University Core Directory
Saint Louis University's Undergraduate Core is overseen by a team of associate directors. These individuals, each overseeing a distinct core component area, together lead SLU's shared efforts to implement our new undergraduate core curriculum.
Four core-affiliated faculty teaching primarily in the core deliver key components of the core curriculum. Additionally, our eight Undergraduate Core Curricular Fellows are dedicated to ensuring that SLU's core is shaped by the voices and perspectives of undergraduate students.
Associate Directors of the Core
Ellen Crowell, Ph.D.
Director of the University Undergraduate Core
ellen.crowell@slu.edu
314-977-2232
Ellen Crowell has served as Saint Louis University’s director of the University core since June 2018. A SLU faculty member since 2004, Crowell has won multiple institutional awards for her teaching and has also been recognized for her extensive service in support of undergraduate education. She directed both the undergraduate English program and the English department’s research-intensive honors program, and has served on the College of Arts and Sciences Academic Honesty, Undergraduate Curriculum, and Core Assessment committees.
University-wide, she has served on the University Honors Program Faculty Advisory Board, the Undergraduate Academic Affairs Committee, and on Academic Affairs initiatives related to supporting and advancing integrative learning and undergraduate research.
Liz Burke, Ph.D.
Assistant director of the University Undergraduate Core
liz.burke@slu.edu
314-977-7366
Liz Burke began as assistant director of the University core in July 2023. As a long-term faculty member in the ESL Program at SLU, she has extensive experience teaching undergraduate and graduate courses and was selected as a Reinert Center Innovative Teaching Fellow in 2019. Liz has also served on and chaired numerous committees and has led multiple curriculum development, revision, and assessment projects. She also coordinated the International Partnership Program with the Honors Program during her tenure in the ESL Program. Liz received her doctorate in higher education administration from SLU, and she is grateful for the opportunity to use her passion for education, research, and administration to help provide access to a world-class Jesuit education for all SLU students.
Justin Keenan
Program assistant of the University Undergraduate Core
justin.keenan@slu.edu
314-977-4190
Justin Keenan began as the core program assistant in May 2024. Having studied as a Billiken, he is delighted to serve now as a staff member. He earned his Master of Theological Studies from SLU in 2022, as well as his Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience from SLU in 2020. Originally from Maryland’s Eastern Shore, he is happy to adopt St. Louis as a new home city. His scholarly interests include LGBTQ+ theology and ancient church history. Casual interests include stargazing at the planetarium and collecting Hello Kitty memorabilia.
Bobby Wassel, Ph.D.
Associate director of the University Undergraduate Core: Cura Personalis and Reflection-in-Action
Director, Center for Social Action
bobby.wassel@slu.edu
314-977-2041
Bobby Wassel serves as a director of SLU's Center for Social Action. His passion for seeing the tremendous impact that community engagement experiences can have on a student's personal development, values clarification, and vocational discernment motivated him to be a part of the UUCC team. Believing that a college education should be focused not just on career preparation but also on good citizenship, Wassel's favorite quote is from James Truslow Adams: "There should be two educations. One should teach us how to make a living, the other ... how to live."
Atria Larson, Ph.D.
Associate director of the University Undergraduate Core: Theological and Philosophical Foundations
Department of Theological Studies
College of Arts and Sciences
atria.larson@slu.edu
314-977-2876
A person committed to the integration of faith and academic rigor, Atria Larson is honored by the opportunity to influence how every SLU undergraduate comes into dialogue with the Catholic, Jesuit intellectual and religious tradition underlying the University. She says, “My goal is that the Ultimate Questions courses foster an environment where students can articulate their own burning questions, the objects of their faith, the assumptions they bring to the world, and the ways in which their understanding of what is shapes who they can and should be.”
Nathaniel Rivers, Ph.D.
Associate director of the University Undergraduate Core: Eloquentia Perfecta (Written and Visual Communication)
Department of English
College of Arts and Sciences
nathaniel.rivers@slu.edu
314-977-2571
Nathaniel Rivers’ work as associate director of Eloquentia Perfecta (Written and Visual Communication) is motivated by how he sees writing working in the world. As a scholar trained in rhetorical theory, Nathaniel sees eloquentia perfecta as an ideal motive force for the teaching of writing: as a course of study, it prepares students to enter the public arena. Paired with rhetoric (as perfect eloquence), writing is a form of participation in world. Importantly, however, this taking part is mutually informing. Our participation in the world through writing necessarily shapes us as the writers we become.
