What exactly do academic advisors do—and how can faculty benefit from understanding that role more clearly? In this episode, four of George Mason University’s professional academic advisors unpack the realities of advising with our host, Dr. Rachel Yoho. They explain where their work begins and ends, how they partner with faculty, and why collaboration matters more than ever for student success. Faculty listeners will gain insight into how advisors’ unique relationships with students can complement how students show up in classrooms and how partnerships between faculty and advisors can strengthen student referral practices, retention, and holistic student support. In a time of growing enrollment pressures and AI‑driven change, this conversation offers practical perspectives on how faculty and advisors can work together to better serve students. 

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Find out how the Stearns Center for Teaching and Learning at George Mason University and Northern Virginia Community College’s Center for the Advancement of Teaching Excellence are natural collaborators as we navigate how to support faculty in today’s higher education landscape. In this episode, your host, Dr. Rachel Yoho, explores this dynamic educational partnership with guests Dr. Indigo Eriksen and Hector Revollo from NVCC. These two institutions share a region, many students, resources, and even faculty. Listen in to find out how our guests are supporting faculty to feel empowered in our current, challenging environment, particularly around artificial intelligence. 

Resource: ADVANCE: https://advancesuccess.gmu.edu/ 

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Dive into our discussion with Drs. Stephanie Bluth and Alyssa Bivins from the Graduate Division! The host, Dr. Rachel Yoho, explores how our guests developed their innovative graduate teacher training programs, the importance of strategic unit collaboration across universities, and why everyone could benefit from having teaching skills. Find out how the Graduate Division developed evidence-based solutions to a ubiquitous issue in higher education: how many college instructors do not receive any teacher training before stepping in front of a classroom. Listen in as they share their experiences in creating productive communities of practice not just for graduate instructors, but for anyone who wants to talk about and assess their teaching. 

Resources: George Mason University Graduate Division:  https://graduate.gmu.edu/, Yoho, Rachel and E. Shelley Reid. Establishing Teaching Centers as Partners in Institution-Wide Initiatives. POD Perspectives, Vol. 1, Iss. 1 (2024), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.15868/socialsector.44761  

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In this episode, Dr. Tawnya Azar joins your host, Dr. Rachel Yoho, to share actionable strategies about how to avoid becoming the “AI Police” and teach students to think critically about how and when to responsibly use AI in college. Additionally, she shares how to meaningfully build rapport and trust with students in an online classroom and provides insightful tips to help students find value in demonstrating their learning – rather than relying on AI. Listen in to find out how Dr. Azar found joy in teaching in the age of artificial intelligence! 

Resource: Yoho, R. (2023), No, Let's Not Go Back to Handwritten Activities: Inclusive Teaching Strategies in the Context of ChatGPT. The National Teaching & Learning Forum, 32: 1-4. https://doi.org/10.1002/ntlf.30379

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Drs. Esther Park, Iulia Fratila, Allison Miner, and Yanika Kowitlawakul join your host, Dr. Rachel Yoho, to discuss how they got started as new faculty members, their efforts to transform their teaching and students’ learning, and engagement with professional development. 

Resource: Stearns Center events calendar:  https://stearnscenter.gmu.edu/events/ (events open to Mason affiliates only) 

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Dr. Lynnette Leonard and Dr. Dakota McCarty join your host, Dr. Rachel Yoho, to explore how we approach from different disciplines teaching difficult topics, including those with social contexts and relevance. 

Resource: Mason Korea website:  https://masonkorea.gmu.edu 

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Drs. Tom Polk and Joan Hwang join your host, Dr. Rachel Yoho, to explore what Writing Across the Curriculum is, how it has developed, and current initiatives and impacts. 

Resources: Writing Across the Curriculum:  https://wac.gmu.edu/ WAC Research Reports:  https://wac.gmu.edu/past-assessment-and-program-review-resources/ Meaningful Writing Report:  go.gmu.edu/meaningfulwriting  

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In our second Hear From Your Host episode, Dr. Rachel Yoho, the regular host of the podcast, becomes the guest as Producer Kelly Chandler guest hosts to facilitate a conversation on how we prepare for and navigate difficult situations in educational spaces.

Resource: Stearns Center Events Calendar (registrations for George Mason affiliates only):  https://stearnscenter.gmu.edu/events/ 

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Dr. Lisa Gring-Pemble, Dr. Aimee Weinstein, Maoria Kirker, and Doug McKenna join your host, Dr. Rachel Yoho, to discuss alternative grading strategies such as ungrading.

Resource: Stearns Center Events Calendar (registrations for Mason affiliates only):  https://stearnscenter.gmu.edu/events/ 

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Zach Greenberg, from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), joins your host, Dr. Rachel Yoho, as the first guest from outside of the university to have an exploratory and academic talk about the timely topics of free speech and academic freedom. Please note that this episode was planned in June 2025 and recorded in August 2025. This is an academic exploration of a topic, not a set of directives, as are all podcast episodes. 

Resources: The FIRE Org: https://www.thefire.org FIRE’s Free Speech page:  https://www.thefire.org/defending-your-rights/free-speech FIRE’s Academic Freedom page:  https://www.thefire.org/defending-your-rights/academic-freedom FIRE’s Research & Learn page:  https://www.thefire.org/research-learn  

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