Meet the Staff

Meg Steinweg, Co-Director

Meg Steinweg is an Associate Professor of Biology, with expertise in microbial ecology. She was an Ecological Society of America Teaching Scholar (2016) and earned a certificate in effective college instruction from the Association of College and University Educations and the American Council on Education (2019). As co-director, Meg looks forward to working with faculty and staff to highlight their pedagogical expertise and support collaborations in teaching across campus, inside and outside of the classroom.

Melanie Trexler, Co-Director

Melanie Trexler is an Associate Professor of Religion, with a specialty in Islam and Muslim-Christian relations. She earned an Apprenticeship in Teaching certificate from Georgetown University’s Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship (2014) and a WIC certification for teaching writing and assignment design across the curriculum (2016). She also won the RC Dean’s Exemplary Teaching Award in 2020–2021. As co-director, Melanie looks forward to creating spaces for faculty and staff to talk about pedagogy, practice civil discourse, and build a community where we all thrive.   

Julia A. Sienkewicz, Faculty Teaching Scholar

Julia Sienkewicz

Julia A. Sienkewicz is Associate Professor of Art History and a specialist in the art, architecture, and landscape history of the United States. She is responsible for the Modern through Contemporary curriculum in Roanoke’s art history program. In addition to publishing in her disciplinary field, Dr. Sienkewicz has been a leading voice in developing the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) for art history. Her current research in pedagogy pertains to community engagement as a component of art history and to developing SoTL for the field of American Art history.  For Roanoke’s teaching collaborative, Dr. Sienkewicz’ work has focused on working with humanities faculty, as well as with instructors of first year writing. She is also contributing to the development of programming in the following areas: peer review of teaching, community engaged teaching, supporting first generation students, building a community for caretakers at RC, and equity & inclusion.

Darcey Powell, Faculty Teaching Scholar

Darcey N. Powell is an Associate Professor of Psychology, with an expertise in Lifespan Developmental Psychology. She also has a certificate in University Teaching, as well as a specialization in College Teaching. Further, she has published on the topics of beliefs about teaching, strategies for advising, and tips for publishing with undergraduate co-authors. As a teaching scholar, Dr. Powell is particularly interested in initiating a conversation on the Roanoke campus about andragogy - educational practices for adult learners, and its distinction from pedagogy. Additionally, she is excited to continue advocating for the integration of major-specific planning courses to facilitate students' achievement of their post-graduation goals, as well as supporting the college's emphasis on whole-person advising. 

Ivonne Wallace Fuentes, Faculty Teaching Scholar

Ivonne Wallace Fuentes is a Professor of History at Roanoke College whose research focuses on women in public life in Latin America and revolutionary movements in Peru and Central America.  She holds a PhD in History from Duke University.  Her book, Most Scandalous Woman: Magda Portal and the Dream of Revolution in Peru, was released in 2017.  In the classroom, she teaches courses in Latin American and Caribbean history, historical methodology, and in the Intellectual Inquiry and Honors programs, where her pedagogical interests include historical thinking and analysis, responsible civic discourse, digital humanities pedagogies, and humanistic methods of deeper focus, including close reading and textual analysis.  The founder of Roanoke Indivisible and one of the leaders of the Women’s March on Roanoke, she organizes in Roanoke and Southwest Virginia to increase constituent engagement and advocacy.  She is the mother of two children.