Faculty Panel: Teaching in the Age of AI

James Lang is a professor of the practice in Notre Dame Learning’s Kaneb Center for Teaching Excellence. He has authored six books, the most recent of which are Distracted: Why Students Can't Focus and What You Can Do About It; Small Teaching: Everyday Lessons from the Science of Learning; Cheating Lessons: Learning from Academic Dishonesty; and On Course: A Week-by-Week Guide to Your First Semester of College Teaching. Jim also holds the title of emeritus professor of English at Assumption University, where he founded and directed the university’s teaching center. He writes a regular column on teaching and learning for The Chronicle of Higher Education and co-edits a book series on higher education for the University of Oklahoma Press. Jim is a graduate of Notre Dame with a B.A. in English and philosophy. He holds an M.A. in English from Saint Louis University and a Ph.D. in English from Northwestern University.

Susan D. Blum is a professor in the University of Notre Dame’s Department of Anthropology, where she specializes in the cultural, linguistic, and psychological anthropology of China and the United States education system. She received her Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Michigan and also has two master’s degrees—one in anthropology and another in Chinese language and literature (both from Michigan)—as well as a B.A. in human language from Stanford University. Susan is the author and editor of 10 books and dozens of articles, as well as public-facing writing. Her latest book, Schoolishness: Alienated Education and the Quest for Authentic, Joyful Learning, is the third in a trilogy about higher education. The other two books are “I Love Learning; I Hate School”: An Anthropology of College and My Word! Plagiarism and College Culture. She also edited a widely read book calling into question the centrality and necessity of grading, Ungrading: Why Rating Students Undermines Learning (and What to Do Instead).

Catie Adamo joined the Department of Applied and Computational Mathematics and Statistics (ACMS) as an assistant teaching professor in 2022. She holds a bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. in mathematics, and a bachelor’s and Ph.D. minor in mathematics education from North Carolina State University. Prior to attending graduate school, Catie taught high school mathematics for six years. During that time, she won numerous teaching awards, was invited to write district curricula, and was responsible for training other educators. She also won a variety of teaching awards as a graduate student at NC State. Catie has recently developed or redesigned several courses for the ACMS department that both emphasize computational mathematics and implement best teaching practices. In addition, she supervises undergraduate research in post-quantum, lattice-based cryptography.

Keith Urtel is an associate teaching professor in the Department of Accountancy in Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business. He has more than 40 years of experience in public accounting practice as a financial executive, primarily with Ernst & Young (EY). At EY, he held various audit and accounting leadership roles and has served clients globally while focusing on the life sciences practice. Keith completed EY’s Executive Leadership Certificate Program at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and the AACSB’s Bridge Program, “Your Path from Executive to Educator,” at Washington University in St. Louis. He maintains his professional credentials through consulting work at BDO. At Notre Dame, he coordinates the University’s Master of Science in Accountancy Summer Accounting Immersion Program.