Teaching Controversial Topics: Proven ACUE Practices for Your Faculty
Empower your faculty to establish a culture of constructive conversations, develop students’ media literacy, and build students’ critical thinking skills.
Join our panel of higher ed experts to discuss the challenges and opportunities in teaching controversial concepts and topics. Explore effective practices that help your faculty and students stay ahead of the curve and thrive in the classroom.
The natural Venn diagram of content that spans Media Literacy, Constructive Conversations, and Critical Thinking.
Strategies to teach students how to navigate a media-saturated world, use effective problem-solving and creativity to support rational decision-making, and engage in constructive conversation to spark learning and personal growth.
Three new Quick Study courses in the ACUE Learning Lab that help faculty gain confidence and competency in the topics explored in this webinar.
Teresa A. Nance, PhD
Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion & Chief Diversity Officer at Villanova University
Bio: Teresa A. Nance, PhD
Teresa Nance, PhD currently serves as the Vice Presidentfor Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and Chief Diversity Officer and as a Professor of Communication. Inthis role, she is leading the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
Her career spans more than four decades, during which time she has served as an administrator, teacher, scholar, activist and ‘support system’ for students, faculty, and staff at the University. In 2018, The National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education recognized Dr. Nance with the Frank W. Hale, Jr. Distinguished Service Award – an honor given to individuals who have “contributed substantially to diversity and inclusive excellence in higher education.”
Dr. Nance was the first Black tenure-track faculty member in the Department of Communication at Villanova, where she established an African American rhetoric course and created the highly sought-after multicultural leadership course. As a researcher, Dr. Nance has investigated the perceptions and stages of interracial relationship development, diversity and inclusion, and intergroup dialogue. She was the founding Assistant Vice President for the Center for Multicultural Affairs. In 2015—to further elevate the University’s commitment to diversity and inclusion—Villanova created the Office of Diversity and Inclusion making Dr. Nance its founding director and naming her named Associate Vice Provost of Diversity and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer.
Led by Dr. Nance, the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ODEI) supports Villanova’s continuing efforts to create a welcoming and diverse community at all levels, including students, faculty, administrators, and staff. The office works with academic, administrative, and other units of the University to develop strategies aimed at fostering a Villanova community where individual differences are acknowledged and appreciated. Most recently Dr. Nance led the Aequitas Task Force on Race at the University. The Task Force which involved over 100 Villanovans examined all aspects of university life as a means of striving toward assuring equity and justice for all.
Dr. Nance received a Bachelor and Master’s degree from Emerson College in Boston and a Ph.D. from Temple University in Philadelphia. Terry currently lives in Center City Philadelphiawith her husband Kermit Moore, a retired Communication professor. They have two wonderful grown sons named Christian and Jesse.
John M. and Elizabeth W. Musser Professor of Religious Studies, Emeritus at Carleton College
Bio: Louis Newman, PhD
Louis Newman, PhD is the author most recently of Thinking Critically in College: The Essential Handbook for Student Success (Radius Book Group, 2023). From 2016 - 2022 he served as the Dean of Academic Advising and Associate Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education at Stanford University. From 1983 - 2016 he was on the faculty of Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, where is is now the John M. and Elizabeth W. Musser Professor of Religious Studies, emeritus. During his tenure at Carleton he also served as the Humphrey Doermann Professor of Liberal Learning and the Director of the Perlman Center for Learning and Teaching (2010-13) and as Associate Dean of the College and Director of Advising at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota (2013-16).
Born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota, he received his B.A. in philosophy and Hebrew and his M.A. in philosophy from the University of Minnesota. He received his Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Brown University in 1983. He had a long career as a widely respected teacher and mentor at Carleton from 1983-2016.
One of the country’s leading scholars of Jewish ethics, he is the author of several books: Repentance: the Meaning and Practice of Teshuvah (Jewish Lights 2010), Past Imperatives: Studies in the History and Theory of Jewish Ethics (SUNY Press, 1998) and An Introduction to Jewish Ethics (Prentice Hall, 2005). He also co-edited, with Elliot Dorff, two anthologies, Contemporary Jewish Ethics and Morality (Oxford University Press, 1995) and Contemporary Jewish Theology (Oxford University Press, 1999), as well as three volumes in the Jewish Choices, Jewish Voices series (Jewish Publication Society, 2008/09) that address contemporary moral issues from a range of Jewish perspectives.
He has been a member of several professional organizations, including the American Academy of Religion, Association for Jewish Studies, and Academy for Jewish Philosophy. He was the first president of the Society of Jewish Ethics, an organization he helped found. He has also been actively involved in the educational programs of several community organizations. He serves on the International Council of the New Israel Fund and is currently co-chair of its San Francisco Regional Council. He served as president of the board of directors of the St. Paul Talmud Torah from 1994-96, and as president of the board of Beth Jacob Congregation (Conservative) from 2009-11.
He works as a college coach, providing personalized academic advising to college students. In addition, he consults on academic advising, as well as issues of learning and teaching in higher education. A faculty member for over thirty years, he brings a wealth of experience to discussions of pedagogy, curricular innovation, institutional change and faculty development.
He also works as an ethics coach for individuals and organizations. In this capacity, he provides guidance on how to address ethical issues and to foster moral development.
Felice Nudelman is the president of Net Edge Training, LLC, a higher education consulting firm.
She also serves on the boards for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, Planned Parenthood of Southwest Ohio, and CN World Foundation.
Previously, Nudelman served as the associate vice president of Academic Innovation and Transformation at AASCU. She originally came to AASCU in January 2019 as the executive director of the American Democracy Project (ADP), which supports member campuses in programming to encourage students to be informed, engaged citizens for our democracy.
Prior to assuming her role at AASCU, Nudelman served most recently as the Executive Vice President of the Weiss Institute/ Say Yes to Education. The Institute brings together the best thinking, latest research and tested strategies for the benefit of communities seeking to make it possible for all young people to earn a college degree or other postsecondary credential.
Before her work at the Weiss Institute, she served as the Chancellor of Antioch University in Yellow Springs, OH, from 2012 to 2017 – a period in which the university built a new campus in Seattle and added an array of online programs. She subsequently served Antioch as chief global officer for innovation & partnerships.
She has spent the majority of her career in education, both on college campuses and for 12 years with The New York Times Company. In her final role there, she served as Executive Director of Education. In this capacity, Nudelman was responsible for developing and overseeing education initiatives. One of her key roles was developing The New York Times Knowledge Network, a new business model in e-Learning that included collaboration with colleges and universities to create and deliver online courses and certificates, including courses created and taught by New York Times journalists. In 2010 she led the Times Company’s collaboration with the Texas Education Agency to launch Project Share, a statewide initiative for 400,000 teachers and four million K-12 students.
Before joining The Times, Nudelman served as executive director for Pace University’s School of Education, where she was responsible for internal and external relations, new program development, and the design and implementation of continuing education program. Previously, Nudelman spent nearly a decade in academic affairs at Bloomfield College, where she served in several capacities including associate dean of academic affairs.
