19 November 2014

20 November 2014

21 November 2014

Prof George Kuh

Prof William Grabe & Prof Fredricka Stoller

Prof Melanie Walker

Prof George Kuh
Leading expert in institutional improvement, student engagement, assessment strategies, and campus cultures

Plenary title: What works for promoting student success: Lessons from the field

Short biogaphy:

George Kuh is Adjunct Research Professor of Education Policy at the University of Illinois and Chancellor's Professor of Higher Education Emeritus at Indiana University (IU). George founded IU’s Center for Postsecondary Research and the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and related instruments for law students, beginning college students, and faculty. He directs the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA) and founded the Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP), the first-ever in-depth look at the factors that help or hinder the careers of graduates of arts-intensive training high schools and postsecondary institutions. At Indiana University, he served as chairperson of the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies (1982-84), Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the School of Education (1985-88), and Associate Dean of the Faculties for the Bloomington campus (1997-2000).

George has 375 publications and made several hundred presentations on topics related to institutional improvement, college student engagement, assessment strategies, and campus cultures. His recent books include Student Success in College: Creating Conditions That Matter (2005, 2010), Piecing Together the Student Success Puzzle: Research, Propositions, and Recommendations (2007), High Impact Practices (2008), and Ensuring Quality and Taking High-Impact Practices to Scale (2013). He has been a consultant to more than 350 institutions of higher education and educational agencies in the United States and abroad. A past-president of the Association for the Study of Higher Education, he serves on the Board of Regents at Luther College and the National Leadership Council for the Association of American Colleges and Universities “Liberal Education and America’s Promise” initiative. In 2013, The Chronicle of Higher Education described George as a "towering figure" who "really launched the field of assessment of institutional quality."

His contributions have been recognized with awards from various groups including the American Educational Research Association, Association for Institutional Research, Association for the Study of Higher Education, Council for Adult and Experiential Learning, Council of Independent Colleges, National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA), and National Center on Public Policy in Higher Education. In addition, he received the Robert Zemsky Medal for Innovation in Higher Education from the University of Pennsylvania, Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Iowa, Distinguished Alumni Award and Educational Leadership Award for Teaching from St. Cloud State University, several Teaching Excellence Recognition Awards from Indiana University, and Indiana University’s prestigious Tracy Sonneborn Award for a distinguished record of scholarship and teaching. NASPA named its award for Outstanding Contribution to Literature and Research after him in 2011.

Prof William Grabe & Prof Fredricka Stoller
Leading experts in academic literacy, second language teaching and learning, and reading and writing development

Plenary title: Setting Students Up for Success: Strategic-Reader Training

Short biographies: William Grabe is Regents’ Professor of Applied Linguistics and Vice President for Research at Northern Arizona University.  He is interested in reading, writing, literacy, written discourse analysis, and content based L2 instruction.  He has lectured and given teaching training workshops in over 30 countries around the world.  His most recent books are Teaching and Researching Reading (2^nd ed.) (with F. Stoller, Longman, 2011) and Reading in a Second Language: Moving from theory to practice (Cambridge University Press, 2009). He has also co-authored Theory and Practice of Writing (with R.B. Kaplan; Longman, 1996) and co-edited Directions in Applied Linguistics (Multilingual Matters, 2005).  He is a past President of the American Association for Applied Linguistics (2001-2002).  He received the 2005 Distinguished Scholarship and Service Award from the American Association for Applied Linguistics. 

Fredricka L. Stoller is a Professor of English at Northern Arizona University, where she teaches in the MA-TESL and Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics programs. She is co-author of Teaching and Researching Reading (2^nd ed., 2011, with W. Grabe, Routledge); co-editor of A Handbook for Language Program Administrators (2^nd ed., 2012, with M. A. Christison, Alta Book Center Publishers); and co-author of Write Like a Chemist (2008, with M. Robinson et al., Oxford University Press). Her professional areas of interest include L2 reading, project-based learning, disciplinary writing, content-based instruction, language teaching methodology, and curriculum design. She has trained EFL teachers and language program administrators in over 30 countries around the world.

Prof Melanie Walker
Expert in higher education and social justice, with a particular focus on theorising human capabilities and operationalising human development values in policy and practice

Plenary title: Well-being and Agency in Higher Education: How are diverse students' opportunities to function advanced

Short biography:

Professor Melanie Walker is a graduate of the University of KwaZulu-Natal and the University of Cape Town where she completed her PhD after teaching at disadvantaged secondary schools for a number of years. She joined the University of the Free State in February 2012 as Senior Research Professor of Higher Education and Human Development, based in the Postgraduate School. In 2013 she was appointed as NRF Chair in Higher Education and Human Development. She is also currently Director of Research Training and a senior researcher in the EU-funded Marie Curie EDUWEL project (2010-2014), which includes researchers from eight European countries and 15 early-stage researchers.

Before joining the UFS, she was Professor of Higher Education at the University of Nottingham in the UK where she was Director of the PhD in Higher Education, Director of Postgraduate Students and a Director of Research in the Faculty of Social Sciences. She retains her link to Nottingham as an Honorary Professor. Professor Walker is also Vice President elect of the Human Development and Capability Association (2014-2017) and a fellow of ASSAF. She has delivered numerous international keynotes and seminars, written more than 120 book chapters and refereed journal articles, and authored or edited 13 books, including two highly regarded volumes on doctoral education. Her two most recent books focus on higher education and human development, as well as educating ‘public-good professionals’.

Her extensive editorial experience has included editing roles on Teaching in Higher Education, Educational Action Research, and the Journal of Human Development and Capabilities. In addition, she currently holds editorial board memberships on the Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, Journal of Professional Development, and Power and Education, undertakes refereeing for a number of international journals and book publishers, and referees proposals for various research councils.