Facilitating classrooms defined by equity and accessibility requires more than a vision. It requires an action plan – and this is exactly what art history Ph.D. candidate Isabela Muci Barradas developed as a GradFUTURES Inclusive Leadership Learning Cohort participant. Her goal was to create a structure wherein students feel a sense of belonging and empowerment while embracing diverse backgrounds. Working across GradFUTURES programs, she pursued it from multiple angles. 

Sessions with her graduate alum mentor, art historian Freda Murck *95, focused on strategies for online teaching and the craft of writing. As a Community College Teaching Fellow, Barradas deepened her pedagogical approach, developing and teaching an introductory art history course at Rowan College of South Jersey. Then, at the 2022 MLA Institute for Reading and Writing Pedagogy, she honed skills related to anti-racist pedagogies and indigenous populations. These experiences primed her to activate her plan for inclusive teaching. Barradas also made an impact on her mentor – reflecting the spirit of mutual exchange that defines all GradFUTURES programming.

“I executed the Inclusive Leadership action plan while teaching the History of Photography at the Rhode Island School of Design during Fall 2022. While it is often difficult to measure the impact of inclusive teaching, I received positive and encouraging student feedback through anonymous teaching evaluations stating that the course achieved the goal of being thematically diverse, striving away from the traditional canon, and that the class encouraged students to openly participate and explore a variety of personal interests.” – Isabela Muci Barradas, GS, Art and Archeology

Reflecting the spirit of mutual exchange that defines all GradFUTURES programming, Barradas also made an impact on her mentor.

"I have had the good fortune to mentor two exceptional art history graduate students... Being young and tech savvy, they have taught me a lot about internet resources and teaching on Zoom." – Freda Murck *95 (ART), Art Historian

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Rowan College of South Jersey is a student success-oriented, accessible and affordable learning center dedicated to enhancing its community's economic development and quality of life by striving for academic excellence in offering innovative programs and services to a diverse community of learners in a safe and caring environment.

Learn More About GradFUTURES Interdisciplinary Learning Cohorts

GradFUTURES Learning Cohorts are interdisciplinary and co-curricular opportunities that bring together students, alums, faculty, and industry partners to explore diverse professional pathways and focus on current societal, industry, and/or global trends. There are generally seven or more sessions (an hour or more in length) with optional pre-reading and reflection activities. While each learning cohort is unique, most offer an experiential component such as a site visit, shadowing opportunity, immersive project, or internship/fellowship.