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Associate Vice President for Academic Affaris/ Inclusive Excellence
Associate Vice President for Academic Affaris/ Inclusive Excellence
Wilson Terrell Jr. is an Associate Professor in the Department of Engineering Science at Trinity University who received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. A previous recipient of the Trinity Tomorrow Award and President’s Award for Excellence in Student Advocacy, Dr. Terrell was co-chair of the University Task Force for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), and is currently involved in the campus MakerSpace initiative.
Wilson Terrell Jr. is an Associate Professor in the Department of Engineering Science at Trinity University who received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. A previous recipient of the Trinity Tomorrow Award and President’s Award for Excellence in Student Advocacy, Dr. Terrell was co-chair of the University Task Force for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), and is currently involved in the campus MakerSpace initiative.
Dr. Terrell invests in his students’ success not only by connecting them with campus services but by utilizing the help of the Collaborative and colleagues across the university to infuse pedagogical and student learning strategies in his courses.
Dr. Terrell invests in his students’ success not only by connecting them with campus services but by utilizing the help of the Collaborative and colleagues across the university to infuse pedagogical and student learning strategies in his courses.
Dr. Terrell also advocates for his students through the National Science Foundation’s FASTER grant program, which financially supports students in need who are pursuing STEM majors. He was one of the main authors of the first funded McNair Scholars grant, a U.S. Department of Education funding, for preparing first-generation, low-income undergraduates who are high achievers and want to engage in scholarly research or activity after earning a bachelor’s degree.
Dr. Terrell also advocates for his students through the National Science Foundation’s FASTER grant program, which financially supports students in need who are pursuing STEM majors. He was one of the main authors of the first funded McNair Scholars grant, a U.S. Department of Education funding, for preparing first-generation, low-income undergraduates who are high achievers and want to engage in scholarly research or activity after earning a bachelor’s degree.
To learn more about Dr. Terrell we asked him a few questions.
To learn more about Dr. Terrell we asked him a few questions.
How do you incorporate the science of learning into your courses?
How do you incorporate the science of learning into your courses?
I have great colleagues to collaborate with when incorporating learning techniques. It’s important to know that you don’t have to do this entirely by yourself, that we are a village. Initially, my partnership with the Student Success Center involved having students in my upper-level courses and labs attend a “Jump Start” workshop at the beginning of the semester, then select from another workshop of their choice. After ongoing conversations with Betty Curry, we saw an opportunity to provide more of an impact by infusing student success strategies directly into the freshman engineering design course. Based on further discussions with Betty, Katherine Troyer, Petra Bowman, Luke Tunstall, and Laura Kalb, we concluded the following topics were appropriate for first/second-year students: time management, reading/note-taking skills, problem-solving, and discovery/growth mindset. Finally, we worked on how to team teach various topics in the course. I can honestly say that this experience was amazing, and hopefully helped students.
What is the coolest/most fascinating thing about your fluid mechanic's lab? How do you transfer your excitement about this relevant subject to your students?
What is the coolest/most fascinating thing about your fluid mechanic's lab? How do you transfer your excitement about this relevant subject to your students?
I really enjoyed acquiring new equipment to support the fluid mechanics (and heat transfer) lab courses when we first moved into CSI, which was a big improvement in both the equipment and facilities. I remember these huge crates of equipment being stored, and felt like Christmas so much so that I couldn’t wait, and unbox everything myself during the winter break. The new fluid mechanics experiments such as pipe flow, pump, and wind tunnel provide hands-on experience for students and allowed me to transform this lab course to tie better with the lecture-based course. My excitement of fluid mechanics and other courses can be seen in how I organize the course to engage students intentionally, from my delivery of pre-lab lectures to helping a student with a question, and my genuine excitement for that “light bulb” moment when a student figures it out.
You are an example of a professor at TU who is very dedicated to and involved with the larger campus community. What have you enjoyed the most about working with faculty outside of your department and with members of the TU community at large?
You are an example of a professor at TU who is very dedicated to and involved with the larger campus community. What have you enjoyed the most about working with faculty outside of your department and with members of the TU community at large?
I enjoy being at Trinity because I can hang out not only with fellow STEM colleagues, but with social scientists, and humanists as well, and that’s unique to most other schools. As an early-career faculty, I attended “Beer Tuesday” regularly, so I obtained a wide perspective of what colleagues from across the university do. I learned that no one department has a monopoly on caring for their students or excellence in teaching, and that we have different approaches, some of which have helped me develop into a better faculty. Many of these colleagues have truly supported me in various initiatives, so I have a deep respect for both faculty and staff across the university.
You have devoted a lot of your time and energy to developing the CSI Makerspace into what it is today. What is your hope for this space in the future? What potential do you see in it for our students and faculty?
You have devoted a lot of your time and energy to developing the CSI Makerspace into what it is today. What is your hope for this space in the future? What potential do you see in it for our students and faculty?
With the MakerSpace, we wanted to change the culture from a transactional approach, where students give their hand or Computer-Aided Design (CAD) drawings to a technician to fabricate their parts or outsource to a company to manufacture, to a transformative/holistic approach, providing the education experience of students to see a design from concept to final product. Our hope is to “democratize” academic making by incorporating it in the Humanities and Social Science along in STEM. I see great potential for academic making because it relates to our Trinity Tomorrow strategic plan: support expanding and strengthening experiential learning opportunities for all students; integrating professional programs with the liberal arts and sciences; ability to pursue partnerships with other institutions (including universities, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and cultural institutions). There are amazing things being developed, which I can’t wait to see come to fruition.
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