About CELT
Mission
CELT’s mission is to serve as leaders to the college community by providing expertise, support, and resources to enhance learning, teaching, and scholarship. CELT will foster an institutional culture where learning is our central focus.
In support of this mission, CELT will participate in campus-wide conversations on institutional initiatives and provide on and off-campus professional development opportunities related to effective pedagogical approaches as well as discipline-specific teaching strategies. Professional development activities will include workshops, consultation, webinars or other online tutorials, as well as more in-depth learning experiences such as on-line courses and summer institutes targeting issues such as course re-design. CELT will provide mentoring and extensive professional development opportunities that specifically target new faculty. CELT will also provide guidance and expertise to faculty and administrators on issues related to hiring processes for new faculty, on-going mentoring, and providing effective feedback through observations. In addition, CELT will provide opportunities for collegial and intellectually stimulating conversations among faculty from various disciplines, support and celebrate faculty scholarship activities, and engage in educational research activities.
Bylaws
Executive Board Members
Susan Altman, Director
Susan Altman, Director of the Center for the Enrichment of Learning and Teaching has been on the CELT board since its’ inception at Middlesex College. She is a Professor and Assistant Chairperson in the Visual, Performing and Media Arts Department. Susan earned her B.F.A. from the State University of N.Y. at Buffalo and her M.F.A. in printmaking from the Tyler School of Art of Temple University. In addition to her teaching of studio and art history courses, Professor Altman maintains an active studio practice and works as a curator. She has numerous research interests related to pedagogy, especially regarding writing and critique and how these apply across disciplines. Active in the College Art Association, she has presented at their annual conference, as well as the FATE – Foundation in Art Theory and Education Conference and the Lilly Conference for Teaching and Learning. She is the President of the Community College Professors of Art and Art History, an affiliate society of the College Art Association. The recipient of numerous grants and fellowships, she has exhibited both nationally and internationally. Her work can be found in numerous private and public collections including the Franklin Furnace Artist Book Collection at MoMA, The Brooklyn Museum, The Art Institute of Chicago, and the Library of Congress. Professor Altman was the 2016 recipient of the Faculty Scholar Award at Middlesex College.
Jennifer Applebee
Jennifer Applebee, executive board member of the Center for the Enrichment of Learning and Teaching, is a Professor in the Mathematics Department. She earned her B.A. in Mathematics from Wellesley College, her M.S. in Applied Mathematics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and her Ed.D. at Rutgers University, with a concentration in the Design of Learning Environments. Her research focused on the use of Open Educational Resources (OER). She is active in the American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges (AMATYC) and has presented at several of their annual meetings, and she was an AMATYC Project ACCCESS (Advancing Community College Careers: Education, Scholarship and Service) fellow. She primarily teaches Statistics, and enjoys engaging her students in projects using real-world data.
Christopher Drew
Christopher Drew, executive board member of the Center for the Enrichment of Learning and Teaching, is an instructor and Homeland Security Program Coordinator in the History and Social Sciences Department. He earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice at New Jersey City University, his Master’s Degree in Education (Administration & Supervision) from Seton Hall University, and his Doctor of Science Degree in Civil Security Leadership, Management and Policy from New Jersey City University. Since the fall of 1999, he has been working as a law enforcement consultant, law enforcement trainer, adjunct professor, and full-time professor, at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. His areas of expertise include, but are not limited to, terrorism, counter-terrorism, homeland security, policing, juvenile justice, criminology, and gangs.
Published Dissertation 2016 – “Assessing the Vulnerability of Private and Public College Campuses in New Jersey to Domestic Terrorist Attacks”
In addition, he has assessed the academic programs of the New Jersey State Police Training Academy, N.J. Department of Corrections Training Academy, and the N.J. Juvenile Justice Commission Training Academy.
Bill Lipkin
Bill Lipkin represents the adjunct faculty on the CELT Board. He has taught as an adjunct for over 50 years and has taught history in the Social Sciences Department at MCC for over 10 years. Bill also teaches at Seton Hall University, Pace University, Caldwell University, and Union and Essex County Colleges. Bill is very passionate about teaching and is often referred to as a story teller, since he teaches history in a way that is relatable for his students. Lipkin is also an advocate for adjunct faculty rights and is currently vice president of the Middlesex College Adjunct Faculty Union.
Adriana Mamay
Adriana Mamay, executive board member of the Center for the Enrichment of Learning and Teaching, is a Reference and Instruction Librarian and Assistant Professor. She joined MCC in September 2011. Adriana holds a Master of Science in Library and Information Science from Long Island University, a Master of Arts in World History from New York University, and a Bachelor of Arts from Rutgers University. Adriana is an active member of several professional library organizations, currently serving as co-chair of the New Jersey Library Association Annual Conference and executive board member of the New Jersey chapter of the Association of College and Research Libraries. Adriana was named a 2014-2015 New Jersey Library Association Emerging Leader and enjoys collaborating with peers both on and off campus.
Shannon Pullaro
Shannon Pullaro, a board member of the Center for Enrichment of Learning and Teaching, has taught economics and business at Middlesex College since becoming an instructor for the Department of Business and Computer Science in 2019. Shannon has taught since 2004 as an adjunct professor at various colleges, including Middlesex College. Since becoming a full-time faculty member, she has incorporated community-engaged learning into a marketing, microeconomics, and macroeconomics courses, believing that students succeed by linking their service and reflections to the curricula. She earned a BS in Marketing Management from St. Peter’s University, an MBA from Seton Hall University, and both MA and PhD degrees in Economics from Fordham University.
