Kispert Appointed Webster University Teaching and Innovation Fellow
October 27, 2022
Assistant Professor Shannon Kispert of Webster University’s Department of Biological Sciences has been appointed Teaching and Learning Innovation Fellow by the Faculty Development Center (FDC) for academic year 2022-2023.
Her work will center largely on the faculty role of creating student-faculty connections for belongingness and inclusion, a focus she aims to achieve by facilitating Reflective Teaching Community meetings and organizing other professional development opportunities related to this important work.
“I am honored to serve in this role,” Kispert said of the appointment. “Creating strong
connections in the classroom is at the center of my teaching philosophy, and I am
excited to further develop this work with Webster stakeholders in meaningful spaces,
including the upcoming Reflective Teaching Community sessions.”
Kispert said her passions include teaching anatomy and physiology, connecting with students, and making science accessible and fun. She expressed a keen interest in the scholarship of teaching and learning with a particular focus on engagement and belonging in the science classroom.
Kispert is the recipient of the 2022 Human Anatomy and Physiology Society Teaching and Mentoring Award. Her research interests include the investigation of cigarette smoking and e-cigarettes on breast and bladder cancer development, including working with students to study phospholipase-A2 pathways and their dysregulation in response to nicotine and chemical exposure.
She is the first FDC fellow to hold the Teaching and Learning Innovation title, a new role stemming from the successful President’s Faculty Fellow program. Since 2013, the program has allowed faculty members to contribute to the leadership of Webster's key strategic efforts by partnering with Academic Affairs support units.
As part of her fellowship, Kispert will provide counsel toward the transformation of the FDC’s fellowship model with the goal of expanding faculty leadership of FDC activities.