Kathleen Allspaw
Biography
Kathleen Allspaw, Ph.D. came to HSU in May of 2012 as the chair of the Humane Leadership Department. Previously, as a consultant for the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), Kathleen helped to develop one of the first online graduate certificate programs in Humane Education as part of a partnership between the HSUS and Webster University. Kathleen earned her B.S. in Zoology from Butler University, her M.S. in Animals and Public Policy from the Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine, and her doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction/Science Education from Indiana University. In addition to being a lifelong educator, Kathleen has devoted the vast majority of her volunteer efforts to various animal shelters in central and southern Indiana. Currently, she is a volunteer at the Brown County Humane Society which is a small rural shelter in Nashville, IN.
As a science educator, Kathleen became interested in the relationship between the public understanding of science and public participation in policy making that directly affects animal welfare. To this end she has participated in dozens of public hearings about animal welfare issues including meetings on xenotransplantation policy on the federal level, and on the efforts to abolish “canned hunt” operations in the state of Indiana. This interest and experience has led her to develop courses in critical thinking and communication that are specifically geared toward animal protection professionals. In addition, Kathleen has done research into the use of non-human animals in secondary education and the attitudes of teachers about such animal use.
Kathleen believes that we learn by “doing” so her courses are very interactive and process driven. She loves working with adult learners because they bring such a wealth of experience and insight to the classroom. Over the course of her career, Kathleen has designed and taught dozens of courses and workshops in the areas of: humane education, character education, environmental education, creativity, critical thinking, problem solving, inquiry-based instruction, scientific habits of mind, conceptual change, educational assessment, the effect of affect on cognitive outcomes, and early childhood, elementary and secondary science and mathematics. She has taught students from age 5 to age 75 in all types of settings including traditional and online classrooms. In addition, she recently completed the requirements for certification as an executive coach, and was previously the mentoring coordinator for the Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellows at Indiana University. She appears in the documentary entitled, The Game Changers, which chronicles the yearlong student teaching experience of the first group of Woodrow Wilson fellows.
Kathleen’s lifelong experience in education and animal protection help give her the vision and the skills necessary to continue to develop the Humane Leadership Department so that HSU can continue to serve animals by serving and supporting our students. We are happy to welcome her to our team. If you have an interest in any of the Humane Leadership programs, please feel free to contact her at kallspaw@humanesocietyuniversity.org.