Kendall Center Staff

Leila Brammer Director

At Gustavus, I have thrived as a teacher and a scholar and am excited to be involved in developing a supportive and vibrant environment for faculty scholarship and creativity. A scholarly community that supports faculty, celebrates accomplishment, and participates in meaningful conversations about faculty work is one that enhances our academic environment, rigor, and teaching. I look forward to the challenge, working with faculty, and lively discussions of the impressive scholarship and creativity of my colleagues.

Thia Cooper Diversity and Inclusive Excellence Faculty Associate

When I first arrived at Gustavus, I was struck by how few students and faculty of color I saw. I was also struck by how few of the students of color seemed to take my classes. As I spent time in the Diversity Center, and got to know more students of color, more students of color took my classes. In terms of electives, several students told me, they tried to only take those recommended by their friends. And one of the important recommendations was whether a professor was attentive to issues of diversity. I try to model inclusivity in terms of religion, race, gender, sexuality and I try to encourage the same in my students, but both can be difficult! I wanted to take on this role as faculty associate in order to think about how to improve our habits and structures to be more inclusive of diversity in all its forms.