It is that time of year: The fall semester is underway, and new IU Indianapolis faculty members are sharing their inspirations, research and hopes for students.

Gayle Cosby

Clinical assistant professor in the School of Education

Gayle Cosby is a self-described homegrown scholar. She attended what was then IUPUI and earned bachelor’s degrees in sociology and psychology, a master’s in teaching with a concentration in special education from what was then Marian College, and a Ph.D. in urban education studies from the IU School of Education in Indianapolis.

Question: What inspired you to pursue your area of expertise?

Answer: I have a long history with our local public school system, Indianapolis Public Schools. I am a K-12 IPS graduate and began my teaching career with the district, in elementary special education. I am also an elected member of the IPS Board of School Commissioners, currently serving my second term.

I am inspired to pursue advocacy and scholarship in urban education in service of my community, which is strengthened and enriched by the promise of a wholly intact, inclusive and equitable system of free public education.

Q: What appealed to you about teaching at the School of Education?

A: I am very excited to share my experience and to support students at the School of Education who are specifically interested in teaching students in systems of urban schooling. I am also looking forward to collaboration with IU Indianapolis colleagues in continued service to our community.

Q: How do you hope to make an impact on students?

A: I hope to bring students a wealth of practical knowledge that they can carry with them into their future careers as classroom teachers. I also plan to support my students’ success at IU Indianapolis and beyond!

Noah Turner

Assistant professor in the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs

Noah Turner earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Central Missouri and a Ph.D. from the School of Criminal Justice at Michigan State University. His research focuses on extremist crime and violence and to inform evidence-based policy on criminal justice and homeland security issues. He draws on criminological theory to explain and understand acts of violent extremism and nonviolent extremist crime including cyberterrorism, financial crime and property crime.

Q: What inspired you to pursue your area of expertise?

A: Growing up in the 2000s and 2010s, I was often exposed to news stories or reports about terrorism and violent extremism across the world. As I became more interested in these events, I developed a passion for trying to understand them and identify avenues for prevention.

In the first year of my undergraduate studies, I was provided the opportunity to collaborate with a professor on a research project focused on violent extremists and the outcomes of their attacks. From that point on, I have been invested in building a stronger evidence base to improve policy and practice in this area.

Q: How do you hope your research impacts the public?

A: The ultimate purpose of my research is to help policymakers and practitioners safeguard the public. I hope my research can inform effective policy that prevents acts of extremist crime and violence nationwide, while also ensuring the civil rights and liberties of the public are upheld.

Q: What do you enjoy about working with students?

A: I enjoy the reciprocal process of learning that comes with working with students. Each student brings their own ideas, perspectives and skills that are reflected in their work. The most fulfilling experience, whether working with students on a research project or teaching in a classroom, is when a student engages with the material and teaches me something new or inspires me to think about an issue in a new way.

Ting Guan

Assistant professor in the School of Social Work

Ting Guan earned a Ph.D. in social work from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Master of Social Work from Peking University. She has more than eight years of clinical experience as a health social worker in hospital settings. Her research focuses on cancer survivorship, cancer caregiving, psychosocial intervention, palliative care, interdisciplinary collaboration and the role of social work in healthcare.

Q: What inspired you to pursue your area of expertise?

A: After earning my master’s degree, I worked in a hospital with patients with cancer and their families. I saw their suffering and struggles, but also their incredible strength and resilience. These experiences, along with my own family’s cancer journey, inspired me to pursue a Ph.D. focused on cancer survivorship.

My goal is to develop and implement interventions that support patients and families, help them find hope and strength, and bring meaningful change to their lives and healthcare.

Q: How do you hope to have an impact on students?

A: I believe students are empowered by engaging with and learning from diverse experiences. I’d like to share my experiences openly and honestly, because I want them to see what’s possible for their own lives, especially for students of color or first-generation college students like me.

I also see that every student has unique talents and strengths, and I hope to work with them to discover those gifts, build confidence and grow into compassionate, competent social workers.

Q: What do you like most about the Indianapolis campus?

A: There are so many excellent health centers here, such as the IU Health Simon Cancer Center and Riley Children’s Health, which remind me of my own time working in hospitals. I’m excited to build collaborations with them in the future.

Chris Olivola

Associate professor in the Kelley School of Business

Chris Olivola holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Chicago and a joint Ph.D. in psychology and social policy from Princeton University. Before joining the IU Kelley School of Business Indianapolis, he was an associate professor of marketing at Carnegie Mellon University.

His research examines consumer behavior, human decision-making, behavioral economics and experimental philosophy. More specifically, he is interested in studying when and why we form erroneous judgments and make suboptimal choices, with the goal of improving both.

Q: What inspired you to pursue your area of expertise?

A: For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated by the way people (myself included!) hold beliefs that are inconsistent with each other and often inconsistent with reality. Similarly, I’ve long been interested in how and why we make so many poor decisions that leave us — and sometimes others — worse off than we could have been. I find these irrational aspects of human cognition and behavior interesting in their own right, but also because understanding them holds the key to improving human welfare.

Q: What appealed to you about teaching at the Kelley School of Business?

A: The Kelley School of Business is a first-class business school, and I expect that to be reflected in the quality of the students.

Q: How do you hope to make an impact on students?

A: My goal is to give students the tools to recognize the limitations in human — and therefore their own — judgment and decision-making, so that they can avoid common errors and biases, and make better choices in both their personal and professional lives. More broadly, I want them to learn to think more critically about how they, and those around them, form beliefs and make choices.