DEI Faculty Fellows
Pictured (L–R) Tim Robbins, Dawn Wood, Erica Bernard, Laura Green, Curtis Mitchell, Bryan Bennett, Jed Peterson.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Faculty Fellows are a dedicated group of Kirkwood full-time faculty representing a diverse range of academic departments in Academic Affairs, including both Liberal Arts and CTE programs. DEI Faculty Fellows will provide support to individual faculty, departments, and programs in their diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice efforts.
Each fellow will participate in professional development as a team; help create and implement a DEI strategic plan for Academic Affairs; support other faculty in DEI work; and identify DEI professional development opportunities and resources for Academic Affairs.
Kirkwood Community DEI Faculty Fellows program launched in Fall 2021. The mission is to promote inclusive excellence and remove barriers to equity in teaching and learning.
Kirkwood faculty needing support in promoting equity and inclusion in their teaching and learning are encouraged to email deifaculty@kirkwood.edu.
DEI Fellows
| Bryan Bennett | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title: | Assistant Professor, Information Technology | |||||
| Phone: | 319-398-5899 x4049 | |||||
| Email: | bryan.bennett@kirkwood.edu | |||||
| Office: | Room 221 Nielsen Hall | |||||
| Bio: | Bryan Bennett is an assistant professor and program coordinator for the Computer Support Specialist Program at Kirkwood. He holds several professional certifications including CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+, CompTIA Security+, CompTIA CySA+, CompTIA Cloud Essentials, CompTIA Security Analytics Professional, CompTIA Secure Infrastructure Specialist, CompTIA IT Operations Specialist, Amazon Web Services Certified Cloud Practitioner, and Microsoft Azure Cloud Fundamentals. In addition, Dr. Bennett has received an A.A.S. (Computer Support Specialist) as well as a LAN Management Certificate and PC Technician Diploma from Kirkwood Community College. Dr. Bennett also serves as Administrator for Kirkwood’s NetlabVE platform. Prior to becoming a faculty member in 2016, Dr. Bennett spent 18 years on the faculty at the University of Northern Iowa where he taught courses for the School of Music. During this time, he was also a member of varied faculty chamber ensembles and several regional orchestras. Dr. Bennett holds a B.A. and M.M. from the University of Northern Iowa and a D.M.A. from the University of Iowa. Bryan joined the DEI Fellows because he is interested in finding ways to better incorporate DEI practices into the IT programs at Kirkwood. | |||||
| Erica Bernard | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title: | Instructor, Nursing | |||||
| Phone: | 319-398-5899, Ext. 5508 | |||||
| Email: | erica.bernard@kirkwood.edu | |||||
| Office: | 2172M Linn Hall | |||||
| Bio: | Erica Bernard MSN, RN is a Kirkwood Community College nursing graduate. Erica later received her Bachelor of Science in nursing from the University Iowa and a masters of nursing education from Mount Mercy University. She has been a nurse for over 15 years and joined the Kirkwood Nursing faculty in 2020. She teaches first semester student nurses the foundations of nursing. Erica applied to be a DEI fellow to foster belonging in all students at Kirkwood. | |||||
| Laura Green | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title: | Program Director and Associate Professor, Occupational Therapy Assistant Program | |||||
| Phone: | 319-398-4941 | |||||
| Email: | laura.green@kirkwood.edu | |||||
| Office: | Room 508 Linn County Regional Center | |||||
| Bio: | Laura Green is an instructor and the program director of the Occupational Therapy Assistant Program at Kirkwood. Laura has a bachelor’s degree in biology, a minor in psychology, and a master’s degree in cccupational therapy from St. Ambrose University. Laura’s interest in equity and inclusion began as a student in occupational therapy school and has continued into her work as a practitioner and academician. Laura joined the DEI fellows to continue building knowledge and practices around inclusive and equitable learning environments. | |||||
| Curtis Mitchell | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title: | Associate Professor, Developmental Math | |||||
| Phone: | 319-398-7745 | |||||
| Email: | curtis.mitchell@kirkwood.edu | |||||
| Office: | 1172 Linn Hall | |||||
| Bio: | My name is Curtis Mitchell (they/them pronouns), and I am an Associate Professor and Math Development Director in the Math/Science department. I started at Kirkwood in 2009, which is hard to believe! I enjoy the opportunity to help students who have struggled in math realize that they can in fact be successful, as well as mentoring adjuncts. I have long been interested in equity and social justice, and have served on the Equity Committee for my professional organization for several years. I applied to be a DEI Fellow because I have a passion for equity work and the belief that I still have a great deal to learn. | |||||
| Jed Peterson | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title: | Professor, History | |||||
