Jason Dodd joined Learning Services in late 2009 as the Co-ordinator of the Student Athlete Mentor (SAM) Program, in which upper-year student athletes mentor incoming and continuing student athletes, providing them with the resources and learning skills necessary to improve their academic performance. His research interests include the development of effective academic programming for student-athletes. Jason holds an M.Sc. in Human Physiology and a B.Sc. in Human Kinetics, both from the University of Guelph. Jason can be reached at

Maryann Kope's career in education has spanned almost three decades and has included teaching at the high school, college, and university level. She has worked in learning support at Guelph since 1989. The common theme throughout her professional life has been enriching the teaching/learning process by enhancing student learning and academic performance. She has a particular interest in how technology influences learning, and in the learning and self-management issues common to high-ability, high-achieving students. Maryann holds a Master's degree in Higher Education from OISE at the University of Toronto, a B.Ed. from Queen's University, and an Honours B.A. in English and French from Wilfrid Laurier University. Maryann can be reached at

Dale Lackeyram enjoys examining how research programs impact student learning in higher education. He is particularly interested in how student learning can influence and shape teaching, research, and curriculum. Dale's involvement with Learning Services started with working as a Peer Helper when he was an undergraduate. He has worked as a Learning Specialist at Guelph for 9 years and is in the process of finishing a Ph.D. in nutrition and physiology. Dale can be reached at

Joannah O'Hatnick has worked as a Learning Specialist in the Learning Commons since 2003. She has taught or provided academic support services to university students in North America since 1994. Her research interests include the academic transition issues of first-year students and discipline-specific approaches to learning. She holds an M.A. in Education with a minor in Teaching English as a Second Language from the University of Minnesota and a B.A. in French literature from Carleton College (Minnesota). Joannah can be reached at