Faculty and Staff Highlights: Chace, Gillies, Breault and Belo

April 21, 2026

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Webster University faculty and staff highlights offer a roundup of recent Webster faculty and staff activity and achievements.

Adelia Chace

ESL Professor Adelia Chace presented at the 2026 Midwest Association for Language Learning Technology (MWALLT) annual conference, a regional technology and language learning conference hosted across Indiana University Bloomington, Northwestern University and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Chace's presentation, "Finishing Strong: End-of-Semester Activities that Bridge Learning and Reflection," demonstrated how instructors can design purposeful activities that honor student progress while building bridges to lifelong engagement. Chace shared strategic reflection activities that can be adopted easily across disciplines, proficiency levels and instructional formats. Thoughtfully planned closure activities help students retain their learning, transition forward and reflect on relationships they have formed - demonstrating that course objectives are tools they can apply long after the semester ends.

Bruce Gillies, PhD

Bruce Gillies, PhD, Professor in the George Herbert Walker School of Business & Technology, recently published a paper and presented the findings alongside his colleague Susan Murphy. The paper, titled "Social Loafing in Virtual Teams: The Persistence of Demographics Factors," was shared at the 33^rd annual ASBBS conference on March 13, 2026, in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Mike Breault

After three years of development, Associate Professor of Media Arts Mike Breault is publishing "Rubby Ducky Rampage!," an original board game he created. The game has been playtested in classes, board game conventions and game design meetups. Nearly a dozen Webster faculty and students listed in the credits as playtesters. The game is currently being manufactured in China and will premiere on Kickstarter on May 5 in a month-long crowdfunding campaign, after which it will be available for purchase.

Dani Belo, PhD

Dani Belo, PhD, Assistant Professor of Security and International Relations and Director of International Relations and Security Studies, appeared as an expert witness before the Senate of Canada Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade in February 2026. The discussion focused on Russia's foreign policy, China-Russia relations and prospects of conflict resolution in Ukraine. Belo's expertise addressed how the conflict in Ukraine reflects fundamentally incompatible objectives and enduring competition that make durable resolution unlikely, and how Canada can maximize its impact through key strategic investments.