Faculty Success Staff
The Office for Faculty Success is supported by DU staff members and graduate student workers who collaborate to advance faculty development and engagement. Together, our team provides expertise, coordination, and support to foster a thriving faculty community at DU.
LESLIE HASCHE
Vice Provost for Faculty Success
Leslie Hasche is currently serving as Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs at the University of Denver. As a faculty member within the Graduate School of Social Work (GSSW) since 2011, she taught theory and gerontology courses at the master’s and doctoral levels. Dr. Hasche previously served as the GSSW Associate Dean for Academic Affairs from 2018 - 2022.
She received her Master of Social Work in 2000 and her Doctor of Philosophy in 2009—both from the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in Saint Louis. Throughout her practice and research career, she has focused on mental health care and community services to support older adults and their families. Dr. Hasche continues to engage in interdisciplinary collaborations through the University of Denver’s Knoebel Institute for Healthy Aging, the University of Colorado’s Multidisciplinary Center on Aging, and as a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America.
LESLIE CRAMBLET ALVAREZ
Assistant Vice Provost & Director of the Office of Teaching and Learning
Leslie Cramblet Alvarez is the Assistant Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning and directs the Office of Teaching and Learning. She leads the office’s portfolio of educational development programs and campus-wide initiatives related to teaching excellence. She is a full-time educational developer after more than a decade as psychology faculty at a Hispanic-serving Institution in rural southern Colorado. Her research interests are broadly focused on teaching and learning in higher education, and she has published in the domains of educational development and teaching and learning in psychology. Along with Chris Hakala, her first book, Understanding Educational Developers: Tales from the Center explores who educational developers are, their pathways to the profession, and the competencies needed for success. Her disciplinary research focuses on the representation of women and people of color in the psychology curriculum.
TERESE RAINWATER
Project Manager, Office of the Provost
As Project Manager for the Office of the Provost, Terese Rainwater dedicates part of her time to Provost priorities, faculty success ,and key initiatives and events. Terese joined DU in April 2022 after 20 years in public policy where she worked with legislators, university system heads and presidents, and faculty to increase access to and success in postsecondary education.
LAURA E. SPONSLER
Director of Faculty Development
Laura E. Sponsler, Ph.D, is the Director of Faculty Development in the Office for Faculty Affairs. Dr. Sponsler also holds appointments as Clinical Associate Professor of Higher Education and the Interim Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs in the Morgridge College of Education. She previously served for four years as the Resident-Scholar for Teaching and Professional Faculty, leading work to support teaching and professional faculty and culminating in the Delphi Award 2021 for the university. As an educator and scholar, Laura works to create a more inclusive and accessible system of higher education for faculty and students. Her early research agenda focused on civic learning and democratic engagement. Since then, her interests have broadened to include inclusive teaching, learning, and assessment; the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL); and faculty development, in particular, the experiences of non-tenure track faculty in higher education.
ELISE ROSADO BREWER
Web Content Designer
Elise Rosado Brewer joined the OTL and Faculty Success offices as the Web Content Designer in 2022. Prior to DU, Brewer worked as a theatrical lighting and costume designer for six years, where she used visual design as a tool for narrative. Brewer received her BFA in Theater Design, Technology and Management from CU Boulder and earned a certificate in User Experience and User Interface Design from DU. Her intersectional arts and tech background allows her to take an empathetic and human-based approach in everything she does. Brewer believes that complex problems require creative solutions, and creative solutions require creative people. In this role, Brewer will be generating and maintaining web-based content for faculty educational and development resources, and tackling special projects that require creative problem solving for digital user needs. When she’s not at work, you can find her in dark theaters playing with stage lighting or spending time with her eccentric Puerto Rican family.
VERONICA RODRIGUES ARDANAZ
Web Content Design Graduate Assistant
Veronica Rodrigues Ardanaz is a Content Design Assistant in Faculty Affairs, where she helps create and maintain digital resources that support faculty development at the University of Denver. Originally from Spain, she brings a cross-cultural perspective shaped by her academic and professional experiences in different countries. Veronica is currently pursuing her master's degree in Strategic Human Resources at DU, with a growing interest in learning design and the day-to-day work that helps faculty feel supported.
Before joining DU, she taught Spanish to learners from around the world, which strengthened her appreciation for accessible and inclusive education. She has also worked in front-end development, an experience that helps her approach digital content with attention and clarity, structure, and user needs. Outside of work, she loves discovering new places and cultures, learning new things, reading good books, and staying active.
SAHITHI BUSI
Communications Graduate Assitant
Sahithi Busi is currently serving as a Communication and Web Content Design Specialist in the Provost Division at the University of Denver while pursuing a Master of Science in Business Analytics at the Daniels College of Business. She brings over four years of professional experience in marketing, CRM, growth, and retention, with a strong focus on data-driven strategy and digital engagement. Her professional experience spans industries including ed-tech, gaming, and higher education, where she has led multi-channel initiatives across email, messaging, and in-app platforms to improve user engagement and retention. Sahithi’s work integrates marketing analytics, user behavior analysis, and content strategy to support scalable, user-centric growth and communication initiatives.