To borrow, as Rivers often does, from Walter Ong, S.J., “We can now view in better perspective the world of writing in which we live, see better what this world really is, and what functionally literate human beings really are — that is, beings whose thought processes do not grow out of simply natural powers but out of these powers as structured, directly or indirectly, by the technology of writing.” To teach writing, even humbly, is to open students up to the worlds they inhabit.
Gary Barker
Associate director of the University Undergraduate Core: Eloquentia Perfecta (Oral and Visual Communication)
Department of Theater
College of Arts and Sciences
gary.barker@slu.edu
Gary Barker serves as Senior Associate Dean for Administration and Undergraduate Affairs in the College of Arts and Sciences. A SLU faculty member since 2001, he is a Professor of Theatre and works professionally as an actor and director. Barker has won institutional awards for his mentoring and research. Prior to the Dean's Office, he served as Chair of the Department of Visual and Performing Arts and Director of Theatre.
University-wide, he has served on University Committees/Working Groups such as Undergraduate Academic Affairs, University Undergraduate Associate Deans, and Academic Integrity. For the University Core, he was instrumental in the original Core-formation working groups and has served on the Theological and Philosophical Foundations and the Eloquentia Perfecta Subcommittees.
Joya Uraizee, Ph.D.
Associate director of the University Undergraduate Core: Equity and Global Identities
Department of English
College of Arts and Sciences
joya.uraizee@slu.edu
314-977-3514
Joya Uraizee, an English professor, loves African literature and is passionate about social justice. She believes that SLU students should make connections between their own disciplines and racial, gendered or class-based injustices around the world. They should also be empowered to stake out their own positions as global citizens.
David Kaplan, Ph.D.
Associate director of the University Undergraduate Core: Collaborative Inquiry
Department of Management
Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business
david.kaplan@slu.edu
314-977-3819
David Kaplan’s educational background in industrial relations relied heavily on collaborative inquiry. He continues to harness the lessons and values of collaborative inquiry to address research questions as well as exciting and expanding the curiosity and knowledge of his students. The goal of collaborative inquiry, to rephrase an old adage, is for students to recognize that they have more tools than a hammer and that not all problems are nails.
Hamish Binns
Associate director of the University Undergraduate Core: SLU-Madrid
Department of Modern Languages and ESL
Reinert Center Online Teaching Fellow
(+34) 91 554 5858
Hamish Binns is the program director for ESL, modern languages and education at SLU-Madrid and coordinates the community ESL program and other EFL service-learning projects. As his title and multiple roles indicate, he thrives in a creative, cooperative and cross-curricular setting, and this is what drew him to the undergraduate core. To coin the words of Pedro Arrupe, he is a “pathological optimist” and hopes to be able to infect others with his passion for education and the need for collaborative development within and between the two campuses to help construct a truly unique and meaningful learning experience for all undergraduates at Saint Louis University.
Core-Affiliated Faculty
Mary Maxfield, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral fellow
University Undergraduate Core and Women's and Gender Studies
mary.maxfield@slu.edu
LGBTQIA+ and feminist community formation, social justice activism, space and place, internet and technology studies
Katherine McKenna, Ph.D.
Teagle postdoctoral fellow
University Undergraduate Core and College of Arts and Sciences
katherine.mckenna@slu.edu
Katherine McKenna is a historian of early modern Europe and the Teagle Postdoctoral Fellow at SLU, where she co-leads the Confluence program. Confluence aims to revitalize undergraduate education in the humanities through transformative, text-based pedagogy. McKenna has extensive experience developing curricula that center interdisciplinary methods and intensive primary-source work, and she is excited to draw on her expertise to offer courses at the intersection of history and the sciences to SLU students. For more about her teaching and research, see her faculty page linked below.
Carolyn O'Laughlin, Ph.D.
