Biography

Emily O. Gravett is the Assistant Director of the Teaching Area in the Center for Faculty Innovation and an Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religion. Prior to working at JMU, she was the assistant director of the Collaborative for Learning and Teaching at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, and a graduate assistant at the Center for Teaching Excellence, right down the road at the University of Virginia (UVA). She earned her Ph.D. in Religious Studies from UVA, after double-majoring in religion and English at Colgate University as an undergraduate. Outside of work, Emily spends her time connecting with friends, irritating her daughter, staying active, writing nonfiction, eating all the BBQ, and frequenting Kline’s, for which she should be a paid spokeswoman.

Courses Taught 

• Race and Religion
• Religion and Disability
• Religion and Film
• Exploring Religion
• Religion and Popular Culture
• Religions of the World (Honors)

Select Publications

Gravett, E. and Bach, D. (2024). “Beyond the Human Dimension: Expanding Fink’s Taxonomy of Significant Learning,” To Improve the Academy.

Gravett, E. (2023). “Professors Are People, Too! Retrieving “Selfishness” as a Way to Avoid Burnout,” Unraveling Faculty Burnout: Pathways to Reckoning and Renewal.

Gravett, E., Bernhagen, L., and McCarty, L. (2023). “Gendered Participation in Educational Development,” International Journal for Academic Development.

Rudenga, K. and Gravett, E. (2021). “Impostor Phenomenon in Educational Developers: Consequences and Coping Strategies,” To Improve the Academy.

Gravett, E. (2020). “Inviting Vulnerability into the Religious Studies Classroom,” in Pedagogy of Vulnerability.

Trybus, M.J., Breneman, D.L., and Gravett, E. (2019). “Ableism, Accessibility, and Educational Development: A Disability Studies Perspective,” New Directions for Teaching and Learning.

Rudenga, K.J. & Gravett, E. (2019). “Impostor Phenomenon in Educational Developers,” To Improve the Academy.

Palmer, M.S., Gravett, E., and LaFleur, J. (2018). “Measuring Transparency: A Learning-Focused Assignment Rubric,” To Improve the Academy.

Gravett, E. (2018). “Note-Taking during Discussion: Using a Weekly Reflection Assignment to Motivate Students to Learn from their Peers,” College Teaching.

Gravett, E. (2017). “Tracing a Developer’s Development: A Self-Study in Teaching,” International Journal for Academic Development.

Bernhagen, L. & Gravett, E. (2016). “Educational Development as Pink Collar Labor: Implications and Recommendations,” To Improve the Academy.

Gravett, E. (2016). “Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Religious Studies,” Journal of the American Academy of Religion.

Gravett, E. & Bernhagen, L. (2015). “A View from the Margins: Situating Teaching Center Staff in Organizational Development,” To Improve the Academy.

Service and Leadership

• Member, A-Team
• Co-Chair, EPIC Steering Committee
• Member, QEP Proposal: Racial Equity Team
• Member, Teaching Toolkit Committee
• Member, Woman of Distinction Award Committee
• Member, Provost’s Task Force on Gender & Sexuality
• Member, Provost’s Faculty Diversity Council
• Member, Online Learning Council