Faculty Advisor Program

The MyHistoryLab Faculty Advisor Program is a peer-to-peer mentoring program that partners experienced MyHistoryLab users with new and potential users to further enhance their knowledge, skill and understanding of how to successfully integrate MyHistoryLab in the classroom. Our Faculty Advisors (FAs) are committed to advancing the support for online learning and sharing their best practices with the MyHistoryLab community.

Meet Our Faculty Advisors

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  Dr. Michele Coffey

  Visiting Assistant Professor of Southern Studies, Facilitator of FasTrack Program
  University of Mississippi
  MyHistoryLab

  I have a PhD from the University of South Carolina and a BA and MA from Baylor University in Waco, Texas. I specialized in United States history since 1789, African American history and women’s history and am primarily interested in constructions of gender and race within the political and legal systems of the twentieth century south.

  I am a dedicated teacher who is fascinated by pedagogy and been privileged to pursue this passion in a wide variety of settings. I am the author of Rising to the Challenge, a high school leadership curriculum that was approved by the state of Texas for use in public schools, and worked primarily in curriculum development and facilitator training for both high school and college programming with the John Ben Shepperd Public Leadership Institute at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin (UTPB). At the University of South Carolina (USC), I taught a full-load of freshman surveys, methodology courses and upper-level US history courses, first as a graduate student instructor and, after receiving my PhD, as an instructor. These courses ranged from huge surveys to smaller classes that revolved around individualized instruction. And, in part because of my innovative approaches to my classes, I won the William H. Nolte Graduate Teaching Award at USC in 2009.

  Presently, at the University of Mississippi, I am continuing to serve students in a diverse array of capacities. I am a member of the faculty of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture and a facilitator within the FASTrack Program, a retention program designed to provide freshman with the essential tools to adapt to and thrive within college-level courses. I am also affiliated faculty with the Sarah Isom Center for Women and Gender Studies and previously served as a faculty member in the History Department. In each aspect of my position, I continue to look for ways to incorporate new ideas to actively engage my students in their educational experience in as broad of a context as I can.

  Courses taught: US History Since 1865

  Course format: Traditional

  Book in use: Jones, Created Equal, Brief Edition

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  Amy Darty

  Instructor, Online Specialist / GEP Coordinator, History
  University of Central Florida
  MyHistoryLab

  I am an Instructor for University of Central Florida's History Department, specializing in online curriculum, virtual humanities course design and web-delivery historical instruction in American History and Western Civilizations. I have been teaching for 15 years, both in classroom and online, and have BA and MA degrees in History with a minor field in Anthropology. I completed my MA thesis in 2000, "Florida Women in Public Life: Constraint, Opportunity, and Access for Orlando Women, 1910-1930." I launched our department's web instruction presence 9 years ago; developing the first UCF history courses for online delivery and teaching solely in that format since. I am also the General Education Program Coordinator for the History Department, conducting faculty evaluations, developing assessment of student core learning principles, managing publisher information and events, and adjunct faculty development. My research foci are Colonial America, American women, history of technology and science (prehistory through present), and Medieval Europe but my greatest love is teaching. Aside from my duties at UCF, I am a board member for Pearson Education's Digital Media Board and frequent reviewer for its products.

  MyHistoryLab provides vetted historical sources through accessible links and dynamic multimedia formats. Its analytical exercises supplement book resources, in print versions complemented by MyHistoryLab or flowing virtually through eBooks. MyHistoryLab's integrated eBooks are a vital component; their portability is a plus. The updated MyHistoryLab boosts the instructional design process, providing more tools and pedagogical choice for me, a history instructor of large online classes who needs to balance content delivery with critical thinking development. Overall, it is a flexible, affordable supplement which broadens my students' learning experience and challenges their preconceptions without breaking their budgets or my time constraints.

  Courses taught: American History I to 1877; American History II 1877-Present; Western Civilizations I to 1648; Western Civilizations II 1648-Present

  Course format: Fully Online

  Book in use: Frankforter, Spellmann, The West; Keene, Visions of America

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  Kevin Gannon

  Professor of History
  Grand View University
  MyHistoryLab

  Kevin Gannon is Professor of History at Grand View University, where he teaches US and Latin American history, as well as the occasional Western Civ. course. He graduated from James Madison University with a BA in History, took his Master's at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and earned a Ph.D. at the University of South Carolina. Dr. Gannon's current research focuses on radical social and political movements, riots, and disorder in the revolutionary and antebellum US; he is also interested in theory, historiography, and radical politics in the Revolutionary Atlantic. In his teaching, he strives to fully integrate technology into his courses, providing students opportunities to actively engage primary sources and other historical materials, as well as each other, both in and out of class. Currently, Dr. Gannon is experimenting with various forms of threaded and asynchronous online discussions to enhance active learning in the classroom.

  Courses taught: US Survey I and II; Western Civ. I and II; upper-level seminars in Colonial America, Revolution and Early Republic, and Civil War and Reconstruction; Latin America Survey; History of Mexico; Strategies for Academic Success (1st-year developmental/remedial course); New Student Seminar

  Course format: Traditional

  Book in use: For US Survey, Keene, et al., Visions of America; for Western Civ., Levack, The West: Encounters & Transformations; for Latin American Survey, Martin and Wasserman, Latin America and Its Peoples.

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  Fred Gates

  Associate Professor of History
  Southwestern Oklahoma State University
  MyHistoryLab

  MyHistoryLab has given my students access to primary sources and allowed them to sharpen their analytical skills. It has also given them a way to evaluate their reading comprehension of the chapters and develop their study skills through the use of note taking and highlighting.

