For the 2023-2024 academic year, the Office of the Provost welcomes the following individuals who will be serving in one-year appointments as either Special Assistant to the Provost or Provost Fellows. The opportunity to serve in the full-time role of Special Assistant to the Provost was open to any tenured faculty member with administrative experience. The opportunity to serve in the part-time role of Provost Fellow was made available to all tenured faculty members at Illinois State University. The following individuals will be serving in these roles this year:
Dr. Susan Hildebrandt is professor of applied linguistics and Spanish in the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, where she coordinated the language teacher education program from 2009-2019. She was invited to serve as interim chair of the Department of Special Education for three years, followed by a year as interim associate dean for academics in the Mennonite College of Nursing. Her research has until now primarily focused on inclusive language teaching practices and the intersection among PK-12 language teacher education, educational policy, and teacher assessment.
Hildebrandt earned her master’s and Ph.D. from the University of Iowa in teaching and learning. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and spent several years teaching Spanish to middle and high schoolers.
As the Special Assistant to the Provost, Hildebrandt will assist with HLC accreditation efforts, new program development, COACHE and staff success survey results implementation, leadership development programming, and engaging learners in new ways, among other tasks.
Dr. Lea Cline is professor of art history in the Wonsook Kim School of Art. From 2020-22, she was the inaugural Ken Holder Endowed Professor of Art. She is currently the area coordinator for art history and the student program advisor for the U.S. Fulbright Program. Cline is also the co-founder and co-director of the ISU in Italy: Orvieto and Valle Gianni Field School study abroad programs. She represents the Wonsook Kim School of Art on the Academic Senate, where she also serves on the executive committee; for the past two years, she has chaired the academic affairs committee of the senate and helped to usher through a number of academic policy revisions.
Cline earned her doctorate at the University of Texas at Austin in Roman art and architecture in 2013. Cline was a Fulbright scholar to Italy in 2007 and has taught American students in Italy with the University of Georgia, the University of Texas, and Southern Methodist University. Before coming to Illinois State, Cline worked at Yale University Art Gallery (Coins and Medals) and the University of Florida (Art History). Her background in archaeology includes participation in projects at Ostia Antica (near Rome), Monte Polizzo (Sicily), Chersonesos (Crimea), and Oplontis (near Pompeii).
As a Provost Fellow, Cline will focus on inclusive excellence and assist the Office of the Provost with policy analysis.
Dr. Emily Jones is professor of physical education teacher education in the School of Kinesiology and Recreation at Illinois State. She has designed and delivered online and on-campus undergraduate and graduate (M.S. and Ph.D.) level courses for 14 years through professional development for in-service teachers. Jones has worked closely with online course designers and instructional technologists to implement interactive learning tools that facilitate engagement and application of content in fully online courses. These efforts have produced highly engaging learning experiences and enhanced learner outcomes, both of which have enhanced student recruitment and retention efforts. Jones is the founder and project lead of the District 87 Wellness Collaborative, an interdisciplinary research practice partnership, between Illinois State University and District 87 Schools. Her experience in this role has brought together stakeholders from on-campus units with community partners to work collaboratively within an active research-practice partnership. While at Illinois State, she has served as the physical education teacher education program director and sequence coordinator of the fully online master’s in physical education pedagogy program, and on Graduate Council, University Research Council, and Transfer Council.
Jones earned her doctorate at the University of Georgia in kinesiology curriculum and instruction in 2009. She earned her M.A. and B.S. degrees in physical education pedagogy at the University of Northern Iowa.
As a Provost Fellow, Jones will focus on adult learners and online education.
Dr. Roy Magnuson is associate professor of composition and creative technologies at Illinois State. He also coordinates University XR Develop as the co-director of XR at Illinois State. The music of Roy David Magnuson has been performed throughout the United States and Europe at venues such as the World Saxophone Congress, NASA, WASBE, CBDNA, the RED NOTE New Music Festival, and the Robb Composers’ Symposium. He is the creator of the virtual reality composition software solsticeVR and co-creator of the virtual reality conducting pedagogy RibbonsVR: Virtual Reality Assisted Conducting. Magnuson is a member of ASCAP, and his music is recorded on Albany Records, NAXOS, and Tonsehen Records.
Magnuson earned his doctorate in music composition at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2012. He earned a master’s in music composition at Ithaca College and a bachelor’s in music theory/composition at Illinois State.
As a Provost Fellow, Magnuson will focus on disruptive technologies such as AI, virtual reality, augmented reality, and spatial computing.
Dr. Michael Mulvaney is professor in the recreation and park administration program within the School of Kinesiology and Recreation. Mulvaney has more than 20 years of experience collecting, analyzing, and summarizing assessment and evaluation-related data for planning and implementation purposes. At the unit level, he has provided leadership through two successful 7-year re-accreditations with the Council on Accreditation of Parks, Recreation, Tourism, and Related Professions, as well as served on numerous assessment committees and initiatives. At the institution level and prior to joining Illinois State, Mulvaney served on a Higher Learning Commission (HLC) steering committee at Eastern Illinois University where he co-chaired the development and authorship of one of the five sections (Criterion 3: Teaching & Learning–Quality, Resources & Support) of the self-study report that resulted in a full, 10-year reaccreditation for the university. Mulvaney has also co-authored IBHE program review reports, authored numerous technical reports, led multiple strategic planning efforts, and served and/or chaired dozens of local and institutional committees. In addition to university assessment and accreditation work, Mulvaney has collaborated with local communities to complete more than 25 needs assessment and/or comprehensive program evaluation studies that have utilized a variety of quantitative and qualitative methodologies.
Mulvaney received a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Prior to obtaining his Ph.D., he was employed with the Decatur Park District in a variety of capacities including, facility management, fitness, programming, and special recreation.
As Provost Fellow, Mulvaney will focus on the HLC accreditation process and general education assessment plan.
Dr. Jason Whitesel is associate professor with a joint appointment in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology and the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program at Illinois State. With 13 years of full-time university teaching, he has expertise in LGBTQIA+ studies, intersectional analysis, and sociology of body and embodiment. He has also served as an academic advisor, minor coordinator, EDI facilitator, assessment compliance coordinator, grant project manager, faculty institute coordinator, and human services coordinator. He was a grant project manager and web administrator at the Criminal Justice Research Center at The Ohio State University. He helped organize and facilitate an NSF-funded Crime and Justice Summer Research Institute designed to promote successful research projects and careers among faculty from underrepresented groups working in areas of crime and criminal justice. In addition, he helped coordinate the activities of The Racial Democracy, Crime and Justice Network composed of over 150 scholars from across the United States (and beyond).
Whitesel holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Purdue University and his master’s and doctorate in sociology from The Ohio State University. Before coming to Illinois State, he became a tenured professor first at Seminole State College in Sanford, Florida, in the Social Science Department, and later at Pace University in New York City in the Women’s and Gender Studies Department.
As Provost Fellow, Whitesel will coordinate professional development opportunities for leaders in academic affairs.
