For the Record, April 24, 2026

For the Record provides information about recent professional activities and honors of University of Delaware faculty, staff, students and alumni.

Recent presentations, publications, honors and appointments include the following:

Presentations

Meghan McInnis-Dominguez, associate professor of Spanish, and Matthew Trevett-Smith, director of the Center for Teaching and Assessment of Learning, presented "From Governance to Groundwork: Implementing a Faculty-Driven Teaching Quality Framework at a Research University" in a virtual summit hosted by the NSF funded Transforming Higher Education - Multidimensional Evaluation of Teaching in collaboration with and the support of the Association of American Universities and the Bay View Alliance on April 10, 2026.

Suzanne L. Burton, professor of music education in the School of Music and director of the Partnership for Arts and Culture within UD's Community Engagement Initiative, presented on engaged scholarship and its role in the promotion and tenure process as part of the College Music Society's Cultivating Academic Leadership series.

Dominique Baker, associate professor in the College of Education and Human Development's (CEHD) School of Education and the Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration, participated in a panel hosted by New America titled "The Fifth Pillar: Where Higher Ed Goes From Here" on April 21, 2026. The panel examined issues related to equity and access within a reimagined higher education system. Baker's research in educational policy focuses on student financial aid, admissions policies and other policies related to inclusive and equitable campus climates in higher education.

Stephanie Smith Budhai, associate professor in CEHD's School of Education, delivered several keynote addresses and an author talk in March and April. Budhai specializes in technology, education and civic engagement across K-16 settings. She gave an author talk in relation to her new book, Critical AI in K-12 Classrooms: A Practical Guide for Cultivating Justice and Joy, on March 19, 2026, at Loyola University in Maryland. She delivered the keynote address, titled "Critical AI in Classrooms and Communities: Teaching Towards Justice in an AI-Enabled World," on March 27, 2026, at Roberts Wesleyan University's AI Literacy Day. She will also deliver a keynote address on April 28, 2026, at Rowan University's 2026 Education Summit.

Publications

Michelle DePhillips, assistant professor of nursing, coauthored a chapter in a book titled Taking Action: Top 10 Priorities for Nurses to Protect Health in a Changing Climate. DePhillips contributed to Chapter 10, "Transforming Nursing Education," which focuses on preparing future nurses to address the health impacts of climate change. Published by Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing and released on April 22, the book translates emerging science into practical strategies for nurses responding to climate-driven public health challenges. DePhillips plans to integrate concepts into her UD nursing course, "Public and Global Health."

Heinz-Uwe Haus, professor emeritus in the Department of Theatre and Dance, published under his pseudonym Jean Bodin, two poems - Thespis and For M.- in the Cultural Review Gracious Light (An XXXI/Nr. 2, New York). Haus has been publishing his literary and visual works under pseudonym since his youth. His poems appear regularly in magazines in the United States, Greece and Germany. To date, he has released three poetry collections in English, three in German and one in Chinese. An anthology in Romanian, from which the two poems presented in Gracious Light are taken, includes illustrations by the author and will be released this summer by Lulu Edition.

Honors

Lia McNulty, a second-year doctoral student in the health behavior science and promotion program, was awarded the Raymond A. Weiss Research Endowment Graduate Student Research Grant from the American College of Sports Medicine. The $5,000 award will support McNulty's dissertation research on developing a user-centered mobile health intervention to promote physical activity and social engagement among adolescents and young adults on the autism spectrum. The intervention aims to address disparities in physical and social health outcomes experienced by this population.

Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, Unidel H. Rodney Sharp Chair and professor in CEHD's School of Education, received the 2026 Learning and the Brain Award for transforming education through the science of learning. She received the award at the Learning and the Brain Conference in New York City in April 2026. Golinkoff specializes in the learning sciences, with research on language development, the benefits of play and preschoolers' early spatial knowledge, among other topics.

Amanda Jansen, Distinguished Professor in Teacher Education in CEHD's School of Education, will receive the 2026 G. Cuthbert Webber Award from UD's Department of Mathematical Sciences. The biannual award is presented to a member of the University community or a mathematics educator in the state of Delaware for distinguished service in advancing mathematics education. Jansen specializes in mathematics education with a focus on students' engagement in math classrooms and teacher learning.

Nancy C. Jordan, Dean Family Endowed Chair and professor in CEHD's School of Education, was named UD's recipient of the Conference USA 2026 Faculty Achievement Award. The awards program recognizes exceptional contributions in teaching, research and service. Jordan specializes in the learning sciences with a focus on how children learn mathematics.

UD's Principal Preparation Program, housed in CEHD's School Success Center, received the 2026 Superstar in Education and Training Award from the Delaware Chamber of Commerce. The program will be recognized during the chamber's Navigating Delaware Pathways: An Education and Workforce Development Summit on April 28, 2026.

Appointments

Dominique Baker, associate professor in CEHD's School of Education and the Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration, was appointed to the Alliance for HIgher Education's Alliance Fellowship Program as a member of its inaugural cohort. The 12-month fellowship brings together a diverse group of experts to expand research, connect practice and policy and strengthen the connection and long-term relationship between the nation's higher education and democracy sectors. Baker's research in educational policy focuses on student financial aid, admissions policies and other policies related to inclusive and equitable campus climates in higher education.

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