Thought Leadership at NLU
Our 2030 Strategic Plan calls on us to be thought leaders in teaching and learning, modeling and disseminating scholarship on emergent practices and technologies that support learners and promote their success. Following our commitment to scholarship in community, we enact this call through public scholarship—creating and sharing knowledge through multiple avenues, and continuing to build knowledge as our work is discussed and tested in our internal and external communities.
Thought Leadership in Action: An Example from Our Strength Areas
Preparing Caring Professionals for Success
When the hospitality industry was hit hard during the pandemic shutdown, Kendall College shined a light on industry strengths. Dr. Deborah Popely led a faculty team at the Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association in two studies that explored management resilience and preparation of leaders in the face of the crisis. The results have been widely shared through multiple channels—NLU Digital Commons, industry partners, peer reviewed journals, NLU social media, a continuing education course and Kendall’s first industry conference—and have been downloaded more than 1,300 times worldwide. Kendall and NLU emerged as a site of important public scholarship, helping leaders not just survive, but thrive.
Dashboard Coming Soon
Check back here soon for a dashboard that will display the results from the monthly reporting tool. This will keep you up to date on what your colleagues are doing.
Who We're Reaching
Want to know who we’re reaching? Check back here shortly for a download report from digital commons. This report will show statistics on NLU research publications: What is being downloaded, where they are being downloaded, and download volume.
Faculty Spotlight: Leading the Field in Visual Literacy
Visual imagery and communication is now in every facet of daily life and in schools. But research suggests that teachers have not been well-prepared to help students develop visual literacy. A group of NCE faculty formed the Visual Literacy Initiative. The prolific and high impact outcomes include classroom research, multiple publications, and NLU hosting an annual conference of the International Visual Literacy association (IVLA). The field has recognized this work, with Dr. Mark Newman and Dr. Xiaoning Chen receiving the 2022 International Visual Literacy Education Award for their significant professional contribution to visual literacy.
