News & Media

Ohio Wesleyan Appoints Associate Dean For Faculty Development

Ashley N. Biser, Ph.D., to Help Implement New Methods of Teaching, Assessing Student Achievement

DELAWARE, Ohio – Ohio Wesleyan University is appointing Ashley N. Biser, Ph.D., associate professor of politics and government, to the newly created position of associate dean for faculty development.

In the administrative role, Biser will work to develop and coordinate programing that helps Ohio Wesleyan faculty to implement new teaching methods, technologies, and methods of assessing student achievement. Biser also will help to create programing that promotes faculty scholarship, leadership, and advising.

“Ohio Wesleyan faculty work incredibly hard to provide our students with transformative educational experiences, while balancing active research agendas and significant service to the university,” said Biser, who joined the university in 2008. “I am excited to support my colleagues’ endeavors and work together to explore new avenues for collaboration.”

Biser will report to Provost Charles L. Stinemetz, Ph.D., who said the innovation and energy she demonstrates in her classroom made her a logical choice for this new role.

“Dr. Ashley Biser understands the challenges faculty face attempting to balance multiple demands while also continuing to develop as teachers, scholars, and campus leaders,” Stinemetz said. “Dr. Biser has a consistent record of engaging in and leading faculty development. I am confident that she will make a strong contribution in this role.”

At Ohio Wesleyan, Biser teaches a wide range of political theory courses including “Democracy and Its Critics,” “Classical Issues in Political Theory,” and “Political Theory, Science and Technology.” She also has led an OWU Travel-Learning Course to Athens, Greece, to study theories of citizenship. Her research interests are in contemporary political theory, focusing on the works of Hannah Arendt and Martin Heidegger.

Biser earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in politics and German Studies from Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts, and her doctorate from the University of Minnesota. She previously served as a fellow in genetics and the law at the Council for Responsible Genetics in 2003 and was a pre-doctoral visiting scholar at Northwestern University. Outside the classroom, Biser is a founding board member of Akili Dada, an international nonprofit organization that acts as a leadership incubator for young women in Kenya.

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Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier liberal arts universities. Located in Delaware, Ohio, the private university offers 87 undergraduate majors and competes in 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Ohio Wesleyan combines a challenging, internationally focused curriculum with off-campus learning and leadership opportunities to connect classroom theory with real-world experience. OWU’s 1,675 students represent 43 U.S. states and territories and 33 countries. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” listed on the latest President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, and included in the U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review “best colleges” lists. Learn more at www.owu.edu.