Faculty and Staff
- Director, Michael Babcock
- Instructional Designer, Ken Silvesteri
- Program Coordinator, Emily Smith
- Instructional Designer, Nina Mondré Schweppe
- Assistant Director - Research & Scholarship, Nika Stoop
Director, Ph.D.
Professor, Psychology
406-994-5175
mbabcock@montana.edu
Michael serves as the Director of the Center for Faculty Excellence (CFE). Working with the CFE team, he oversees faculty development programs in coordination with other academic areas, including orientations, discussion groups, mentoring opportunities, DEDL, and several provost's office grant programs. He is a faculty member in the Department of Psychology, served two terms as Faculty Senate chair, MSU's third Presidential Faculty Leadership Fellow, and department head of Earth Sciences. Michael received his Ph.D. in psychology with an emphasis in behavioral neuroscience. He joined the MSU faculty in 1991 after completing a postdoctoral fellowship at UCLA School of Medicine.
Instructional Designer MS Ed Tech
406-994-7835
kenneth.silvestri@montana.edu
Ken helps advance teaching and learning at MSU by providing instructional support to faculty through workshops on pedagogy and use of instructional technologies, one-on-one consultations, faculty learning communities, and online training courses. In addition, he coordinates programs to connect faculty to resources and each other such as grants to attend teaching-related conferences, teaching-related awards, and the Early Career Faculty Mentoring program.
Program Coordinator
406-994-4555
As a program coordinator for MSU, Emily fulfills a dual role by working for both the Center for Faculty of Excellence and the Undergraduate Scholars Program. At CFE, her work includes acting as a point of contact for faculty, planning events, developing online and in-person communications, and processing certifications.
Instructional Designer, MA
216-650-6601
Nina's backgound in language acquisition pedagogy, undergraduate teaching and neurodivergent learning combine to provide a space for faculty to collaborate and learn how to best integrate universal design for learning into classroom spaces. She also assists the CFE's Advisory Committee as current chair of the Service and Outreach subcommittee.
Assistant Director - Research & Scholarship Ph.D.
406-994-5338
nikastoop@montana.edu
Nika focuses on supporting faculty scholarship and communication to enhance its significance and impact and expand interdisciplinary scholarship. She provides workshops and one-on-one consultations on grant proposal writing, publications, identifying and connecting with potential collaborators, and support for career development. She provides mentor training and supports Retention, Tenure and Promotion training.