Staff Directory

Dr. Claire Major is a professor of Higher Education at The University of Alabama. Her teaching and research interests center on instructional approaches and instructional technology. She has authored and co-authored 11 books, including five with Elizabeth Barkley: Engaged Teaching, Interactive Lecturing, Learning Assessment Techniques, Collaborative Learning Techniques and Student Engagement Techniques. In addition to these, she has published Teaching for Learning: 101 Intentionally Designed Instructional Activities to Put Students on the Path to Success, with Michael Harris and Todd Zakrajsek, and Online Learning: A Guide to Theory, Research and Practice. Her research has appeared in top-tier journals. Claire has presented at national and international conferences and conducted faculty workshops, as well as online workshops and webinars, for dozens of colleges and universities in the United States and abroad.

Dr. Tyler Roberts serves as the director of operations for the UA Teaching Academy. Prior to joining the Teaching Academy in Fall 2023, he served as the assistant director of instructional design in UA Online, leading a team of instructional designers to collaborate and develop courses with faculty for online degree programs. Tyler spent more than a decade in student services roles at UA, including academic advisor in athletics, director of pre-law advising and assistant director of student services in the College of Engineering. He earned his EdD in Higher Education Administration in 2021.

Tyler has taught courses at the undergraduate and graduate level in face-to-face and online formats including AS 299, BCE 101 and AHE 603. He was a member of the 2021-22 Leadership U cohort and completed the Next Level Leaders training series in 2023.

Doug Klutz is a senior instructor in the department of Criminology and Criminal Justice. He teaches a variety of courses each semester, including 400-seat lectures of CJ 100. He also serves as the internship and advising director for the department; he has helped to create hundreds of internship opportunities for students in his decade-plus tenure at UA. Doug has been recognized on multiple occasions for his teaching excellence. He was named the top professor in America by CEOWorld and Best Value Schools in 2020 after earning the same honor from Forbes in 2017. Doug is also the author of two books: Career Guide in Criminal Justice (2018) and From the Crime to the Courts: An Overview of Criminology and Criminal Justice (2012).

Dr. Laura McNeill is an assistant professor at The University of Alabama in the College of Education Department of Educational Leadership, Policy and Technology. She also serves as the Instructional Technology master's degree program coordinator. Previously, Laura served as a senior instructional designer at Regions Bank, Ascension, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Texas A&M's School of Law, and The University of Alabama. She is an instructional design consultant for the Jefferson County Department of Health and IDLance. Her research involves distance learning and technology enhanced learning environments with a specific focus on instructor presence, student engagement and curriculum design in online environments. In addition, Laura explores online learning and instructional design through ChatGPT and generative AI, microlearning and gamification. She also serves as an instructional and curriculum methodologist. She holds a PhD in Instructional Leadership (concentration in Instructional Technology) from The University of Alabama. Laura is the author of ten books, including HarperCollins suspense novels Center of Gravity and Sister Dear. She also writes under the pen name Lauren Clark.

Dr. Leah DiNatale Gutenson serves as the Instructional Technology Faculty Development Program Manager for the UA Teaching Academy. Leah earned her PhD in English (with an emphasis in Composition, Rhetoric, and English Studies) from The University of Alabama. She holds both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in English from Georgia Southern University. Before joining the Teaching Academy in Summer 2024, she served as a senior instructional designer in the Instructional Technology and Academic Services (ITAS) division of UA Online. For over thirteen years, Leah has taught and designed online and face-to-face undergraduate courses in first-year composition, writing center studies, technical writing, creative writing, and professional writing. In 2021, she was recognized as an outstanding educator and named a Sarah D. Barder Fellow for The Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth. She was also the recipient of a BBL Exemplary Course Program Award with Miranda Webster and Meredith Cummings for her role in designing JCM 536: Teaching Multimedia News. In addition to teaching writing and designing courses, Leah works as a faculty coach for Noodle, Inc. as a curriculum and instructional design consultant.

Dr. Ariane Prohaska is a Professor of Sociology in the Department of Gender and Race Studies. She received her PhD in Sociology in 2006 from the University of Akron. She mainly teaches upper-division courses in the sociology minor and graduate-level courses in Women’s Studies, but has taught 15 distinct courses at UA. Dr. Prohaska is passionate about mentoring, whether guiding undergraduate students through the research process or sharing her knowledge about the academy with new faculty and graduate students. Her current research focuses on the influence of neoliberalism and postfeminism on beauty and health practices, and how fat acceptance affects parenting about bodies. She has over 30 publications in various outlets. Dr. Prohaska has been a Faculty Fellow for the College of Arts and Sciences Leadership Board (2020-2023), Dean’s Administrative Fellow for the College of Arts and Sciences (2022-2023), and the Secretary of Sociologists for Women in Society-South (2023-3025).