Grace College Strengthens Commitment to Teaching Excellence, Hires Director for Office of Teaching and Learning

By Ashley Durand (BS ‘13)

As a child growing up in Lebanon during the civil war, Dr. Cosette Fox learned early that life could change in an instant.

“My childhood memories are marked with the sound of bombs, the shaking of windows, burned cars on the streets, and fear for our lives,” Fox recalled. “Most days felt uncertain and like something could go wrong.”

Today, Fox is helping Grace College prepare faculty for a very different kind of uncertainty: a rapidly changing world of artificial intelligence, emerging technologies, and evolving approaches to teaching and learning.

Fox knows firsthand that education can open doors that once seemed impossible. Her journey from war-torn Lebanon to becoming a professor, dean, and now director of the Office of Teaching and Learning has given her a deep appreciation for perseverance, having a growth mindset, and the transformative potential of education.

That perspective is part of what she brings to Grace College’s pursuit of academic excellence.

In 2024, as part of Grace’s ‘Created for More’ strategic plan, the College created the Office of Teaching and Learning as part of its ongoing commitment to academic excellence. Dr. Fox now serves as its inaugural director, supporting faculty in four areas of focus: excellence in teaching and learning, academic faith integration, Artificial Intelligence (AI) awareness and human-centered integration, and cross-cultural competence.

But Fox’s journey to this role is one marked by far more than academic credentials.

When she was 12 years old, Fox experienced another major upheaval when her parents divorced in the middle of the war.

Yet that same year, Fox experienced something that would shape the rest of her life.

“I made a choice to put my faith in Jesus Christ,” she said. “I encountered the Bible message that Jesus loved me so much that He died on the cross to forgive my sins. And I believed it.”

Fox and her family fled war-torn Lebanon for a quieter life in Canada, where she became the first person in her family to graduate from a university. She had to work hard at overcoming language barriers, as English is her third language. 

“For someone who grew up in war, walking onto a college campus felt like stepping into another universe,” Fox said. “I didn’t always feel confident. But every time doubt crept in, I reminded myself of what I had already survived, and the God who had carried me through every storm. If He could bring me through all that, He could get me through my higher education.”

That faith-based growth mindset became part of a remarkable academic career. Fox holds a Ph.D. in experimental psychology with a specialization in cognitive and behavioral neuroscience, along with two undergraduate degrees in biology and psychology. She is passionate about teaching and has more than 20 years of experience as a psychology faculty member at faith-based institutions, including Fresno Pacific University, Cedarville University, and Holy Cross College, where she later served as dean of faculty. Fox is also passionate about faculty-led student research, particularly for the adaptation and implementation of mental health interventions to serve disadvantaged cross-cultural communities. 

“I have experienced higher education from several different perspectives,” Fox said. “I have been a faculty member trying to figure out how to design a course or a research project and engage students. I’ve been a department chair trying to support colleagues and navigate departmental needs. And I’ve been a dean working at the institutional level to advocate for faculty, support academic programs, and think about the broader educational mission of a college.”

That breadth of experience now informs her work at Grace.

What is the Office of Teaching and Learning?

At Grace, academic excellence is not simply about what students learn, but how they learn and their formation through the process. The Office of Teaching and Learning was created to support faculty in educational development, thoughtfully integrate faith into their disciplines, respond ethically to emerging technologies, and create learning experiences that challenge students to strengthen character, sharpen competency, and prepare for service.

The Office of Teaching and Learning’s mission is “to be recognized as a mission-driven educational development office promoting excellence in faith-integrated and culturally competent teaching and learning amid a world reshaped by artificial intelligence.”

For Fox, however, the office is not about telling faculty how to teach. It is about coming alongside them.

“I don’t see the Office of Teaching and Learning as a place that is going to tell faculty how they should teach,” Fox said. “I see it as a place that exists to serve faculty. They are the experts in their disciplines. They know their students, courses, and particular challenges of teaching their subject.”

Dr. Kevin Roberts, Provost of Grace College, stated, “Dr. Cosette Fox brings her expertise and readily embraces the ethos of the Office of Teaching and Learning: To serve our faculty so they, in turn, can better steward and serve our students. We are grateful she has joined our team.”

Fox will provide research-based teaching strategies, instructional design expertise, professional development opportunities, and resources for integrating faith and intercultural competence into academic disciplines. She will also help faculty thoughtfully navigate AI and determine when its use can support learning and when it may interfere with the development of essential cognitive skills. Fox envisions Grace’s Office of Teaching and Learning as a place that supports a collaborative, Christ-centered learning community where faculty grow, connect, innovate in teaching, recognize pedagogical excellence, and apply evidence-based practices and scholarship to promote a transformative student learning experience, formation, and success. 

Her interest in working for an office of teaching and learning in higher education grew during her previous role at Holy Cross College, where she helped write a grant proposal for AI in higher education that was funded through the Lilly Endowment. The proposal included funding to create an office of teaching and learning.

Through that experience, Fox became passionate about creating a culture of AI awareness and literacy without requiring faculty to use AI in their classrooms.

“I felt the Lord instill in me a desire to help faculty better understand AI, and how it can in some cases shortcut cognitive development,” Fox said. “Being aware and AI literate will help faculty make the most informed decisions about pedagogy, and when to integrate AI into the classroom, as well as when not to, because we want to form certain skills that are crucial for students to develop their own cognitive ability.”

“I chose to be at Grace College because I wanted to be in a place where questions of faith, vocation, character, service, learning, and intellectual development could be part of the conversation,” Fox said.

And that is ultimately what Fox hopes to bring to the Office of Teaching and Learning: not a prescribed way of teaching, but a willingness to serve faculty as they pursue excellence and prepare students to thrive in a changing world.

From the uncertainty of a childhood shaped by war to the classrooms and academic offices where she now equips others, Fox’s story is one of perseverance, faith, and a lifelong commitment to learning.

To learn more about how Grace College is integrating AI into the classroom, please check out our blogs: College Students and AI, Are Businesses Still Hiring College Grads? or How Grace Incorporated AI Ethics Into Business Degrees, or AI vs. Human Creativity; Is AI Replacing the Need For Good Artists and Communicators?