CEHD Research in Press: 2025 December

NEWS 

Dr. Rob Stupnisky’s work on faculty motivation was cited in a recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education by Kevin McClure entitled, “Faculty Motivation in a Uniquely Demotivating Time.” https://www.chronicle.com/article/faculty-motivation-in-a-uniquely-demotivating-time

Randy Perkins (EFR PhD) was awarded a Nyswander-Blanchard Pre-Dissertation Fellowship for the 2025-2026 academic year. The Nyswander–Blanchard Pre-Dissertation Fellowships support tribal college and university (TCU) faculty who are in the pre-dissertation stage of a doctoral program and help to cover program fees, research expenses, software, periodicals, and travel.

SPOTLIGHT

To start 2026, we are highlighting a selection of completed and active grants within CEHD that showcase the breadth and impact of faculty research, scholarship, and innovation.

Dr. Julie Robinson received NSF Award #2201196 for Project CuRRENT: Using Integrated, Place-Based Watershed Curriculum to Increase Teacher Self-Efficacy with Culturally Relevant STEM ($449,999). In partnership with Turtle Mountain College and the International Water Institute, this project supported teachers in strengthening the community relevance of their STEM curriculum through an integrated, place-based watershed approach. Fifteen teachers across three schools revised and developed curriculum that intentionally connected learning to place, local watersheds, and the North Dakota Native American Essential Understandings. Project outcomes include seven open-access online modules designed to align STEM instruction with each of the seven Essential Understandings, expanding access to culturally relevant, place-based teaching resources.

Dr. Ryan Summers led the Rural Student Teaching Experience (RSTE), a program supported by the National Science Foundation through the ND-ACES NSF EPSCoR Track-1 Cooperative Agreement (OIA #1946202). Between fall 2021 and spring 2025, 33 teacher candidates from across the North Dakota University System received financial support and mentoring while completing student teaching placements in rural North Dakota schools. Participants were selected through a competitive application process and received a $10,000 stipend to offset living expenses, enabling them to focus on teaching. Over the life of the program, five UND undergraduates participated, and as of May 2025, 79% of all participants (26 of 33) secured full-time P–12 teaching positions, with the majority choosing to teach in rural communities.

Dr. Logan Rutten recently co-directed Making Holocaust and Genocide Education Relevant Through Inquiry and Classroom Application, a professional learning residency funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. This grant supported 30 in-service teachers in deepening their understanding of inquiry-based pedagogies for facilitating high-quality Holocaust and genocide education. The project emphasized classroom application and teacher collaboration, resulting in scholarly dissemination as well as instructional impact. The first peer-reviewed journal article emerging from this work—coauthored with participating teachers—was published in early 2025, with an additional manuscript currently under review.

Dr. Jesse Rhoades has secured a NASA M-STAR grant supporting the development of an Extravehicular Activity Gait Assist Device (the “EVA Boot Project”) totaling $887,985 (2023). This project focuses on the design and development of a gait-assist system to improve astronaut locomotion during lunar extravehicular activity by enhancing reduced-gravity gait efficiency, reducing joint loading, and mitigating fatigue. The work represents a significant contribution to Artemis-era technology development and positions UND as a leader in EVA biomechanics and spaceflight hardware innovation.

LATEST SCHOLARSHIP

CEHD faculty are in bold, and CEHD students are underlined. 

Publications

Colbert, K., Larimore, J., Perkins, R. W. (In Press, Spring 2026 publication). Indigenous Inclusion and Innovation by Design: Early Thoughts on How TCUs Can Leverage the Potential of Generative Ai (GenAI). Volume 2 of INDIGENOUS AND DECOLONIZING STUDIES IN EDUCATION (Series), Drs. Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang, eds. Routledge.

Bodensteiner, A.R., Hunter, J. & Syversen, K.B. Words have power: an analyses of word use and conversations by teachers as they transition to teaching in an outdoor classroom. Journal of Outdoor and Environmental Education (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42322-025-00234-3

Presentations

Perkins, R. W. (2025, December 12). Workshop 2: Introduction to using AI: Increasing your productivity and bringing it to the classroom. Invited presentation for In American Indian College Fund Online Teaching Workshop Series. https://collegefund.org/faculty/pd/

Barott, S., Knight, S., Montez-Helu, M., Perkins, R. W., Watkins-Melgarejo, S. (2025, October 9-11). AI Navigation in Higher Education and Tribal Colleges [Conference presentation]. Invited speaker at 2025 American Association for Teaching and Curriculum Annual Meeting, Minneapolis, MN.

Perkins, R. W. (2025, February 28) Freire 2.0: AI as Accelerator in Community Action/Project-Based Advanced Rhetoric at a Tribal College in Northern Minnesota [Conference presentation]. AI in Action Lightning Round, AI and Human Innovation Showcase, University of North Dakota AI and Human Innovation Initiative, Grand Forks, ND.

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