Kathy Takayama

Biography

Kathy is the founding Director of the Center for Inclusive Excellence in Teaching (CIET). Since her arrival in 2025, she has developed faculty- and department-driven interdisciplinary programs for inclusive, evidence-based pedagogy and curricular design, and works closely with faculty to support their teaching interests and scholarship of teaching and learning. She has established CIET’s inaugural Students-as-Partners program, a values-centered approach that interweaves faculty and students’ experiences and insights through ongoing critical, collaborative reflection, to redesign courses and foster meaningful, transformative learning.

Kathy has over 25 years of experience establishing and leading centers and initiatives to develop sustainable, equity-minded educational environments and curricula for a wide range of higher education institutions across the world. She earned her doctorate in biochemistry and molecular biology from Rutgers Medical School and her bachelor’s degree in life sciences from MIT. A founding member and former president of the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, Kathy has collaborated widely with scholars and practitioners across the disciplines and has hosted several artists-in-residence in her former laboratory.

Kathy is thrilled to collaborate with the Holy Cross community and welcomes you to reach out and connect.

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