Meet the Team

Stephanie Salomone, PhD: Dr. Salomone is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Mathematics and the Director of the STEM Education and Outreach Center at UP. She is the PI on the current NSF IUSE:EHR REFLECT program (NSF #1710735) and is the PI on a subcontract of the Western Regional Noyce Alliance grant (NSF #1745263). From 2013-2019, she was the PI of the NSF Noyce Scholars and Interns Program at the University of Portland (NSF #1240040). She is on the Board of Directors for Saturday Academy, a 501c3 in Portland Oregon whose mission is to engage children in learning with sufficient depth, particularly in STEM, so that they will become life-long learners. She also serves as Chair of the Executive Leadership Team for the Portland Metro STEM Partnership, one of 13 STEM Hubs in Oregon. She has worked on professional development projects for in-service teachers, including appointments with the Central California Mathematics Project (CSU-Stanislaus) and the UCLA Math Program for Teachers. She was trained in using inquiry-based learning in the mathematics classroom in 2006 (funded by EAF), and is currently an IBL faculty instructor with the NSF PRODUCT grant. Dr. Salomone is the recipient of the University of Portland’s 2009 Outstanding Teaching Award and the recipient of the 2019 Oregon Academy of Sciences Outstanding Educator in STEM Higher Education Award.

Tara Prestholdt, PhD: Dr. Prestholdt is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Biology and Environmental Studies. She was the President of ACUBE (Association of College and University Biology Educators) from 2011-2013 and currently serves as their Web Editor. At the University of Portland she is highly dedicated to undergraduate research; with funding from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust she has mentored 35 independent student research projects (2011-2016) and has published with 12 undergraduates as co-authors. She has taken a lead role in the implementation of AAAS Vision & Change and serves as the departmental Director of Assessment.  In 2018 she was awarded the University of Portland Excellence in Teaching Award and in 2019 she was awarded the ACUBE Excellence in Teaching Award.

Eric Anctil, PhD: Dr. Anctil is an Associate Professor in the School of Education where he also serves as Director of the Higher Education and Student Affairs graduate program and teaches all levels from undergraduates through doctoral students. A former middle and high school teacher, Dr. Anctil regularly consults with K-12 schools, post-secondary institutions, and private and non-profit businesses about issues related to technology in the curriculum, professional development, and building 21st-century schools and workplaces. In addition to his work with educational partners, non-profits, and private business, Dr. Anctil is the author of Selling Higher Education: Marketing and Advertising America’s Colleges and Universities, Curriculum Leadership: Readings for Developing Quality Educational Programs, and Curriculum Planning: A Contemporary Approach and is a regular keynote speaker on issues of technology and society.

Valerie Peterson, PhD: Dr. Peterson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematics.  Her experience with student-centered instructional strategies began as a graduate teaching assistant at the University of Illinois and was later informed by professional development on inquiry-based and inquiry-oriented learning through the Mathematical Association of America, the Academy of Inquiry-Based Learning, the Educational Advancement Foundation, and the National Science Foundation. As faculty, she has worked with mathematics education researchers to develop and pilot inquiry-oriented curricular materials in linear algebra, abstract algebra, and differential equations, both as participating instructor and research collaborator. Dr. Peterson was a 2015 Fellow and 2016 Faculty Mentor in the Teaching Inquiry-Oriented Mathematics: Establishing Supports (TIMES) project (NSF #1431595, #1431641, #1431393), wherein she facilitated a 10-week online working group for instructors. She has also led numerous professional development programs for STEM faculty adopting inquiry-oriented and research-based instructional strategies, including workshops for the MAA’s Project NExT.

Heather Dillon, PhD: Dr. Dillon is an Associate Professor in the Shiley School of Engineering and currently serving as the Fulbright Canada Research Chair in STEM Education. She is the Associate Director of the STEM Education and Outreach Center at UP. She specializes in engineering education, renewable energy and heat transfer systems. Since joining the University of Portland she has used EBIPs in her courses extensively and is active with the American Society of Engineering Educators where she publishes in the area of innovative education methods. Dr. Dillon received the Department of Energy Office of Science Outstanding Mentoring Award in 2007 and the University of Portland Provost’s Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Research Faculty Member. In 2020 she will begin her term as the Chair for the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) Engineering Division.

Carolyn James, PhD: Dr. James is an Instructor in the Department of Mathematics. She also serves as the calculus coordinator, whose duties include faculty professional development support and observation, curricular development, and assessment. Dr. James worked on the NSF-funded project Justification and Argumentation, Growing Understanding of Algebraic Reasoning (DRL- 0814829). In the JAGUAR project Dr. James worked collaboratively with a team of researchers and middle school math teachers to develop advanced pedagogical practices that promote argumentation and justification in middle school classrooms. She has extensive training in a number of instruction observational protocols and regularly observes instruction for research, evaluation, and collaboration purposes.