for the CFE, Anna Rood collaborates with faculty and instructors to foster best practices associated with course design and pedagogy. Anna has previously held similar positions with Tiffin University and Lourdes University before returning to her alma mater, here at BGSU. At Lourdes University, she became a Canvas Certified Educator, and presented nationally on using Canvas tools to increase pass rates of post-graduation licensure assessments. Before her experience in higher education, Anna was an intervention specialist focusing on reading curriculum and inclusive strategies. She holds an undergraduate degree in education and a graduate degree in higher education and adult learning. She is passionate about differentiation and engagement in student learning and is committed to the idea of supporting learners to drive their own education. Dedicated to assisting faculty in achieving their teaching goals, Anna leverages a deep understanding of educational needs to create impactful, efficient, and engaging learning experiences.

As the CFE Program Coordinator, Sally Thelen coordinates faculty development initiatives and CFE events and collaborates with CFE team members on program development and evaluation. Sally has extensive classroom experience, having taught English as a Second Language (ESL) in higher education settings, adult learning environments, and K-12 schools in the United States and internationally for almost twenty years. In addition to her classroom experience, Sally has served as an Assessment Specialist at University of Michigan's Michigan Language Assessment (MLA) and at Lourdes University. At Lourdes, she led institutional accreditation efforts, coordinated academic and cocurricular assessment activities, and supported faculty and staff in assessment development. Sally is committed to fostering an inclusive classroom experience for all learners and supporting faculty in the implementation of equitable instructional and assessment practices. Sally has a Master’s in Education in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) from SUNY University at Buffalo and a Master’s in Arts in Educational and Instructional Technology from Western Michigan University.

Debipreeta Rahut is a Doctoral Candidate and Graduate Teaching Associate at the School of Media and Communication at Bowling Green State University. She completed her Master of Arts in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Calcutta and her Bachelor of Arts with Honours in English Literature from Scottish Church College, Kolkata, affiliated to the University of Calcutta in India.

At Bowling Green State University, she has served as an instructor of record for COMM 1020: Introduction to Public Speaking and COMM 3030: Persuasive Communication. Currently, she is a Teaching Assistant for COMM 2070: Interpersonal Communication and has previously worked as a Teaching Assistant for COMM 2010: Communication Theory. She also has experience working on an NSF Grant (Award No. 1760389) with the BGSU ALLIES team as an Online Learning Designer and Research Assistant in the summers of 2022 and 2023 respectively, where she assisted them in designing, developing, and revising online training modules for faculty and faculty administrators on allyship and inclusive leadership principles and practices with a focus on gender equity.

Debipreeta’s research interests broadly include Gender and Technology, Feminist Studies, Social Media Activism, Digital Culture, Gender and Migration, and Media & Communication. She is passionate about inclusive and intercultural pedagogy and strives towards engaging with her students in a respectful and cooperative manner. Debipreeta’s teaching philosophy is aligned with feminist pedagogy, enabling the classroom as a space for open and critical discussion towards learning, and decentering power thereby facilitating a conducive environment for effective teaching-learning. 

Working with the CFE, she is leading a Graduate Student Instructor Learning Community which is designed as a space for graduate students to engage in meaningful discussions about navigating their dual roles as students and employees. The community focuses on topics such as professional development, balancing academic and work responsibilities, and finding support within the BGSU community.

Allyson Ritchey is the CFE’s Marketing and Events Graduate Assistant and is currently pursuing her master’s degree in Intercultural/International Communication at Bowling Green State University’s School of Media and Communication. She graduated from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania in May 2024, earning dual degrees in Sociology and Communications, Journalism and Media with a focus on Public Relations. She also holds a minor in Women’s and Gender Studies and a certificate in Ethnic Studies. Before joining the CFE team, Allyson gained valuable experience through internships with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, including the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and the Office of Governor Josh Shapiro. In these roles, she contributed to social media campaigns, event photography, press releases, and blogging. Allyson’s diverse background and hands-on experience in communications and public relations bring a unique perspective to her role at the CFE. Outside of her professional life, Allyson enjoys being outdoors, shooting photos, and reading.