Faculty and Staff
- Director, Shannon Willoughby
- Instructional Designer, Ken Silvesteri
- Instructional Designer, Cassia Hameline
- Program Coordinator, Emily Smith
- Assistant Director - Research & Scholarship, Nika Stoop
- CFE Fellow, Desiree Taylor
- Undergraduate Student Fellow, Whitney Walters
Director
Ph.D. She/Her
Associate Professor, Physics
406-994-1673
shannon.willoughby@montana.edu
Shannon serves as the Director for the Center for Faculty Excellence. Working with
the CFE team, she oversees faculty development programs in coordination with other
academic areas, including orientations, discussion groups, mentoring opportunities,
and several Provost's office grant programs. She maintains a presence in the classroom,
teaching Astronomy 110 and other courses in her home department of Physics. Her area
of expertise is in discipline based education research and she enjoys collaborating
across departments and colleges.
Instructional Designer M.S. 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, and teaching-related awards.
Instructional Designer Ph.D. in Creative Writing, M.S. in Instructional Design, Development, and Evaluation
406-994-4556
cassia.hameline@montana.edu
Cassia supports MSU faculty by providing practical instructional tools, strategies, and insights tailored to help them meet their unique teaching goals. With a background in curriculum design and higher education instruction, she fosters a collaborative, inclusive environment where instructors can explore, expand, and refine their pedagogical practices.
Program Coordinator B.A.
406-994-4555
Emily helps plan CFE's events and manages the center's business and HR operations. She contributes to internal and external communications, assists with attendance tracking of CFE's Certificate program and other administrative duties.
Assistant Director
Ph.D. She/Her
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.
CFE Fellow M.A. in Math Education, M.B.A., Ph.D. candidate
Desiree is an Instructor in the Jake Jabs College of Business & Entrepreneurship and Mathematical Sciences. She coordinates workshops focused on NTT faculty needs including the Title Advancement & Promotion process, using Faculty Success, using tuition waiver benefits and teaching with Canvas.
Whitney Walters
Whitney is majoring in psychology and sociology and plans to go to graduate school for counseling when she graduates in 2026. She is the person who greets you as you come into the CFE and Research Alliance space and creates our newsletter every other week.