Dr. Cynthia Alby has spent most of her career immersed in “avid cross-disciplinary idea synthesizing.” She studies pedagogy, sociology, psychology, neuroscience, behavioral economics – anything that might yield useful clues to improving the art and craft of teaching. Her primary research question is, “How might we re-enchant learning in order to help faculty and students flourish?”

She joined Georgia College in 2001, where she is a Professor of Teacher Education, and in 2020 she earned a certification in applied positive psychology. She recently published a book with several colleagues: Learning that matters: A field guide to course design for transformative education. In addition, for nearly 20 years she has helped to develop faculty from across the state in Georgia’s “Governor’s Teaching Fellows Program” at UGA.

Cynthia and her husband, Charlie, live on a farm called “Shangri-Baa” where they raise a critically endangered breed of sheep and livestock guardian dogs.