Ashley Kehoe to Lead DCAL’s Experiential Learning Initiative

Ashley Kehoe has been named associate director of the Experiential Learning Initiative in the Dartmouth Center for the Advancement of Learning (DCAL), Lisa Baldez, the Cheheyl Professor and director of DCAL, announced today, Sept. 16. Kehoe, who will report to Baldez and work as part of the DCAL team, began work this week.

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“Dartmouth has a long tradition of experiential learning, and I'm excited about being in a position where I can support the efforts of our students, faculty, staff, and community partners more directly,” Ashley Kehoe says. (Photo by Eli Burakian ’00)

In her new role, Kehoe will administer the Experiential Learning Initiative, a new program at DCAL that aims to promote best practices in experiential learning. Working with faculty, lecturers, and staff in the Dartmouth community, the initiative seeks to expand experiential learning opportunities for faculty, staff, and students both inside and outside the classroom.

“I am thrilled to have Ashley join the DCAL team,” says Baldez, a professor of government and Latin American, Latino and Caribbean Studies. “Ashley has already established close working relationships with many faculty members and she knows the Dartmouth campus well. She is a national leader in the field of experiential learning, and this new position will allow her to put her skills and her talents to good use.”

Since 2013, Kehoe has worked as an instructional designer in Information Technology Services. She played a leading role in the campus transition to the Canvas learning management system and has worked on project management and instructional design as part of the American renaissance course team for a future DartmouthX MOOC (massive online open course).                                                   

Dartmouth has a long tradition of experiential learning, and I'm excited about being in a position where I can support the efforts of our students, faculty, staff, and community partners more directly,” says Kehoe.

“My philosophy of experiential learning is in line with what liberal arts education is all about: critical reflection, intentionally connecting lived and academic experiences, developing strategies to navigate complex challenges, and fostering a holistic sense of self. This requires a range of academic learning in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and STEM fields, as well as opportunities to apply that learning on campus and beyond.

“Having worked with our brilliant, dynamic faculty, students, alumni, and co-curricular educators for the past two years, I know how well we do this already and I welcome the opportunity to connect with anyone who has ideas about how we can innovate in this area and expand the tradition of experiential learning here at Dartmouth,” Kehoe says.

Experiential learning is central to President Phil Hanlon’s academic vision for the College. Kehoe’s position builds on early groundwork by Gail Gentes, who researched Dartmouth’s experiential learning programs in her first two years at the College. Gentes is now working as assistant director of the Dartmouth for Life program in the Office of Alumni Relations.

Kehoe received her undergraduate degree in English, with honors, from Roosevelt University. She holds a master’s degree in higher education from Loyola University.

Before coming to Dartmouth in 2013, Kehoe served as the ePortfolio Program manager in the Center for Experiential Learning at Loyola University, and before that was the director of Civic Engagement and Student Leadership Programs at Alfred State College, the State University of New York College of Technology, in Alfred, N.Y.

Established in 2004, DCAL facilitates professional development for Dartmouth’s teachers and cultivates a community of conversation about how people learn. The center is located in the east wing of Baker-Berry Library.