On this page, I’d like to highlight a few things that were particularly meaningful to me during my professional career. The unifying theme of my research is: (Language) Learning Spaces. Those spaces can be physical, virtual, hybrid, or social. All of them are undergoing immense changes as technology rapidly advances and new forms and expectations of learning and teaching emerge.

My first permanent position at Pomona College allowed me to develop my expertise in language learning and technology, as well as physical language learning space design. I am forever thankful for these opportunities and the trust that my colleagues at Pomona gave me. Giving the keynote at the Ranacles conference at the Sorbonne in Paris was definitely a highlight, as were the other keynotes and plenaries I have given over the years.

Publishing is another area that is both very meaningful, and very difficult. Certainly, there’s the publications list that academics generate. But what I find more meaningful than that list (easily said after receiving tenure…) is when someone contacts me after having read something I had written (or spoken) about. That’s because it shows me that someone is actually reading those texts and is finding something meaningful and useful enough about it to sit down and contact me.

Consulting for other colleges has been profoundly meaningful as well. I learned so much as the outsider about how colleges and universities function and how diverse the voices on their campuses are. It’s been satisfying to see programs change and buildings or rooms being designed, re-designed, or built, and to have been a part and a guide in that process.

I received my MA and PhD (technically referred to as Dr. phil.) degrees from the Universität Regensburg in Germany. My education has also been influenced by study abroad programs in England, the U.S. (high school year in CA; college year at Wesleyan University), and Poland. During my early career I worked at the International Studies Office at the Universität Regensburg in Germany, the Kentucky Institute for International Studies, and as an adjunct professor at Murray State University. After that, I served as an Instructor and later Assistant Professor of German and Manager of the Foreign Language Resource Center at Pomona College for four years (2005-2009). From 2009-2018, I was an assistant professor and later a tenured associate professor of Modern Languages and Literatures and Director of the Language Learning Center at Rhodes College in Memphis, TN. Currently I am the Director of the Center for Language Teaching Advancement (CeLTA) and associate professor in the Department of Linguistics, Languages, and Cultures at Michigan State University.

You can find an extensive list of past projects, publications, and accomplishments in my CV.