Home » tsi » Faculty Profiles

Faculty Profiles

Leta Deithloff, Ph.D. Leta Deithloff

Leta Deithloff has been teaching and designing developmental integrated reading/writing courses at the University of Texas at Austin since 2008. She earned her Ph.D. in educational psychology and Master of Arts in program evaluation from The University of Texas. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Texas A&M. Despite many fulfilling years in a variety of college classrooms and the honor of the Hairston Prize for Excellence in Teaching, it is the partnering with hesitant students as they successfully transition into college that keeps her coming back to the integrated classroom. She now shares the principles learned from practical, authentic coursework with others, hoping to challenge and develop the “whole” student. Always learning, she welcomes information on high quality activities for the classroom.


Van Herd, Ph.D. Van Herd

Van received his Ph.D. in the history of science from the University of Oklahoma (whence he began his love for teaching developmental mathematics under professors Curtis McKnight and Teri Jo (T. J.) Murphy), from which institution he also holds the Master of Science in library and information studies and Master of Arts in history of science. He also received his Master of Divinity degree from Phillips University. He has also studied at Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Southern Methodist University, as well as The University of Texas at Austin. Van also teaches the history of science and University Extension Mathematics Pathways courses at UT, and works with the UT Nuclear Engineering Teaching Laboratory. He is completing a book on mathematics and philosophy entitled Mathematicopoiesis nihilo: The Metanarrative of Creativity, a philosophical and metaphysical analysis of Jacob Boehme.


Pamela Powell Pamela Powell

Pamela Powell earned both her Bachelor of Science and Master of Education in mathematics education at The University of Texas at Austin. She has taught for Austin ISD as a high school and middle school mathematics teacher, Austin Community College as a mathematics faculty member, and is currently an instructor of mathematics for UT’s Continuing and Extended Education. Pamela has worked at UT as the coordinator of the math/science computer and media lab, taught calculus and GRE reviews classes, supervised university teaching assistants, and served as an academic advisor for the College of Engineering. She is currently the Coordinator for Student Teaching for the UTeach Natural Sciences Program and a mathematics instructor for the UT Mathematics Department and International Office.


Hillary Procknow, Ph.D. Hillary Procknow

Hillary Procknow earned her Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction from Louisiana State University, where she focused on the philosophy of education. She also holds a master’s degree in architectural studies and an undergraduate degree in psychology, both from The University of Texas. Hillary teaches integrated reading and writing courses and specially paired non-course based options that help students succeed in their history and writing courses. She also serves as the program coordinator for the Texas Success Initiative. Her research interests include disparities in developmental education, continental philosophy and critical pedagogy, visual literacy, and non-cognitive factors related to student success.


Joshua Roebke Joshua Roebke

Joshua Roebke is an author, instructor, and historian of science, who is currently writing his first book, The Invisible World, a social and cultural history of particle physics in the 20th century. He studied Spanish literature and nuclear physics at Michigan State University and received a master’s degree in theoretical high-energy physics from McGill University in Montréal. He was an editor and a writer at an award-winning science magazine in New York for several years, and one of his feature articles appeared in The Best American Science and Nature Writing. For several years, Joshua was a visiting scholar in the Office for History of Science and Technology at the University of California, Berkeley. He is currently a visiting researcher at the Institute for Historical Studies at The University of Texas.