Deans holds a Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and previously taught at Haverford College, where he was director of college writing, and Kansas State University, where he was associate director of the expository writing program. His s pecialties include writing across the curriculum, rhetoric, composition, service-learning, and Shakespeare.

A reformed guidance counselor, Steve has been advising students in some capacity for close to 25 years.  He used his B.S. in Psychology from Springfield College and Masters of Education in guidance and counseling from Boston University to begin his career in education as a guidance counselor in a public high school in Massachusetts.  He made the jump to higher education as a career counselor at Brandeis University which eventually led to a position as an academic advisor at UConn.  At UConn Steve completed his Ph.D. in Higher Education and Administration.

Jennifer received her Ph.D. in Counseling and Human Development and Student Affairs Administration from the University of Georgia. Originally from Arkansas, Dr. Lease Butts attended the University of Arkansas where she earned a BA in History with Honors as well as a M.Ed. in Higher Education. Dr. Lease Butts has worked in academic affairs with Honors Programs and high-ability students for over seven years. In addition, she has spent time in many different functional areas of Student Affairs, including residential life, judicial affairs, student activities, and orientation, as well as working for Upward Bound. Her research interests include psychosocial and cognitive development of college students, Honors students and Honors programs, assessment and evaluation, and graduate student preparation in student affairs.

McCaffrey works with professors from numerous schools and disciplines at the university with the purpose of improving teaching and learning.  These consultations include full course designs and redesigns, relevant implementation of technology, teaching observations, curriculum alignment, and more.  In addition, Desmond provides regular professional development workshops for faculty on a number of topics dealing with pedagogy and teaches classes on developing courses for blended and online environments. Desmond's 9 years of experience in secondary level classrooms combined with his coursework in educational theory and leadership allow him to bring a blend of theory and practice to bear on any educational situation.  

Sherri Olson received a B.A. in History and French and an M.A. in History at Indiana University, and a Ph.D. from the Centre for Medieval Studies, at the University of Toronto. She is the author of A Chronicle of All That Happens: Voices From the Village Court in Medieval England published by the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies (Toronto, 1996). She has also written several articles and given numerous papers that use local court records to explore the history of self-government in the English village from the late 13th to the mid-15th centuries.

Roby holds a Ph.D. from MIT and is a tenured professor in Mathematics here at UConn. Roby was previously a math professor at California State University where he ran a large professional development program in math for K-12 teachers. Roby is a passionate folkdancer and is especially well versed in Balkan line dances, improvisational Hungarian dances, and English & American set dances, which he calls regularly. He is teaching a seminar on English Country dancing in the fall.

Brenda Shaw graduated from Earlham College with majors in Chemistry and Biology, and earned her Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Illinois. She has been teaching at UConn for 25 years. Brenda Shaw's current
assignment in the Office of First Year Programs includes teaching a support class for students taking a one-semester general chemistry course. She is able to blend her expertise in Chemistry with her strong interest in the
individual learning process to support students in reaching their learning goals.

Kevin has worked in higher education for 25 years as a Director of Counseling, counselor, workshop presenter, and instructor. He earned an MS in School Psychology and Counseling from Southern Connecticut University in 1980.   Using a learning-oriented coaching approach, Kevin addresses the academic, social and personal concerns of those with whom he works. Areas of expertise include academic, personal, organizational, athletic, and creative performance improvement, identification and growth of the Self, major and career choices, developmental and transition tasks, personal, social, and relationship issues, MBTI, Archetypes, Choice Theory, Flow, Flex Talk, FIRO-B, Learning Communities, and Emotional Intelligence.

Williams received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan Center for the Study of Higher and Post-Secondary Education (CSHPE) with a focus in Organizational Behavior and Management. As the Assistant Vice-Provost for Multicultural & International Affairs, Dr. Williams is responsible for implementing and developing programs designed to increase diversity and tolerance throughout the University of Connecticut community. His scholarly interests are in the areas of organizational change and management, diversity in higher education, and ethnic and racial identity.

Williams earned her AB from Gordon College in Wenham, MA, her masters in Counseling from Salem State College (MA), and her doctorate in College Student Personnel Administration from the University of Maryland College Park. Lee has worked in higher education since 1987, serving in a variety of roles and areas including student activities, residence life, counseling, admissions and orientation. Much of her work has revolved around building effective partnerships with faculty and academic affairs, including her work in the learning communities movement. Lee has been a resource faculty member with the National Learning Communities Project, and has served as a consultant on numerous campuses helping them develop and improve their learning communities initiatives. She is a nationally-recognized speaker and writer on learning communities, student culture and trends in higher education.