Teaching Philosophy

As a grad student and researcher in the field of art history I came to a profound realization that continues to guide my teaching practice. I realized that as dedicated as I am to the pursuit of information and conducting research my true passion lies in guiding others through this process. As a result, my teaching shifted from a discipline focus to that of information literacy.

Over the past decade the expectations for college students have evolved with the proliferation of digital technology and the shift in information consumption and knowledge production. Students are exposed to an ever-expanding variety of information types and formats. They are required to evaluate and engage this information critically. I strive to support students through this process of knowledge curation.  As an academic librarian the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy and the idea of meta-literacy guide my teaching practice. These models support my goal of motivating and empowering students to creatively engage with the research process and to confidently and ethically use information in their academic careers and beyond.

My artistic background and practice informs all that I do. The best metaphor I can imagine for teaching and learning is the recursive journey that is the artistic process. You begin with an idea and proceed with openness and curiosity. The idea grows and changes throughout the process and requires revision, often a willingness to start over from scratch, before a finished product is achieved that embodies the artist’s original intention. 

My goal is to guide my students through this process of discovery and creation while supporting them through the sticking points, the thresholds of integrating new knowledge and skills. To this end I focus on creating learner-centered environments that incorporate inclusivity principles from the Universal Design for Learning model and active, group-based learning techniques. 

I am dedicated to supporting diversity and inclusion in my teaching practice. It is my belief that diversity and inclusion should function as integral components of our culture, society, governance, and education. At Kellogg Community College, The University of Texas Libraries, and Temple College I have had the opportunity to work with and teach a diverse community of students. I learned from these experiences that it is our responsibility as individuals to ensure diversity and inclusion in our personal and professional lives. I strive to provide inclusive learning environments, for example, through online learning initiatives where students can participate and contribute collaboratively from non-traditional spaces.

Resume

Experience

Temple College - Hubert M. Dawson Library

Division Director, Learning Resources

April 2019 to Present

Interim Division Director, Learning Resources

January 2019 to April 2019

• Develop, schedule, and conduct scaffolded, general and course specific information literacy instruction.

• Supervise, schedule, and evaluate library personnel.

• Revise and update library policy and procedures document including collection development policy and challenged materials policy.

• Initiate assessment and statistics gathering of reference services and Information Literacy instruction.

• Revise and administer annual Temple College Libraries student satisfaction survey and faculty/staff satisfaction survey.

• Establish Temple College Libraries information literacy learning outcomes.

• Project lead on Temple College Libraries data/systems migration from Exlibris Voyager/Webvoyage platform to OCLC Worldshare Management Systems. Supervise migration of patron, circulation, and bibliographic data. Configure OCLC WMS knowledge base and Discovery layer user-interface.

• Manage the evaluation, acquisition, and maintenance of Temple College Libraries collection including books, ebooks, audiovisual materials, and academic databases.

• Establish and maintain relationships with faculty to facilitate departmental collaboration in collection development and the efficient acquisition of information resources to support Temple College curriculum.

• Represent the Learning Resources Division on committees, boards, and councils.

• Review and maintain annual budget for Learning Resources.

• Prepare reports for state and federal agencies including IPEDS and ACRL Annual Report.

• Authored SACSCOC Accreditation narrative for Temple College Libraries.

• Initiated assessment and supervised preservation/organization of Temple College Libraries special collection of historical Temple College materials.

• Compose special collection access and donation policies and forms for Temple College Libraries.

• Set annual goals and objectives for Temple College Libraries. Assess measures and establish action plans for successful attainment of goals.

• Establish and maintain collaborative relationships with library vendors and service providers.

Reference Librarian

July 2018 to April 2019

• Provide research and reference assistance to students, faculty, and staff.

• Oversee interlibrary loan services.

• Develop, schedule, and conduct information literacy instruction sessions.

• Perform a wide variety of circulation procedures including: using integrated library systems to circulate books, interlibrary loans, and other media and equipment.

• Achieve information literacy learning outcomes through provision of instruction and subject research guides.

• Collaborate with faculty to coordinate acquisition of appropriate library resources to support curriculum and programs.

• Create and publish library information guides through the LibGuides portal.

• Make recommendations for and participate in the development of the library budget.

• Train staff to perform research and reference assistance.

University of Texas at Austin - Perry-Castañeda Library

Research and Reference Research Assistant
Jun. 2016 to June 2018

• Collaborate with subject liaison librarian to teach library instruction sessions for undergraduate students.

• Create instructional content, including tailored research guides, assignments and exercises, and online tutorials.

