ADP Civic Fellows 2022-2023

ADP Civic Fellows explore assessment, research, and programmatic efforts that enact and support ADP’s mission and national work during a one or two-year renewable terms. ADP invites applicants for this opportunity designed to give professionals/scholars in our network a national platform to develop their research and programmatic ideas that correlate with ongoing or work to develop new ADP initiatives on a national scale.

ADP Civic Fellows receive support from the ADP national office in the form of programmatic opportunities (e.g., webinars, conference presentations), publication opportunities (e.g., blog posts, monographs, reports and journal articles), and leadership opportunities (e.g., serving on steering committee and/or appropriate initiative and/or network teams). ADP Civic Fellows will be part of a cohort experience and will work closely with our director and steering committee to design and advance ADP national initiatives.

If you are interested in being a Civic Fellow, please contact Cathy Copeland, ADP Director.

2021-22 Civic Fellows

Byron Craig

Byron Craig holds a Ph.D. in Communication and Culture from Indiana University Bloomington. He is currently an assistant professor at Illinois State University in the School of Communication and serves as an affiliate faculty for the African American Studies program. His current research includes the rhetorical analysis of anti-Blackness and anti-racism, trauma, and social injustice through sites of memory.

In partnership with ADP, Craig is excited to be co-lead on a project that works on and researches, through rhetoric and public culture scholarship, how we might extend empathy to be constitutive of a more robust and participatory democracy that in turn opens spaces for a more just and equitable public culture.

Abraham Goldberg

Abraham Goldberg is the inaugural executive director of the James Madison Center for Civic Engagement, a nonpartisan academic affairs entity at James Madison University (JMU, Va.) with a mission to educate and inspire people to address public issues and cultivate a just and inclusive democracy. He is also an associate professor of political science. Prior to arriving at JMU in 2017, he was the director of the Office of Service-Learning and Community Engagement at the University of South Carolina Upstate. Goldberg recently co-authored a chapter in Democracy, Civic Engagement, and Citizenship in Higher Education: Reclaiming Our Civic Purpose with JMU President Jonathan Alger. Goldberg also published a piece in the eJournal of Public Affairs arguing that colleges and universities can combat political inequality if civic education is prioritized. Goldberg has written extensively about how the built environment of urban places and the accessibility of community amenities contributes to the social connectivity, health, and happiness of residents, as found in Social Science and Medicine, Urban Design and Planning, Urban Affairs Review, and Journal of Urbanism. He teaches courses in civic engagement, urban planning and policy, and American politics. Goldberg earned his doctorate from West Virginia University. He proudly supports nonpartisan voter education and engagement work across the ADP network.

David Hoffman

David Hoffman is director of the Center for Democracy and Civic Life at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) and a faculty fellow in UMBC’s Honors College. He serves as Chair-Elect of the ADP Steering Committee and as a member of the National Advisory Board for Imagining America.

 As a member of the inaugural cohort of ADP Civic Scholars, Hoffman led the development of the Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement Theory of Change and now works with Center for Democracy and Civic Life colleague Romy Hübler and national partners to extend, amplify, and implement it.

Stephen Hunt

Stephen Hunt, professor and director of the School of Communication at Illinois State University, is an ADP Civic Fellow for the Extending Empathy Project. Hunt specializes in instructional communication, debate and communication pedagogy. His research reflects his interest in the pedagogy of civic and political engagement, critical thinking and analysis and the assessment of communication skills. Hunt’s dedication to training students and educating them about communication and speech will lend to his work with ADP, and his expertise will help improve ADP’s programming.

  In partnership with ADP, Hunt plans to co-lead a new project aimed at extending empathy. The goal of the project is to promote the emergence of a more equitable and democratic public where the ideas of diversity and inclusivity can flourish.

Romy Hübler

Romy Hübler is assistant director of the Center for Democracy and Civic Life and an Honors College faculty fellow at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). Hübler is UMBC’s institutional representative for the NASPA LEAD Initiative, campus liaison for ADP, a member of the 2020 Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement (CLDE) Meeting planning committee, and co-principal investigator on two Bringing Theory to Practice grants. Her recent publications include co-authored articles about the Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement Theory of Change and democratic teaching practices.

As a Civic Scholar, Hübler will continue to lead the development and implementation of the CLDE Theory of Change with UMBC colleague David Hoffman, which will include creating tools for putting the theory into practice.  

Scott Jordan

J. Scott Jordan, Ph.D., is a cognitive psychologist who studies the neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy of cooperative behavior. He has published more than 100 journal articles, book chapters, and encyclopedia entries, as well as four edited books and six special issues of peer-reviewed journals. He is an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow and has held fellowships at the University of Ulm (Ulm, Germany), the Max Planck Institute for Psychological Research (Munich, Germany), and the Center for Interdisciplinary Research at the University of Bielefeld (Bielefeld, Germany). He has given more than 

60 invited talks at universities and institutions all over the world and is currently serving as the chair of the Department of Psychology at Illinois State University. Finally, he is extremely proud of his international comic book collection.

