Innovative/Experiential Pedagogies Faculty Fellows 2022 – 2024

Dr. Michael B. Burns

Assistant Professor

Department of Biology

Loyola University Chicago

Michael Burns is an Assistant Professor in the Biology Department at Loyola University Chicago. His biomedical research focuses on understanding interactions between bacteria and human cancers, using large sequencing datasets and advanced computational approaches. He also works extensively on interdisciplinary teaching and community outreach projects to foster good-faith dialogue between diverse groups and to promote science outreach within faith communities. As an Innovative Experiential Pedagogy Fellow within Loyola’s Center for Experiential Learning, Teaching, and Scholarship (CELTS), his teaching and research mentorship relies on evidence-based practices with the goal of providing students with real-world content and experiences. He is the 2023 recipient of the Langerbeck Award for Undergraduate Research Mentoring, and his interdisciplinary teaching is funded by the NEH.

Sandra Kaufmann
Director of Dance
Loyola University Chicago

SANDRA KAUFMANN serves as the founding director of the Dance program at Loyola University Chicago. She performed widely with the Martha Graham Dance Company among others. Ms. Kaufmann choreographs for concert dance, musical theatre productions, aerial dance, opera, protest dances, video and site-specific works.  She developed a major interdisciplinary performance based on Superstring theory in physics. Sandra’s activism through dance culminated in an invitation from the Library of Congress in Washington DC to curate and perform a distinctive dance program “The Legacy of the New Dance Group”, artists who dedicated themselves to social advocacy through performance. At Loyola University Chicago, Sandra has been awarded The Sujack Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching, The Faculty Member of the Year Award and serves as an assistant director for the Arts and Neuroscience.

Dr. Stacy Neier Beran

Senior Ignatian Lecturer

Quinlan School of Business

Loyola University Chicago

Dr. Stacy Neier Beran, PhD joined the Department of Marketing faculty at Loyola University Chicago in 2008. Her courses focus on community-based experiential projects that connect students, clients, and consumers to problem-solve through design, research, and consulting. She is passionate about amplifying design leadership in business education, helping undergraduate students to discover design principles as early as possible in their careers. She actively serves on advisory boards for Chicago Fair Trade and Rogers Park Business Alliance.

Joseph Vukov, PhD

Associate Professor of Philosophy

Associate Director, The Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage

Loyola University Chicago

Joseph Vukov is an Associate Professor of Philosophy and the Associate Director of the Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage at Loyola University Chicago. He is the author of Navigating Faith and Science (2022) and The Perils of Perfection (2023). Together with Michael Burns, he is currently PI on the NEH-funded project Humanizing STEM Education: Navigating Future Challenges through Integrated Instruction.