About the Hub
Autumm Caines, Lead Instructional Designer
Autumm joined The Hub in February of 2019. She has earned an M.A. in Educational Technology from The Ohio State University and B.S. in Communication Technology from Eastern Michigan University. She is a Michigan native and is a first-generation high school graduate from Melvindale High School. For close to fifteen years, Autumm has worked with faculty and administrators creating online learning experiences, faculty development, and university wide technology integrations. She comes to The Hub after professional appointments at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio and St. Norbert College in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Autumm's scholarly and research interests include blended/hybrid and online learning, open education, digital literacy/citizenship with a focus on equity and access, and online community development. She has taught digital citizenship and first year success strategies at the undergraduate level and is active in several online educational communities. Autumm frequently publishes and presents on digital pedagogy. You can find out more about her publications and presentations on her professional website at autumm.org.
Belen Garcia, Instructional Designer
Belen earned her Ph.D. in Learning Design and Technology with a focus on engineering education from Purdue University. Her dissertation is about using computer games for middle school science learning. Previously, she taught an introductory instructional technology course for pre-service teachers to design student-centered instruction for K-12. She has also taught Spanish at the college level and German at the high school level. She assists faculty by providing one-to-one consultations and workshops about curriculum redesign, instructional technology, learning theories, instructional design models and best practices to develop online, hybrid and traditional courses.
Beth Medere, Administrative Support
Beth joined The Hub in June 2018. She has been with UM-Dearborn since 2015, providing support to both Business and Academic Affairs. Beth has worked in higher education in a variety of departments and colleges over the years; including Texas A&M University in Bryan-College Station, Texas as well as The United World College in Montezuma, New Mexico.
Jessica Riviere, Instructional Designer
Jessica earned a Ph.D. in German Literature from Vanderbilt University, where she taught the first four semesters of German language courses as well as classes in European Studies. She was a faculty adviser for the College of Arts and Sciences at Vanderbilt before moving to Columbus, OH to work in the teaching center at Ohio State University. She started at the Hub in August of 2020. Jessica's dissertation work focused on women's essayistic writing in German at the time of the French revolution. As an educational developer, Jessica's research centers on best practices in graduate education, including supporting graduate student instructors.
Carla Vecchiola, Director
Carla is responsible for organizing faculty enrichment sessions, managing teaching grants, and supporting Academic Service-Learning. Her work in the Hub is guided by the commitment to co-create programs and services with faculty rather than for faculty so that the Hub is meaningfully connected to faculty needs. Carla works to ensure that the Hub serves as a network through which faculty can share their strong teaching practices in order to better serve Dearborn’s student population which is 43% Pell Grant eligible, 38% first generation, and 44% of whom have care-giving responsibilities. Carla earned her doctorate from the University of Michigan’s Program in American Culture; her doctoral research, an ethnography of Detroit electronic musicians, focused on cities and communities. She is also a LEO Lecturer IV in History teaching two classes a year.