Molly Kerby

Molly Kerby is an associate professor in the Department of Diversity & Community Studies and Director of Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) at Western Kentucky University (WKU). Her current research and teaching focuses on issues pertaining to assessment in higher education, organizational sustainability/resilience, democratic engagement, and community-based research. She has been an active member of the American Democracy Project since 2004.

Kerby will serve as a Civic Fellow for assessment and will chair ADP's new civic assessment learning network, providing a stimulus for ADP to re-envision assessment practices. The first, and foremost, part of the plan creates a collaborative group of highly experienced assessment researchers and academic faculty who are involved in creating civic and democratic engagement projects at ADP schools. The goal is to identify current best practices in assessment, evaluation, and data collection methods that address immediate and future demands. In the second phase of this project, the collaborative team will begin creating an assessment plan to empirically measure the impact of ADP on member institutions. Although the design of this effort will grow organically through collaboration, the proposed the blueprint will be grounded in the theoretical notions of risk and resilience.

Steven Koether

Steven Koether works in the College of Science & Engineering Technology at Sam Houston State University (SHSU, Texas), as both a coordinator and instructor for the Foundations of Science program. He chairs the SHSU ADP Committee, co-chairs the SHSU Graduate and Undergraduate Instructor Academy, and is a co-liaison for the SHSU ADP Assessing and Improving Political Learning and Engagement Coalition. Koether recently served as a National Blended Course Consortium Faculty Fellow, an AASCU ADP initiative. In this role, he co-developed Science for Citizens, a general education science course to promote critical thinking and scientific literacy, for national adoption. He is also a doctoral student at Texas A&M University in the Educational Human Resource Development program, with an emphasis on Adult Education. Koether is active in future faculty development and diversity, equity, inclusion work. He recently served as a graduate fellow for the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning Faculty Forum to prepare future faculty as change leaders toward inclusive STEM higher education.

Morgan Lewing

Morgan Lewing is an associate professor of Higher Education Leadership at Texas A&M-Central Texas and an ADP Civic Fellow for faculty development. His research primarily focuses on the relationship between faculty member’s commitment to community engagement and the support provided by their institutions. In partnership with ADP, Lewing will lead a new research project aimed at how institutions and provosts frame civic and community engagement as examples of teaching excellence. 

Specifically, in partnership with the ADP, Lewing will lead a new research project aimed at identifying motivations, perceptions, and needed areas of professional development for early-career faculty members that engage, or may be interested in, community engagement. These findings will then be utilized to ground the design of an ADP Early-Career Faculty Institute that attempts to build understanding and capacity in future community engagement leaders. 

Kara Lindaman

Kara Lindaman is a professor of political science and public administration at Winona State University (Minn.). Earning her Ph.D. from the University of Kansas, she studies the policy process and citizen engagement in wicked problems on campuses and in communities. She teaches courses in public administration in the fields of public service, public budgeting and finance, and public policy, and is fortunate to have advised many students-citizens into public service.

This has led to numerous opportunities to work with colleagues and students as moderators and in deliberation. She is an ambassador of the National Issues Forum Institute Board of Directors and also serves as the NCAA Faculty Athletic Representative for Winona State University and the faculty advisor to Pi Sigma Alpha, the College Democrats, and College Republicans. Through her work with the Kettering Foundation, she focuses on democratic practices and deliberative pedagogy to think and talk differently across differences in fulfillment of the core commitments to higher education in “taking seriously the perspectives of others” and “educating for personal and social responsibility.”

Leah Murray

Leah Murray is the Brady Presidential Distinguished Professor in the Department of Political Science and Philosophy at Weber State University (Utah). She was recognized as the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences Endowed Professor for 2017–2020. Murray currently serves as the academic director of the Walker Institute of Politics & Public Service and in that role co-chairs the Political Engagement Coalition and advises the American Democracy Project student leadership team. Her primary research interests are in American politics, specifically youth engagement. Her recent publications are in the areas of civic engagement and technology and media coverage of the presidency. She teaches courses on all aspects of American politics. Murray is a member of the team building the 4Quad Political Ideology Diagnostic. The Diagnostic replaces traditional linear spectrum approaches to framing ideological differences and, in a polarized political climate, reveals that are we complex individuals with the capacity to embrace multiple, sometimes conflicting political perspectives.

