Tekla Nicholas

Bio

Tekla Nicholas leads gateway redesign and course improvement efforts as Associate Director for Gateway & STEM Partnerships in FIU’s Center for the Advancement of Teaching. She developed and administers FIU’s Gateway Survey of Student Perceptions & Behaviors, generating thousands of student responses each term to support course and program improvement efforts. Her Inquiry Institutes engage faculty from varied disciplines in data analysis, using student feedback for iterative course improvement.

In her previous role as Senior Researcher in FIU’s Office of Retention & Graduation Success, her research supported student success efforts across the university, including reform initiatives in gateway courses, financial aid, student orientation and programming, transfer student support, diversity & equity, and academic advising. She earned her Ph.D. in Comparative Sociology at FIU and teaches the popular course, Myth, Ritual, & Mysticism in the Department of Global & Sociocultural Studies.

Although her professional passion is for improving student success, her heart belongs to the FIU kitties. She’ll introduce you if you’d like to make some new friends!