| Phone: | 319-398-5899 x5920 | |||||
| Email: | jed.peterson@kirkwood.edu | |||||
| Office: | Room 1047 Cedar Hall | |||||
| Bio: | Jed Q. Peterson is a professor of history. He started teaching part-time at Kirkwood in 2000, became a full-time faculty member in the Distance Learning department in 2003, and recently made the move to the Social Sciences department. He teaches the U.S. history survey courses and the "West and the World" series on campus, off-campus, and online. Born and raised in Ames, Jed received his bachelor’s degree in history from Iowa State University before earning master's degrees in history from both the University of Northern Iowa and the University of Iowa. Jed is on the school board at College Community School District, on numerous boards in the community, speaks Portuguese, juggles, and between him and his wife have twelve children. He has been a lifelong advocate of diversity, equity and inclusion, and has dedicated much of his career to studying historically marginalized groups. Jed applied to be a DEI fellow to give him the tools and the platform to further his fierce advocacy for equity in education and his dedication to creating a robust curriculum at Kirkwood that reflects our diverse population. | |||||
| Tim Robbins | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title: | Adjunct - Guided Self-Study | |||||
| Email: | tim.robbins@kirkwood.edu | |||||
| Bio: | Tim Robbins is a full time Instructor of English, teaching courses in first-year composition and literary studies at Kirkwood’s campus in Cedar Rapids. A first-generation college student, Tim received his Bachelor’s degree in English from the City University of New York-Hunter College before earning his M.A. and Ph.D. in English from the University of Iowa. His scholarship is focused in the field of Open Pedagogy, particularly around the development of Open Educational Resources (OER). A longtime champion of “the little guy,” Tim applied to be a DEI fellow to learn how to best advance Kirkwood’s open access mission. | |||||
| Dawn Wood | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title: | Dean, Global Learning / Distance Learning | |||||
| Phone: | 319-398-5443 | |||||
| Email: | dawn.wood@kirkwood.edu | |||||
| Office: | 1154 Linn Hall | |||||
| Bio: | Dawn holds a PhD in Higher Education Internationalization, a M.A. in Intercultural Management, as well as a B.A. in Psychology and Business Administration. Dawn is committed to international education and enjoys helping students experience the world and its diversity. She has traveled and visited many countries and recognizes the value of learning about other cultures. | |||||
DEI Fellows Work Plan and Committee Opportunities
Lead:
Curtis Mitchell
Description
Maintains and updates inclusive syllabus resources; recommends changes to academic policies and procedures to support people from marginalized groups; and works to ensure that decision- and policy-making incorporate an equity lens.
Activity Examples
- Inclusive Syllabus
- Academic Policies review for DEI lens
Leads:
Dawn Wood, Bryan Bennett
Description
Promotes and communicates out the work of the DEI Faculty Fellows. The committee connects with the campus equity team and other departments on campus to promote inclusive teaching and learning. We seek to include and involve everyone in DEI work and opportunities.
Activity Examples
- Web page
- Engage ACUE participants
- Have You Heard Messages
Leads:
Jed Peterson, Erica Bernard
Description
Fosters collaborative relationships with community partners, harnessing our collective strengths and resources in order to address local and regional needs through a variety of programs and activities that maximize positive outcomes for our students and our community.
Activity Examples
- Events like Black Male Summit
- Native American Initiative
- Partner with Olive Harvey College in Chicago for best practices
Lead:
Laura Green
Description
Creates and evaluates strategies for serving our diverse student body. Members may participate in projects like assessing grade distributions, facilitating student focus groups, and designing instructor self-assessments for equity and inclusion.
Activity Examples
- Pilot Grade Distribution project
- Caring Campus Initiative ideas
- Design instructor self-assessment tools
- Student focus groups
Lead:
Tim Robbins
Description
Coordinates the institution’s equity-, inclusion-, and diversity- related professional development offerings for faculty, staff, and students. Members may contribute via courses, workshops, reading circles, self-guided learning, and open-access resources
Activity Examples
- Deliver workshops, book clubs, etc.
- Identify topics for workshops and other PD
Lead:
Jed Peterson
Description
Ensures current courses and programs connect with and support the diverse experiences and needs of our students, community, transfer institutions and local/regional employers by actively working to identify, develop and deliver new offerings and improve existing curriculum to address our evolving needs.
Activity Examples
- Review Diversity course requirement
- African-American courses