Assistant professor, School of Education
University Undergraduate Core
carolyn.olaughlin@slu.edu
Practice areas include: higher education and student affairs administration, neurodivergence and autism, college student belonging and persistence, qualitative research methods
Kerry Wilson, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral fellow
African American Studies
College of Arts and Sciences
kerry.wilson@slu.edu
Kerry Wilson, Ph.D. is a native of St. Louis and a proud Saint Louis University alumnus (B.A. 2009, M.A. 2011). She received her doctorate in communication and media from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2022. Her research focuses on the intersection of racialized and gendered discourses of Black mothers in media. Her teaching interests include African American culture, gender studies, popular culture and media, and communication.
2024-25 Undergraduate Core Curricular Fellows
Ella Osenga
Ignite Seminar
Ella Osenga is a junior from Nashville majoring in Biology with a Spanish minor on the pre-dental track in the Honors program. Her interest in cross-discipline learning has led to her appreciate the mission of the Ignite Seminar. She has loved the Ignatian way of thinking, the emphasis on well-rounded development, and the way it prompts deep engagement with content, peers, and staff alike. She is thrilled to get to help develop this curriculum and play a role in introducing SLU students to the beauty of Jesuit values.
Ellen Nguyen
Cura Personalis and Reflection-in-Action
Ellen Nguyen is a rising sophomore from Carbondale, Illinois. She is currently studying chemistry with a possible minor in psychology. When she's not studying for exams, she likes to design graphics, watch movies, and try new foods. Ellen is honored and ecstatic to be contributing to SLU as a Core Fellow this year. As a fellow, she strives to help people explore new and unexpected passions through the Core curriculum, as she believes this is the foundation of an impactful college experience.
Youngji Cho
Theological and Philosophical Foundations
Youngji Cho, a senior from Seoul, South Korea, is majoring in Health Management and serving as a Campus Ministry undergraduate intern. She is excited to serve as a University Undergraduate Core Fellow for Theological and Philosophical Foundations, where she hopes to help create courses that inspire students to think deeply about life’s biggest questions, cultivate empathy, and engage in meaningful dialogue rooted in Ignatian values. She believes that thoughtful reflection and compassionate understanding are essential to personal growth and community building.
Amanda Kovathana
Eloquentia Perfecta: Written and Visual Communication
Amanda is thrilled to be a part of the Core Fellowship Team! A passionate advocate for the University Core Curriculum, she firmly believes in the transformative enrichment students gain through their Core experience, both academically and personally. Amanda values the Core not just as a set of courses, but as a foundation for critical thinking, curiosity, and lifelong learning. She also views communication delivery as a vital bridge to the world, seeing effective expression, whether spoken, written, or visual, as essential for fostering understanding, building relationships, and creating meaningful impact.
Bella Gustafson
Eloquentia Perfecta: Oral and Visual Communication and Creative Expression
Bella Gustafson is majoring in political science and international studies at SLU's Madrid campus. She believes the arts are vital to both one's understanding of themselves and of others; in her role as an University Undergraduate Core Fellow she aims to expand SLU students' opportunities for creative expression and inspire the growth of these skills through new artistic mediums.
Hannah Goodwin
Equity and Global Identities
Hannah Goodwin is a sophomore from Houston attending Saint Louis University's campus in Madrid. She is majoring in political science, international relations and minoring in international business. By committing her best to the Equity and Global Identities Subcommittee, she hopes to promote cultural and international awareness within students that will consequently cultivate a desire for compassion, understanding, equity, and justice.
Lear Rose
Ways of Thinking
Lear Rose (they/them) is a junior at Saint Louis University studying nonprofit administration and art history with a minor in marketing. Lear believes in the power of universities and students to create social good, a conviction shaped by their involvement in designing a contract major in nonprofit administration, spearheading Ignatian Q, and working with local leaders in the arts and culture sector. They are excited to serve as a University Undergraduate Core Fellow for Ways of Thinking, helping to improve curriculum design, exposing students to new ways of seeing the world, and pushing themselves to grow in empathy, courage, and civic leadership.
Megan Hughes
Collaborative Inquiry
Megan Hughes (she/her) is a junior majoring in chemistry with a minor in health care ethics on the pre-medicine track. She is the current president of SLU Bioethics Society, volunteers with Labre Ministries, and does biochemistry research under Dr. Baum. As the University Undergraduate Core Fellow for Collaborative Inquiry, Megan hopes to help improve the curriculum so students from all different backgrounds can find meaning in University Core courses and integrate what they have learned into their daily lives and future careers.