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Anna Merrill

Clinical Assistant Professor

Anna Merrill transferred from Visiting Clinical Assistant Professor to Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Applied Psychology in ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø and Research Methodology. Merrill is a licensed psychologist and has worked in clinical practice in school, hospital, and private practice settings in Indiana and Massachusetts. She earned her PhD in School Psychology from Indiana University – Bloomington and was a graduate assistant at the Indiana Resource Center for Autism. Merrill completed an APPIC-accredited/APA-approved psychology internship at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. She completed her post-doctoral fellowship with the Leadership and ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) training program at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. In addition to clinical practice, Merrill provides consultation services for schools and professional development for educators and medical professionals.

Nan Mu

Clinical Assistant Professor

Nan Mu transferred from Visiting Clinical Assistant Professor to Clinical Assistant Professor in the Counseling and ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøal Psychology department. Mu’s research interests include children’s social and cognitive development, especially in perspective taking, bilingualism, and language acquisition. Mu earned their Ph.D. in ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø from Johns Hopkins University in 2024. For a decade before coming to the US, Mu taught English at the university level, working with Chinese undergraduate students to improve their spoken and written English.

Arnold Rodríguez Robles

Postdoctoral Fellow

Arnold Rodríguez Robles joins the School of ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø as a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Applied Psychology in ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø and Research Methodology (APERM) and the Learning and Developmental Evaluation Clinic (LDEC). He earned his Ph.D. in School Psychology, with an emphasis in Quantitative Methods, from the University of California, Santa Barbara and is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist (NCSP). Rodríguez Robles recently completed an APA-accredited clinical psychology internship at McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, where he conducted pediatric neuropsychological and neurodevelopmental assessments and provided intervention services in an inpatient psychiatric hospital setting. Broadly, his research focuses on advancing psychometric methodologies, examining executive functioning and language development in early childhood, and improving neuropsychological assessment practices for culturally and linguistically diverse youth. Through this work, he aims to develop culturally sound diagnostic tools and evidence-based practices that improve outcomes for diverse children and families.

Esther Kataate Namakula

Postdoctoral Fellow

Esther Kataate Namakula joins the School of ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø as a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction. She holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction and Science ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø and an M.S.Ed. in Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methodologies, both from Indiana University Bloomington, as well as an M.S. in Physics from Makerere University and a B.S. in ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø from Kyambogo University, both in Uganda. Her research examines physics and science teacher education, teacher professional learning, gender-inclusive pedagogy, curriculum development, and scientific argumentation, and the design and evaluation of professional development. Her recent work investigates Ugandan physics teacher educators' orientations, planning, and classroom practices for gender-inclusive teaching, contributing new insights into how teacher educators conceptualize and enact equitable physics instruction.

Erin Rich

Clinical Assistant Professor

Erin Rich transferred from Postdoctoral Fellow to Clinical Assistant Professor in Curriculum and Instruction. Rich's research focuses on preservice teacher self-efficacy in mathematics education, intersections of children's literature and elementary mathematics, multimodal approaches to math instruction, problem-solving strategies in the classroom, and methods to enhance girls' engagement and self-efficacy in STEM fields. Rich has authored and co-authored research published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at several national conferences, highlighting her commitment to advancing knowledge in the field of mathematics education.

Kevin Tavin

Clinical Professor

Kevin Tavin moves from Visiting Clinical Professor to Clinical Professor within the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. After earning his Ph.D. in Art ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø with a minor in Curriculum and Instruction from The Pennsylvania State University, his distinguished career has included professorships at Aalto University in Finland, The Ohio State University, and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, as well as teaching positions at various other institutions. With a BFA, M.Ed., and Ph.D. in art education, Tavin has been teaching at K-12 and post-secondary for over 30 years. His research spans art education, visual culture, contemporary art theory and pedagogy, post-digital/internet culture, psychoanalytic theory, and algorithms and affect for art education, resulting in numerous publications in international art and education journals and books, as well as several national and international conference presentations.

Hannah Gahimer

Clinical Assistant Professor

Hannah Gahimer transferred from Visiting Clinical Assistant Professor to Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøal Leadership and Policy Studies (ELPS), bringing extensive expertise in education law and civil rights. She earned her Doctor of Jurisprudence, with a minor in ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Law, from the Indiana University Maurer School of Law. Professor Gahimer most recently served as an Associate Attorney at Church Church Hittle + Antrim, where she represented K-12 public school corporations, charter schools, and institutions of higher education in complex legal matters. Her research and practice interests encompass student and employee constitutional rights, tort law and school liability for negligence, employment-related civil rights compliance, and the intersection of law and educational equity. Gahimer is committed to enhancing legal literacy in educational settings through her publications, presentations at ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Law Association conferences, and work bridging legal practice and educational leadership preparation.

