For the 2024-2025 academic year, the Office of the Provost welcomes the following individuals who will be serving in one-year appointments as Provost Fellows. 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. Kristin Carlson (she/her) is an associate professor in the School of Creative Technologies, in the Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts. Her research and 10 years of teaching at Illinois State University has focused on leveraging cross-disciplinary knowledge for collaborative creativity. By examining how people work and create with technology and with other people, her work focuses on how communication, intersubjectivity, and community-driven approaches can support innovation in systems thinking, and creative process. Carlson has managed multiple projects researching both the technical, conceptual, and embodied sides of human-computer interaction, and she is the chair of the International Conference on Movement and Computation’s steering committee. She has developed and taught courses in a number of areas including programming, media design, interaction, game design, VR/AR, motion capture, design thinking, UX, and research methods. She has received University-level Initiative awards for Creative Activity, Research, and Service, and received the College Outstanding Researcher award in 2020. She has been the Graduate Coordinator for Creative Technologies since 2021, and has served on a number of university, college, school, and program-level committees.
Carlson earned her doctorate at Simon Fraser University in the School of Interactive Arts and Technology in 2016, as well as her M.S. in 2011. She earned her B.F.A. in Dance from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and holds an AmSAT certificate in Alexander Technique.
As a Provost Fellow, Dr. Carlson will focus on disruptive technologies, integrated communications, inclusive excellence, and professional development.
Dr. Nicholas Heller (he/him) is an associate professor in the Department of Agriculture within the College of Applied Science and Technology. Heller has taught a number of applied statistics courses at the undergraduate and graduate level and mentored graduate students from multiple programs. Two students working with Heller were recognized at the University-level, one with the Fisher Outstanding Thesis and the other as runner-up. Outside of biology, genetics, precision agriculture, and agronomy data experience, Heller was also a member of the COACHE data analysis effort. Within the Department of Agriculture, Heller leads the Harvey Woods Scholarship Fundraiser efforts and contributes to the scholarship committee. Heller was also recognized within the Department with the Outstanding Research Award following collaboration with cross-campus partners (Dr. John Sedbrook, Biology; Dr. Bill Perry, Biology/Geology; Dr. Rebekka Darner, CeMaST; Dr. Rob Rhykerd, Agriculture; Dr. Liangcheng Yang, Health Sciences) and with Dr. Carolyn Butts-Wilmsmeyer at SIUE. Heller also received the RISE to the COVID Challenge Recognition in 2021.
Heller earned his Ph.D. in crop sciences from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign after studying biology and biochemistry at Illinois Wesleyan University for his B.A.
As Provost Fellow, Dr. Heller will primarily focus on data analytics and decision-making focused on student success.
Dr. Jennifer Howell (she/her) is a professor of French and Francophone studies at Illinois State University. She is AMALI faculty and regularly teaches courses in both general education and interdisciplinary studies in French and English. She currently serves as French section coordinator, as well as on the CAS College Council and the University Review Committee. While at ISU, she has served on numerous committees including the University Curriculum Committee and the AMALI Advisory Committee. Within the Bloomington-Normal community, she works as an interpreter/translator for the Community Health Care Clinic, the McLean County Circuit Court, and the Normal Police Department.
Howell earned her doctorate in French and Francophone World Studies from the University of Iowa in 2010. She earned a Diplôme d’études approndies in English from Université Rennes 2–Haute Bretagne (France), a master’s in French from Bowling Green State University, and a bachelor’s in French and Biological Sciences from Ohio University. Before coming to Illinois State University in 2012, she held a tenure-track position in French at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. She specializes in comics and graphic novels of the postcolonial francophone world.
As a Provost Fellow, Dr. Howell will focus on assessment of learning outcomes for general education, evaluating credit for prior learning, and expanding Illinois State University’s infrastructure for interdisciplinary offerings and programs.
Dr. Julie Schumacher (she/her) is a professor of food, nutrition & dietetics in the Department of Family & Consumer Sciences. She is currently the program director for the accredited undergraduate dietetics program. Schumacher was the director of the Masters-Dietetic Internship for 19 years where she developed a distance internship graduate certificate and online Master’s degree program, which tripled enrollment of the program. Her commitment to online learning is exemplified through her research of educational technology in nutrition education. Schumacher served as assistant chair of the Department of Family & Consumer Sciences for 4 years and has served for 10 years as Accreditation Program Reviewer for the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics.
Schumacher holds a bachelor’s degree in nutrition & dietetics from South Dakota State University, and a master’s in family & consumer sciences and doctorate in curriculum and instruction from Illinois State University. She is a registered dietitian, licensed dietitian nutritionist, and board certified nutrition support clinician.
As Provost Fellow, Dr. Schumacher will focus on micro-credentials, online learning, and professional licensure disclosure.
Dr. Lisa Tranel (she/her) is an associate professor in the Department of Geography, Geology, and the Environment at Illinois State University. She has 14 years of teaching and researching processes that shape the earth’s surface and mentoring undergraduate and graduate student researchers. Dr. Tranel has engaged in discussions on equitable and inclusive practices in geoscience and STEM as the Geology Program Curriculum chair, the Geography, Geology and the Environment representative on the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Driving Change grant awarded to ISU in 2023, and as a member of the University Assessment Advisory Council and the STEM DEI Taskforce. From 2019-2021, Dr. Tranel served as President of the Association for Women Geoscientists, where she championed programs, scholarships, and grants to support students’ needs and professional recognition. Dr. Tranel was recognized with the Illinois State University College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding College Service Award in 2024.
Dr. Tranel earned her doctorate at Virginia Tech in Geoscience in 2010. She received her M.S. in Geology from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2005 and her B.A. in Geology from Lawrence University.
As Provost Fellow, Dr. Tranel will focus on general education revisions, credit for prior learning, and undergraduate research.