  Courses taught: United States History; American History to 1877; American History Since 1877

  Course format: Traditional and Online

  Book in use: Faragher, et al., Out of Many

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  Sherylle Smith

  Instructor
  Rowan-Cabarrus Community College
  MyHistoryLab

  My educational background: a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History from Wake Forest University and a Master of Arts Degree in History and Education from University of North Carolina at Charlotte. I have taught in high school, university, and community college levels with over twenty-five years of experience. For the last ten years, I have taught at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College in Concord, NC.

  Community college students usually have busy lives and need reliable, easy to use programs. With the MyHistoryLab Assignment Calendar, students have the convenience of simply clicking on a due date and then the links associated. The videos and primary source documents make the history come alive. In portfolio reflections regarding MyHistoryLab, my students’ responses are overwhelmingly positive. Those students who work beyond the required and follow a self-directed study plan definitely see positive results. MyHistoryLab allows students to take control of their learning in an easily accessible way with an incredible number of choices. It is absolutely effective.

  Courses taught: US Survey I and II; Western Civ. I and II; upper-level seminars in Colonial America, Revolution and Early Republic, and Civil War and Reconstruction; Latin America Survey; History of Mexico; Strategies for Academic Success (1st-year developmental/remedial course); New Student Seminar

  Course format: Traditional, Fully Online, Hybrid and Telecourse

  Book in use: Faragher, Buhle, Czitrom, Armitage, Out of Many; Judge, Langdon, Connections, A World History ; Kagan, Ozment, Turner, Western Heritage.

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  Dr. Scott E. White, Ph. D.

  Professor in History and American Indian Studies, Independent Consultant in Federal-Indian Relations
  Scottsdale Community College
  MyHistoryLab

  I am a native of West Virginia where my ancestry goes back to when the state was still part of Virginia, and Virginia was still a British colony. I earned my BA at West Virginia University in history and English with a minor in linguistics. I got my MA in history at the University of South Dakota with an emphasis on the history of the Sioux and Ponca nations. I directed the Oral History Center at the Institute of American Indian Studies while at USD. I also attended USD's law school where I studied Indian law. In addition, I also attended Sinte Gleska (Spotted Tail) University on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation. I earned my PhD at Arizona State University in the specialization of the historical development of United States Indian Policy with a focus on the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska. I taught at ASU for ten years and currently teach at Scottsdale Community College.

  In addition to my classes, I have been a guest lecturer and instructor at various venues for topics on Native American topics and issues. These venues have ranged from high school classes where I have talked about basic history and sovereignty issues, to state and federal officials on the issues land claims and overlapping jurisdictions, to focused seminars with tribal governments on treaty interpretation. I have worked with tribal governments and attorneys as a researcher and expert witness in land claims cases. I worked with Arizona State University's, and currently with Scottsdale Community College's American Indian Program to mentor, tutor, and retain Native American students

  My research interests are in various historical and contemporary Native American topics and topics in the Southwest's history. My other interests are in America's labor conflicts, especially the Mine Wars of the 1920s in West Virginia. I work with Native American and other organizations to aid in the preservation of ancient Native American sites from being destroyed and desecrated from looting. I am also an avid amateur astronomer and enjoy hiking and rock climbing.

  Courses taught: US History to 1870; US History from 1870; Western Civilization to the Middle Ages; Western Civilization Middle Ages to 1789; and Western Civilization 1789 to Present

  Course format: Traditional and Hybrid

  Book in use: Goldfield, American Journey; Kagan, The Western Heritage

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  Laura Wood

  Professor of History and Government
  Tarrant County College, Northwest
  MyPoliSciLab, MyHistoryLab

  As an award-winning instructor at Tarrant County College for over 20 years, I teach four different courses each semester in three different formats in a total of seven classes: on campus, dual-credit two-way interactive television, and online, and I incorporate technology extensively into my classrooms.

  My courses include World Civilizations I and II, United States History to 1876, United States History Since 1877, and U.S. Government. In the past I have team taught an Honors Western Civilizations I course, developed a course focusing upon America and World War II, and team taught a World Civilizations/Interpersonal Communications travel course to the Salzburg Global Seminar. I have taught in the Honors Program and developed year-long projects for our students, such as directing the construction of an on-campus war memorial. With my background in European history, International Relations and Military History, I teach American history and politics in a global context.

  I also work as a developer of various teaching pedagogy for textbook publishers, write online interactive historical simulations, and train other faculty how to successfully incorporate technology into their teaching styles. Also, I use new technologies to create innovative assignments that foster student interest in history, historical analysis, and global perspectives.

  In 2001 I was awarded my district's Chancellor's Award for Exemplary Teaching as well as chosen as a Minnie Stevens' Piper Professor for the State of Texas. I have also been a nominee for the U.S. Professor of the Year, named to Who's Who Among American College Professors for twelve years, and served for twelve years as department chair.

  As part of my research and teaching, I have participated in the Salzburg Global Seminar, been chosen as a Freeman Fellow, and participated in the NEH Summer Seminar in Rome. In 2010 I received an NEH Teaching Development Fellowship to create an online interactive teaching website and database that incorporates world history, war memorials and military cemeteries to teach about public memory and commemorations across time and place.

  Courses taught: U.S. Government (at this time)

  Course format: Traditional, Online and Hybrid

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