A learner and a Guide
From 2024-2025 Senior Leadership Academy I participated in the American AcademyAcademic Leadership Institute (AALI) and Council on Independent Colleges (CIC) . This program has been extremely beneficial to me due to the perspective it has provided on the current state of academic leadership as well as the connections I’ve made with other academic leaders. My group project is called “From Transaction to Transformation: Revitalizing Liberal Arts Learning in the Age of AI.”
In 2023, I organized the “Bringing more inclusive Pedagogy to the Art and Art History Classroom” panel discussion at the College Art Association and we hosted a webinar of the session the following month. We covered topics related to the post-pandemic classroom, the reality that inclusion still has the potential to exclude, the challenge presented by the fact that the ways we learned are not resonating with today’s students, and the opportunity presented by studying art and art history as a challenge to oppressive systems. My biggest takeaway from this session is that learning needs to be (and continue to become) more interactive and embodied to engage all learners.
From 2022-23 I led Guilford’s team in the AAC&U ePortfolio Institute. We investigated best practices in ePortfolio development, integrated ePortfolios into our general education, created a Folio Studio, and developed an Action Plan for ePortfolio Implementation. As part of our faculty development workshops on reflection, Helen Chen, research scientist in Stanford’s Designing Education lab, introduced our faculty to Folio Thinking and the beneficial outcomes of ePortfolios. We also piloted a professional ePortfolio workshop with instructional designer Amy Cicchino.
In 2021, I participated in the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) panel, “Framing Student Success as education that helps students discern their purpose and achieve the good life.” This session presented specific programs at Beloit and Guilford College designed to prepare students through experiential learning, development of metacognitive life skills, and strategic support. Colleagues from HEDS (Higher Education Data Consortium) shared the results of a study that showed students to be less concerned with the link between their major or course of study and their vision of “success” than people at most institutions assume. They determined that what students considered more holistic elements to be important in this vision, such as working towards enjoyable and fulfilling work, making a positive impact on the world, balancing work/friends/family, and freedom from financial stress. This realization is helpful in that it allows our institutions to focus on the work at hand rather than becoming formulaic and reactionary.
I have led the annual advising workshops for Guilford College faculty since 2019; created instructional workshops for our first-year seminar faculty from 2020-2022; coordinated a collaborative teaching working group for our Junior Seminar instructors from 2022-2024; and piloted professional e-Portfolio development training in 2023.
Dedication to Pedagogy
While I was still working at the University of Texas at Arlington, my dedication to pedagogy led me to join a team that co-authored the visual arts textbook, Gateways to Art: Understanding the Visual Arts. Working collaboratively on this book and its ancillary materials for almost 19 years has transformed me as an educator, leader, and person. Even in the competitive marketplace, or perhaps more pertinently, because of it, making complex ideas accessible remains a priority for us. Sometimes the process requires compromise, but as my co-authors and I began work on the 5th edition last summer, we renewed our commitment to the student-centered vision that has made Gateways the best-selling art appreciation textbook. Within our exploration of the multifaceted meanings to be found in artworks with today’s learners (and teachers) in mind, we will continue the practice of diverse coverage for which our book is lauded. We are also foregrounding the practical applications for learning about art and visual culture, such as accountability, observation, research/analysis, and synthesis of multivalent information. In every new edition, I am personally committed to responding to editors’ comments with solutions that exceed expectations wherever possible, constantly striving to bring the learning to the level it deserves.
Program Design & Development
When I became an associate academic dean in 2017, my love and penchant for advising led to an assignment that became my central role for the subsequent 5 years: to design, build, and administer a professional advising office, then called Guided Discovery. At the core were 1:1 relationships, a founding premise that each student would have a dedicated, “go-to” person. In the first two years, we hired a team of 12 advisors and created a robust infrastructure to supplement the longstanding faculty advising arrangement at Guilford. Since that time, the office has changed names and CAPE (Career, Academic, and Personal Exploration) now has a smaller staff that continues to build on the integrated, appreciative advising model we created.
Overseeing the Guided Discovery program was so meaningful to me due to the office’s commitment to student development. Based on faculty, staff, and student feedback as well as available resources at the College, we have adjusted the structure over time to respond to changing needs. Unfortunately, many of the changes we have implemented have resulted from constrained resources rather than strategic interventions. Still, students consistently report that their one-on-one relationships with dedicated advocates are affirming, impactful, and enduring. These perspectives confirm my practice of prioritizing relationships and connections in all of my staffing, infrastructure, and programmatic decisions.
Infrastructure, Curriculum, and Policy Development
In my role as Associate Academic Dean at Guilford College, I have served a prominent role in the implementation of the 2019 curriculum, including coordination of the Integrative Experience general education elements and making adjustments resulting from numerous calendar changes since 2017. I was the point person for Guilford’s leadership implementation team for EAB’s Navigate as the student success platform (2017-2024) and my team has since transitioned the College to Stellic.
On a day-to-day basis I work closely with the Registrar’s Office to enforce academic policies, schedule courses, coordinate course registration, review course substitutions, and facilitate students’ progress towards degree completion. Every semester I am responsible for adjudicating the college’s honor code and grade appeal cases as well as processing petitions for early participation in commencement. As an administrative representative on the campus assessment and retention committees I’ve regularly collected and analyzed data about student success, challenges, and attrition to plan interventions and improve student success.
I have been involved with curriculum development and oversight as the Provost Office representative on Curriculum Committee since 2023. In addition, I have directed regular updates to the art major and contributed to the development of a new interdisciplinary Experience Design major (2016).
Courses Taught
See the dropdown for some sample courses.
M. Kathryn Shields, Ph.D. 