NLU Scholarship & Thought Leadership Annual Report 2026

Keynote and Invited Addresses This year, NLU faculty gave 23 invited addresses, including:

Distinctions

Dr. Dahlia Castillo, Founding Program Director of Occupational Therapy, presented an invited address, Developing DEI: Texas Occupational Therapy Association—Our Development Process to Create a Formal DEI Committee , to the Association of State Association Presidents of the American Occupational Therapy Association. Dr. Tracee Farmer , National College of Education, gave an invited address, Morphology, Vocabulary Development, and the Sciences of Reading at the Maine Partnerships in Comprehensive Literacy Conference. Dr. Gary Howell , College of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, delivered the invited address “Collaborating for Change: Building a Supportive Network for LGBTQ+ Youth and Families” at Equality Florida’s 3rd Allies in Health: Advancing LGBTQ+ Wellness Summit. Dr. Nicholas Kryczka, National College of Education, delivered the invited presentation Black Politics and Education Crises at the Turn of the 1980s as part of the Black Metropolis Research Consortium Fellows Fall Speaker Series. Dr. Elizabeth Minor, National College of Education, delivered the keynote address, Opportunities for Learning: Where Have We Been and Where Should We Go? , at the Midwest Sociology of Education Conference hosted by the University of Notre Dame. Drs. Claudia Pitts, Suzette Fromm Reed, Judy Kent, & Wytress Richardson, College of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, gave the keynote address Training the Next Generation: Ecological & Trauma-Informed Approaches to Clinician Development in the Social Digital Age at the Illinois Mental Health Counselors Association. Dr. Robert Sanoshy , Undergraduate College delivered keynote addresses on kinship leadership and caregiving at two Michigan Department of Health and Human Services conferences in Lansing and Bellaire, Michigan. Dr. Ebony Wilkins, Undergraduate College, served as an invited featured author at the Obama Presidential Center Library Branch Opening Ceremony.

Dr. Elizabeth Minor delivering keynote address at the University of Notre Dame.

Dr. Tracee Farmer gave the address at the Maine Partnerships conference.

Dr. Ebony Wilkins reading her book at the Obama Presidential Library Opening.

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