Kristin Norris 

Kristin Norris, Ph.D., is the director of assessment for the Office of Community Engagement at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). Norris works with stakeholders (internal and external) to track community-engaged activities to conduct assessment, evaluation, and research that transforms higher education and demonstrates how IUPUI’s community engaged activities (e.g., programs, pedagogies, research, initiatives) support the institutional mission, demonstrate progress toward the strategic plan, and inform decision making. Norris is passionate about student civic outcomes and the public purpose of higher education in addressing community issues.  

Norris earned her B.S. from Purdue University (Ind.) and M.S. from Indiana University in Hospitality & Tourism Management and her Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from the IU School of Education at Indiana University. She is an editorial fellow for the Metropolitan Universities journal and chair of IUPUI’s Program Review and Assessment Committee. 

Chapman Rackaway

Chapman Rackaway is a professor in and chair of the Department of Political Science at Radford University (Va.). Civic engagement has been a central part of Rackaway’s mission, having participated in the AASCU American Democracy Project since 2003 at Fort Hays State University (Kan.) and the University of West Georgia. Rackaway serves as the outgoing convener of the Georgia Caucus of ADP universities. Rackaway’s teaching and scholarly interests focus on the intersection of republican democracy and professional electioneering. Rackaway teaches classes in political parties, political campaign management, interest groups and lobbying, and campaign finance. Rackaway is the author of Civic Failure and Its Threat to American Democracy: Operator Error and co-editor of Parties Under Pressure and The Unorthodox Presidency of Donald Trump, as well as other books on American politics, political communication, and voting behavior. Rackaway’s professional portfolio can be found at  www.chapmanrackaway.com. 

Kim Schmidl-Gagne

Kim Schmidl-Gagne is the program manager for accreditation processes and for diversity and multicultural student initiatives at Keene State College (N.H.). After 20 years in residential life, Schmidl-Gagne joined the staff of the provost and chief officer for diversity and multiculturalism as the accreditation liaison officer and to assist with coordinating a variety of programmatic efforts, including the American Democracy Project (ADP), the symposium, and numerous speaker series, as well as efforts to integrate academic affairs and student affairs. Schmidl-Gagne is a past president of the Northeast Regional Housing Association. Schmidl-Gagne was the curator for the AASCU Economic Inequality Blended Learning Course and a member of the ADP/TDC Economic Inequality Steering Committee. Schmidl-Gagne is a member of the team building the 4Quad Political Ideology Diagnostic. The Diagnostic replaces traditional linear spectrum approaches to framing ideological differences and, in a polarized political climate, reveals that are we complex individuals with the capacity to embrace multiple, sometimes conflicting political perspectives.

Carah Ong Whaley

Carah Ong Whaley is associate director of the JMU Civic at James Madison University (Va.), where she works in partnership with students, faculty, staff, and community partners to embed civic learning and democratic engagement across campus through curricular and co-curricular programming. Ong Whaley currently serves as the vice chair of the Civic Engagement Section of the American Political Science Association, on the advisory board of Students Learn Students Vote, and is a faculty advisor to JMU's Student Government Association. Ong Whaley has developed innovative pedagogy melding scholarship and experiential learning to teach courses on civic engagement, campaigns and elections, and state and local politics. At the heart of her research interests is a desire to understand and illuminate how the interactions of political actors and institutions structure public access and participation in policy- and decision-making processes.

Ong Whaley has previously worked at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics and in the Governing America in a Global Era (GAGE) program at the Miller Center for Public Affairs. From 1999–2012, she worked as a research and program director for non-governmental organizations on nuclear and security issues and traveled around the world to engage with communities on these issues. Ong Whaley holds a Ph.D. in American Government and an M.A. in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia. Recent research and publications include American Government: Roots and Reform, chapters on Political Parties, Campaigns, Elections and Voting, and The Media.

Tina Zappile

Zappile teaches undergraduate courses in international politics, global governance, U.S. foreign policy, quantitative research methods, and “Go Global!”, a free online summer course for incoming students. Zappile holds an M.A. in Political Science from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and an M.A. in Economics and Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She is the founding advisor of Stockton’s Model UN program, campus liaison for the Stockton’s participation in the State Department’s Diplomacy Lab program, a co-facilitator for the Stockton Critical Thinking Institute, and the lead negotiator for the Stockton Federation of Teachers Local 2275. Her research on international financial institutions and scholarship on teaching and learning has appeared in World Development, International Studies Perspectives, and Routledge’s RIPE Series in Global Political Economy. Zappile was involved in AASCU’s Global Engagement initiative for eight years. Along with Shala Mills (State University of New York at New Paltz), she was the co-author of the final version of AASCU’s curriculum titled Global Challenges: Promise & Peril in the 21st Century, an all-in-one digital textbook and online course (blendedcourses.org).  Zappile was the recipient of Stockton’s 2016 Faculty of the Year Award.