Chris Babits, PhD
Associate Director of Educational Initiatives & Innovation
ETE, Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President
Education
PhD, History, The University of Texas at Austin
ABD, Social Studies Education, Teachers College, Columbia University
MA, Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences, Utah State University
MA, History, Clark University
BA, History, Clark University
Faculty Support Areas
Instructors should contact Dr. Babits for support with:
- Instructional innovation and course design:
- Exploring generative AI and emerging technologies in teaching
Designing inclusive and engaging courses across modalities - Developing new courses
- Implementing gamification and alternative assessment models
- Implementing learner-centered and evidence-based teaching strategies
- Integrating Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles into teaching
- Exploring generative AI and emerging technologies in teaching
- Documenting teaching effectiveness:
- Constructing evidence-based teaching statements
- Participating in the Student Collaborators on Teaching (SCOTs) program
- Publishing and writing support:
- Participating in Publish and Prosper: Faculty Article-Writing Boot Camp
- Academic leadership development:
- Participating in the President’s Leadership Academy (PLA)
Bio
Dr. Babits serves as the Associate Director of Educational Initiatives and Innovation at Utah State University’s Center for Empowering Teaching Excellence (ETE), where he leads high-impact faculty development programs that promote instructional excellence, academic leadership, and innovative teaching practices across USU’s statewide system. He directs flagship initiatives such as the President’s Leadership Academy (PLA) and Publish and Prosper while piloting new models for professional development that address emerging pedagogical trends like generative AI use, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and inclusive pedagogy.
Holding a Ph.D. in History from The University of Texas at Austin and an M.A. in Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences from USU, Dr. Babits bridges expertise in pedagogy, instructional design, and faculty leadership. He has published extensively in the history of psychology, gender and sexuality, and the scholarship of teaching and learning, with work appearing in History of Psychology, Modern Intellectual History, The History Teacher, Teaching History: A Journal of Methods, and more. He is co-editor of Habits of Mind: Designing Courses for Student Success and author of the forthcoming To Cure a Sinful Nation: A History of Conversion Therapy in the United States (University of Chicago Press). Through his leadership, scholarship, and commitment to faculty growth, Dr. Babits advances ETE’s mission to elevate and promote a culture of teaching excellence.
Teaching & Research Interests
- Gamification in College Courses
- Health Humanities
- History of Psychology, Medicine, Gender, and Sexuality
- History of Religion in the U.S.
- Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)
- Public Scholarship and Digital Humanities
- Social Studies/History Education
Courses Taught
- HIST 1700: American History
- HIST 3040: The History of Sexuality
- HIST 4760: America in the 1960s
- HIST 4790: American Religious History
- HIST 4910: Religion and Politics in the U.S.
- HIST 4990: Undergraduate Research Capstone
- HIST 6580: Teaching Internship
- PSY 4960: Capstone Seminar in Psychology
- PSY 6100: History and Systems of Psychology