Q&A with Dr. Christin Seher, co-director of [EX]L Center and associate professor of practice

Name: Dr. Christin Seher

Title: Co-Director, [EX]L Center and Associate Professor of Practice

Department: Nutrition and Dietetics; affiliated faculty in the Department of Sociology

Tell us about how your recent first place in the Innovations in Nutrition and Dietetics Education and Practice session at this year’s Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo will impact your work going forward.

Receiving this award was such an honor because it reaffirmed that after almost a decade of refinement of my teaching methods related to diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI) and reflexive practice, I am on the right track. The work I presented followed two cohorts of students over a three-year period to assess how the curriculum was impacting their development of cultural knowledge, attitudes, skills and desire for cultural encounters. It reminded me that the scholarship of teaching and learning is an important aspect of research and motivates me to dig into the data I have on other aspects of my teaching practice. I expect this work to play a large role in the future, as our profession is starting to catch up to others in regard to the need for educators to provide tangible evidence of student learning outcomes and professional growth related to DEI, reflexivity and cultural humility. I’m currently working on two edited books with colleagues from around the world related to DEI in dietetics and critical pedagogy and was selected to be a sponsored session speaker at our profession’s annual conference next year on this topic. So even though my work at UA is shifting to support community-engaged teaching, research and service for our students through the [EX]L Center, my DEI work in dietetics will still be a big part of my scholarship over the coming year.  

What brought you to The University of Akron?

I completed my master’s degree and the requirements to become a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist at UA, where I also worked as a graduate assistant in the School of Nutrition and Dietetics. After graduation, I went on to do my Ph.D. at Kent State University, where I was given a teaching fellowship and taught Community Health courses. It was during my teaching fellowship and subsequent doctoral coursework where I became passionate about service-learning and community-engaged teaching, research and service. When I started looking for full-time academic employment, I wanted to be at a university where that was not only possible ,but would be a large part of my day-to-day work. I found that at UA. We offer an incredible opportunity for faculty and students to work across disciplinary boundaries and with members of the community on real-world problems like food insecurity, infant mortality, health and educational equity. This was what brought me to UA and what has kept me here – the opportunity to connect teaching to the needs of my community in such a tangible and deep way is not something that every university or college can offer.     

Areas of research — what problem do you most hope to solve?

There are too many! In my discipline, I study how educational policy (like accreditation standards and competency statements), generate and influence dietetics curriculum, pedagogy and disciplinary epistemology, with a specific focus on how cultural humility and social justice are woven into/left out of dietetics education and practice. Underlying this is a broader interest in how critical pedagogies (including critical conceptions of service-learning and community engagement) and critical reflexivity can move students toward transformative learning. 

 What books are on your nightstand?

We do a lot of reading aloud as a family, so most of my non-academic reading is shared with my son. We are finishing up the book, “Gregor and the Code of Claw,” which is the fifth and final book in the Underland Chronicles series (written by Suzanne Collins, the author of “The Hunger Games”). My nightstand also currently has a copy of Sabrina Strings’ “Fearing the Black Body” on it, which is the upcoming selection for the World Critical Dietetics Book Club, an organization for which I sit on the founding board of directors. I am determined to make the discussion on this book, which has been in my “to read” pile for more than a year now. 

Outside the classroom, what do you enjoy doing for fun? 

I am a huge Marvel, LEGO and Harry Potter nerd, so it’s a good thing I have a 10-year-old because it doesn’t look weird that my house is full of those things. I also love to travel, hike and be on or near the water. Those things fill up my soul. But most of my spare time outside of the classroom is spent helping to run an Akron-based nonprofit, which is something most of my students and colleagues probably don’t even know about me. My partner, son and I started Bright Star Books in 2014 (after a Rethinking Race event at UA, actually), which redistributes gently used children’s books to limited resource families in Summit, Portage and Medina County through dozens of partnerships with educational, health and social service organizations. We redistribute more than 60,000 books a year and have been lucky enough to bring on paid staff and AmeriCorps VISTAs to help take on the day-to-day programming of the organization. 

Looking back on your own time in college, what advice do you have for UA students?

Get as much real-world experience as you can – whether that’s through community-engaged courses, internships, paid work experience related to your area of study, or research projects.  I know it might seem like a lot on top of work and classes, but that hands-on experience is invaluable in not only making you feel connected to what you are learning as you watch it play out in real life, but to making a difference in the lives of others, and in starting to build a professional network that will serve you well for years to come. Having references who can speak to your work ethic, passion, communication, teamwork and heart is just as — if not more — valuable than a high GPA on a transcript. It is through hands-on learning that you gain insights into who you are, what you care about and what you can do. To this day, my most valuable learning experiences as an undergraduate and graduate student were through these kinds of learning opportunities. It was the most empowering part of my educational journey.