Nicholas Hillman

Professor

Nicholas Hillman joins the School of ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø as a Professor in the Higher ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø and Student Affairs program within the Department of ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøal Leadership and Policy Studies (ELPS). He earned his Ph.D. in ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøal Leadership & Policy Studies from Indiana University Bloomington, along with a Master of Public Affairs and a B.S. in Public Affairs, both from IU’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Hillman joins IU from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he was Professor of ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøal Leadership & Policy Analysis and directed the Student Success Through Applied Research Lab. His research examines higher education finance, financial aid policy, performance-based funding, and college access, with particular attention to geography and rural postsecondary education. He is the author of Civil Rights and Federal Higher ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø (2022) and has published extensively in leading journals such as the American ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøal Research Journal and ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøal EvaluationandPolicy Analysis. Hillman has secured millions of dollars in external research funding from federal agencies and major foundations, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the U.S. Department of ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø, and has provided invited testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives on higher education accountability. He has also served on numerous journal editorial boards and national technical review panels. Hillman is committed to using rigorous, policy-relevant research to advance equity and student success in postsecondary education.

Marialexia Zaragoza

Postdoctoral Fellow

Marialexia Zaragoza joins the School of ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø as a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Center for Postsecondary Research. She holds a Ph.D. in Higher ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø from the University of Pittsburgh, where her dissertation examined students’ liberatory outcomes from participating in high-impact practices at a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), and a B.A. in Sociology with a minor in Chicana and Chicano Studies from California State University, Fullerton. Zaragoza’s research focuses on HSIs, servingness, high-impact practices, and the experiences of racially minoritized and Latinx students in higher education. She has published in journals including the Journal of Higher ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø and the Association of Mexican American Educators Journal and has presented her work at national conferences such as the American ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøal Research Association and the Association for the Study of Higher ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø. Most recently, Zaragoza has served as a Hispanic Serving Institution Project Analyst and Program Coordinator at UCLA, and she remains an active member of the Hispanic Serving Institution Research Colectiva. She has also held numerous service roles supporting Latinx students, including as an application reviewer for the American Association of Hispanics in Higher ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Graduate Student Fellowship Program. Zaragoza is committed to advancing equity and liberatory practices for Latinx communities in higher education. 

Laura Lambert

Postdoctoral Fellow

Laura Lambert joins the School of ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø as a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Center for Postsecondary Research. She recently completed her Ph.D. in Assessment and Measurement at James Madison University, with coursework spanning item response theory, classical test theory, Rasch modeling, and structural equation modeling. She also holds an M.S. in Human Genetics from Virginia Commonwealth University, an M.A.T. from James Madison University, and a dual bachelor’s degree in Biology and Spanish from the University of Virginia. Lambert brings extensive teaching and applied measurement experience. Her research centers on learning improvement, equity-centered data visualization, and innovative approaches to assessment practice, including the use of AI for culturally responsive item generation. She has published in journals such as Innovative Higher ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø and Practical Assessment, Research, and Evaluation, and regularly presents and leads workshops at national venues including the Assessment Institute and the National Council on Measurement in ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø. Lambert also serves as Associate Editor and Review Board Member for Research and Practice in Assessment. She is committed to advancing rigorous, accessible, and equity-minded assessment practice in higher education.

Spencer Perry

Postdoctoral Fellow

Spencer Perry joins the School of ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø as a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Office of Research and Development. He holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction, Science ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø from Indiana University, Bloomington, where his dissertation examined career retention among early- to mid-career physics teachers, an M.S. in Instructional Psychology and Technology from Brigham Young University (BYU), and a B.S. in Physics Teaching from BYU. Perry brings extensive K-12 and higher education teaching experience, having taught physics, chemistry, astronomy, and general science at the secondary level before serving as a Clinical Faculty Associate in BYU’s physical science teacher preparation program and, most recently, as an Associate Instructor in Science ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø at IU. His research focuses on physics teacher preparation, retention, and teacher professional learning, and he has published in outlets including The Physics Teacher and the International Journal of ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø in Mathematics, Science, and Technology. Perry is active in the physics education community, currently serving as Past President of the Indiana Section of the American Association of Physics Teachers and previously as Cochair of AAPT’s Community on Teacher Preparation. He is committed to supporting physics teachers throughout their careers through research, professional development, and mentorship.