As both a first-generation college graduate and the daughter of an immigrant whose first language was not English, Shannon connects with our diverse students through compassion and encouragement toward academic success. CELT is an integral part of guiding faculty toward those aims. For this reason, her passion for teaching has developed her passion for the work at CELT.
Crystal Quillen
Crystal Quillen, executive board member of the Center for the Enrichment of Learning and Teaching, is an Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator of Psychology in the History and Social Sciences Department. She earned her B.S. in Psychobiology from Lebanon Valley College (PA), and earned her MA and Ph.D. in Experimental Health Psychology from Kent State University (OH).
During her graduate career, Dr. Quillen’s research focus was on predictors of PTSD and exploring the impact of PTSD on physical health. As Dr. Quillen spent more time in the classroom, she targeted her focus on stress and poor health decisions of college students. She is now interested in how stress impacts learning and how to create an inclusive learning environment.
When not in the classroom, Dr. Quillen spends time with her husband, children (Jacob and Riley), two dogs, and two cats! She enjoys cooking and reading post-apocalyptic novels.
Mentoring Team
Chris Drew
Christopher Drew, executive board member of the Center for the Enrichment of Learning and Teaching, is an instructor and Homeland Security Program Coordinator in the History and Social Sciences Department. He earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice at New Jersey City University, his Master’s Degree in Education (Administration & Supervision) from Seton Hall University, and his Doctor of Science Degree in Civil Security Leadership, Management and Policy from New Jersey City University. Since the fall of 1999, he has been working as a law enforcement consultant, law enforcement trainer, adjunct professor, and full-time professor, at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. His areas of expertise include, but are not limited to, terrorism, counter-terrorism, homeland security, policing, juvenile justice, criminology, and gangs.
Published Dissertation 2016 – “Assessing the Vulnerability of Private and Public College Campuses in New Jersey to Domestic Terrorist Attacks”
In addition, he has assessed the academic programs of the New Jersey State Police Training Academy, N.J. Department of Corrections Training Academy, and the N.J. Juvenile Justice Commission Training Academy.
Brian Lavey
Brian Lavey, CELT Mentor, is an instructor in the Natural Sciences Department. He earned a B.S. in chemistry from Bates College and a Ph.D. in chemistry from Dartmouth, then worked as a post-doctoral research associate at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla CA. After spending fifteen years in the pharmaceutical industry working as a medicinal chemist, Dr. Lavey began his teaching career by working as an adjunct professor at Kean and New Jersey City Universities. Dr. Lavey started teaching at Middlesex College in the fall of 2014. In teaching general chemistry and organic chemistry classes, Dr. Lavey tries to show students how knowing some chemistry helps to make the world a little more understandable.
Clairie Vassiliadis
Clairie Vassiliadis is an Associate professor in the Mathematics Department. She holds a B.S. in Computer Science, an M.S. in Applied Mathematics, both from New Jersey Institute of Technology and an M.S. In Educational Technology from Ramapo University. An MCC faculty member since 1999, she is serving in various College wide and Mathematics committees. She is a member of the National Association of Developmental Education (NADE) and the American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges (AMATYC) and has participated in many professional Mathematics conferences.
Clairie has been an active member of CELT since the first year of its inception. She served as a CELT facilitator for a Professional Day, and as a Best Practices presenter. As an Algebra coordinator she served on a CELT panel with other developmental coordinators sharing expertise on how to motivate students in developmental courses. She is currently a member of the Mentoring CELT program.
Service Learning Team
Jennifer Altman
Jennifer Altman is an Associate Professor/Sociology Coordinator in the History and Social Science Department. She earned his B.A. in Sociology at Rutgers College, her M.A. in Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania, and her M.S. and Ph.D. in Public Policy and Planning from Rutgers University. Her doctoral research focused on Campus-Community Partnerships and was funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. From 2009-2014, Dr. Altman served as Director of Middlesex College’s Democracy House Center for Civic Engagement. She currently serves as Co-Director of Service-Learning at the college. Her teaching focus includes Social Problems, Social Stratification and Inequality.
Alexandra Fields
Alexandra Fields is an Assistant Professor in the English Department. She also serves as the Developmental Reading Coordinator and Service Learning Coordinator. She earned her BA as a double major in English and Psychology at Rutgers University, her Ed.M in Curriculum and Instruction in the field of English from Harvard University, and she is currently working on her Ed.D in Literacy, Culture, and Language at Indiana University. As a first-generation college student, Alexandra has a passion for using education as a tool of empowerment for disenfranchised populations, and she often conducts workshops and serves in a literacy consulting capacity at schools that struggle to meet the academic needs of their students. Prior to teaching at Middlesex College, Alexandra taught at Burlington County College as a full-time English Instructor and the Developmental English Coordinator, and she was the founding director of the college’s Bonnor AmeriCorps Program. Courses currently taught include Developmental English, Developmental Reading and English Composition courses.
Interested in joining the CELT team?
Look for the opportunity to participate in the CELT election every spring. Call for nominations are made in February. Full-time faculty serve two-year terms and part-time faculty serve one-year terms. For more information, email celt@middlesexcc.edu.