• Provide point-of-need reference and research assistance in-person and through email/IM reference services.

• Researched and wrote German literature recommendations to support German Studies in collection development.

• Collaborate with University Writing Center Graduate Writing Coordinator to provide tailored one-shot reference and research assistance for graduate students during writing retreats.

Scholarly Communication Research Assistant
Austin, TX
Sep. 2016 to Dec. 2017

• Promote open access and scholarly publishing at events across University of Texas.

• Research scholarly communication topics and trends including ORCID and digital badging to inform promotion and outreach efforts.

• Troubleshoot and maintain DSpace repository to ensure access to accurate records in UT libraries digital repository Texas ScholarWorks.

• Collaborate with Scholarly Publishing librarian to identify university stakeholders for outreach to encourage participation in Texas ScholarWorks.

• Create and update metadata in DSpace repository using Dublin Core standards.

Visual Resources Collection Research Assistant
Aug. 2014 - May 2016

• Curated metadata for 10,000+ UT Libraries digital image database DASe.

• Accessioned 100+ digital images weekly from staff, student, and new image requests.

• Utilized subject-specific knowledge to identify gaps in collection and contributed to collection building through identification and accessioning of appropriate images, and recorded metadata for special collections to support digitization specialists’ efforts.

Athleta
Fit Pro Specialist
Austin, TX
Aug. 2013 - Aug. 2014

• Provided point-of-contact customer service on sales floor and in fitting room, and facilitated initial product training for all newly hired employees

Kellogg Community College
Office Assistant
Battle Creek, MI
Aug. 2011 - Jul. 2013

• Performed front desk duties including student enrollment/registration, financial aid and advisement, test proctoring, and records management.

Art and Art History Adjunct Instructor
Jan. 2009 - Jul. 2013

• Taught art appreciation, art history survey, art history seminar, and general humanities courses.

• Created instructional content, including lecture presentations, active learning exercises, targeted writing assignments, hands-on demonstrations, and assessment.

Bead Quest Inc.
Independent Instructor and Sales Associate
Grand Rapids, MI
Aug. 2006 - Jul. 2011

• Authored course instruction materials including hands-on demonstration and written directions, and taught courses in a variety of jewelry media.

Kendall College of Art & Design
Continuing Education Instructor
Grand Rapids, MI
Jan. 2009 - Sep. 2010

• Taught courses in metalsmithing and jewelry design.

Education

University of Texas at Austin
Master of Science in Information Studies
Austin, TX
May 2018
Specialization: Library Instruction and Scholarly Communication and Publishing

Master of Arts in Art History
August 2016

Münchner Volkshochschule GmbH
German Language Studies
Munich, Germany
2001

Goethe Institute Munich
German Language Studies
Munich, Germany
2001

University of Michigan
Bachelor of Arts, Art History
Ann Arbor, MI
May 1998

Grand Valley State University
General studies in Art and Art History
Allendale, MI
1994-1995

Grand Rapids Community College
Associate of Arts Degree
Grand Rapids, MI
ay 1994

Service and Leadership

Graduate Research Assistant Representative to Library Staff Council

• Participated in Library Staff Council meetings and annual events as elected representative for UT Libraries Graduate Research Assistants.

Treasurer, Graduate Student Art History Association

• Organized annual fundraising events

• Managed funding acquisition and disbursement

• Assisted with organization of Eleanor Greenhill Symposium

Skills & Languages

Standards: Dublin Core, CCO, VRA Core
Databases: DSpace, DASe
Content Management Systems: Omeka, Libguides, Wordpress, Squarespace
Operating Systems: Windows, macOS
Software: Blackboard, Canvas, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Microsoft Office Suite, Sierra (Integrated Library Systems), Panopto, Camtasia
Artistic Practice: Graphic Design, Still/Life Drawing, Photography, Sculpture, Pottery, Jewelry Design/Metalsmithing, Book Binding/Repair, Fiber Arts
Foreign Language: German (fluent)

Research Interests

• Information and Meta-Literacy

• Library Instruction

• Community College Education

• Adult Education

• Early 20th Century German Modernism

Presentations

• Cruce, C. Threshold Concepts, Concept Mapping, and the Graduate Art History Seminar: A Case Study, presented at Greater Austin Area Information Literacy Symposium (GAAILS), January, 2018.

Publications

• Cruce, C. “Wassily Kandinsky, Rudolph Steiner, and the Missing Object”, M.A. thesis.

  • http://hdl.handle.net/2152/46637