Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
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  2. SoTL Spotlight Podcast /
  3. Season 3 /
  4. Episode 5 - Hope Circuits and SoTL

Episode 5 - Hope Circuits and SoTL

Joining Joel is Jessica Riddell from Bishop's University in Canada to talk about the powerful Hope Circuits idea.The Hope Circuits project had more than 300 interviews with educators, academic leaders, and system navigators,looking at how to reinvent hope in higher education. We look at how SoTL can be a positive catalyst for teachers to flourish.

Jessica Riddell

Dr. Jessica Riddell

Dr. Jessica Riddell is the founder of Hope Circuits Institute, a think tank dedicated to systems re-wiring and renewal in the post-secondary sector.

She is a Full Professor of Early Modern Literature in the English Department at Bishop’s University (Quebec, Canada). She holds the Stephen A. Jarislowsky Chair of Undergraduate Teaching Excellence; in this capacity, she focuses on systems-change in higher education that fosters human flourishing; in her research, teaching, leadership, and administration, she participates in a wide range of conversations at the national and international levels about how universities fulfil the social contract to a broader society.

An award-winning educator and scholar, she has published on Shakespeare, institutional culture change, inter-institutional collaborations, experiential learning, and inclusive high-impact practices. Her recent book, with collaborators Dr. Lisa Dickson and Dr. Shannon Murray, is called Shakespeare's Guide to Hope, Life, and Learning (University of Toronto Press, 2023) and was nominated for the Gordon Book Prize. Her newest book, Hope Circuits: Rewiring Universities and other Systems for Human Flourishing, was published by McGill-Queen’s University Press in early 2024.

Dr. Riddell was awarded the William and Nancy Turner Award for Teaching Excellence (2011-2012) at Bishop’s University, received the 3M National Teaching Fellowship in 2015, was the recipient of a D2L Innovation Award for Teaching and Learning in 2022, and won the inaugural awards from Forces Avenir (Quebec) for Most Engaged Faculty/Staff Member in 2022.

She has received research funding from SSHRC, ECQ (Entente Canada et Quebec), and STLHE (Society of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education), and was awarded funding for innovation from the McConnell Foundation, The Jarislowsky Foundation, CEWIL (Canadian Experiential Work-Integrated Learning), and Business Higher Education Round Table (BHER).

Jessica Riddell has a robust leadership portfolio in higher education and serves on several boards, including the Board of Directors for the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), the Research Advisory Board for Future Skills Centre, and has served on the 3M National Fellows Council and as VP Canada for International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. At Bishop’s, she currently sits on the Board of Governors and at Senate as a Humanities senator.

She engages in public-facing activities and projects as an active contributor to public scholarship through her work as an award-winning columnist for University Affair Magazine, as a keynote speaker at international conferences and speakers series, and a regular guest on national news programs, including the CBC Sunday Edition, CBC Sunday Magazine, CBC Quebec AM, and the Globe and Mail (as a panelist and contributor).

In all these endeavours she is dedicated to making the academy more equitable, diverse, and inclusive, creating spaces for emerging scholars and amplifying student voices, decolonizing our institutions, advocating for teaching and learning as scholarly endeavors, and arguing for the relevance of the humanities. Dr. Riddell seeks to build communities and ecosystems animated by a generosity of spirit with a focus on mentorship, leadership, and a commitment to support established and emerging learners and scholars in the pursuit of knowledge creation and sharing.