The 2025-26 Faculty Fellows
Sarah Hearne is a historian of architecture and Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado Denver. She specializes in the historiography and display of architectural practices, with teaching and research focused on documentation, reproduction, and exhibition. Her curatorial work includes Print Ready Drawings (MAK Center, 2024), Architecture Itself and Other Postmodern Myths (Canadian Center for Architecture, 2019), and Make New History (Chicago Architecture Biennial, 2017). Her publications and projects explore overlooked forms of architectural labor and material circulation, supported by institutions such as the Graham Foundation, Getty Foundation, and Princeton Humanities Council.
Leslie Prock is a senior instructor in the ASPIRE to Teach Alternative Teacher Licensure program at the University of Colorado Denver's School of Education and Human Development. As an Alternative Licensure Instructor, she coaches and mentors new teacher candidates across diverse content areas, with expertise in World Languages and supporting diverse learners. Leslie is committed to inclusive pedagogies that foster community and equitable access to learning. Viewing teaching as reciprocal, she actively learns from and with students and fellow faculty members. Her current research examines how students experience community in the SEHD and how educational communities can better foster belonging and support among students and faculty.
Katie Jones is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the School of Education and Human Development at the University of Colorado Denver. She works with novice special educators in the ASPIRE to Teach program and teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in-person and online. Grounded in care, compassion, and a commitment to equity, Katie focuses on creating inclusive classroom cultures through accessible design, responsive curriculum, and engagement strategies that foster belonging for all learners. Katie’s research interests center on practitioner-facing inquiry, including novice teacher retention, supporting neurodiverse students, post-COVID shifts in learning, the role of AI in the education landscape, and sustaining alternative pathway educators over time.
Soumia Bardhan is an associate professor of Communication & director of International Studies. As a CETL Faculty Fellow, she is leading an initiative on teaching innovation through responsible AI integration. Her project emphasizes building faculty and student capacity for ethical, inclusive, and human-centered AI use, while also considering global and cultural dynamics in how AI shapes learning. Through workshops, training sessions, and on-demand resources, she aims to create a scalable model for AI-enhanced teaching that advances the University’s leadership in digital transformation.
Qiong Hu is a teaching assistant professor in Business Analytics at CU Denver and a TIPS Faculty Fellow focused on "Making Quantitative Subjects Accessible: Inclusive Pedagogy for Data Literacy." She develops teaching strategies that engage diverse learners in statistical and analytical concepts, using real-world applications and visual learning to reduce quantitative anxiety.
Rachel Gross is an associate professor of history and co-director of the Public History Program. She collaborates with students, faculty, and community groups on public projects that explore the history of displacement and community resistance on the Auraria campus. Her teaching fellow project is Working With New Teachers: Faculty and the Training of Graduate Student TAs. This work focuses on creating opportunities for departmental collaboration in training graduate students who serve as teaching assistants, instructors, and graders across campus.
Betcy Jose is an Associate Professor in the Political Science Department and Director of the Standard Graduate Program there. Her research centers on international humanitarian law, civilians in war, and global norms. She teaches courses on the United Nations, human rights, and world politics. Her recent service work has focused on the needs of CU-Denver's international community. She also assists attorneys with political asylum cases.
Dèsa Karye Daniel is an Assistant Professor of Counseling in The School of Education and Human Development at the University of Colorado Denver. She aspires to create and facilitate courses which emphasize strategies that support diverse learners. Her goal is to bridge the gap between clinical practice and teaching pedagogy, ensuring that real-world experiences inform our educational approaches. She aims to contribute to a community committed to innovative teaching practices, ultimately enhancing student success and fostering a more inclusive academic environment that elevates all voices.
Mohammad Riaz Uddin is an Associate Teaching Professor of Finance and TIPS Division/CETL Faculty Fellow at CU Denver Business School. He holds a Ph.D. in Finance from the University of Texas at Arlington, with earlier degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Dhaka, where he was a Fulbright fellow. His research in corporate finance, investments, and behavioral biases has earned multiple awards, including recognition from the Southern Finance Association, Financial Management, and Emerald Literati. Dr. Uddin has taught at institutions worldwide, including Marshall University, the American University of Beirut, and the University of Dhaka. His work has been published in leading journals such as the Journal of Banking & Finance, Financial Management, and the Journal of Behavioral Finance.
Alex Yueyan Li is an architect and Assistant Professor of Architecture at the University of Colorado Denver. He leads 11 x 17, a research-driven design practice that explores architecture’s material politics, approaching building construction as a conceptual device to engage larger issues around resources, labor, and form. In 2025, the practice was named a winner of the League Prize by the Architectural League of New York. Their work has been published globally and featured in the Chicago Architecture Biennial, ArchDaily, AZURE, Architect’s Newspaper, Architect Magazine, Architectural Record, Archinect, New York Review of Architecture, DesignTO, and others.