MiLEAP-sponsored MSU Learning Goals Initiative

Emily Conroy-Krutz is serving as the strategic curricular lead currently serves as a Professor of History at Michigan State University and the author of Missionary Diplomacy: Religion and American Foreign Relations in the Nineteenth Century (Cornell University Press, 2024), Christian Imperialism: Converting the World in the Early American Republic (Cornell University Press, 2015), and a co-editor of The Early Imperial Republic: From the American Revolution to the US-Mexico War (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2022). Her writings on foreign relations, religion, reform, empire, and gender can be found in the Journal of the Early Republic, Early American Studies, Diplomatic History, H-Diplo, the Journal of American History, The Washington Post, and several edited volumes.

She serves on the editorial board the US and the World series at Cornell University Press and is an associate review editor at the American Historical Review. She is the recipient of SHAFR’s 2021 Stuart L. Bernath Lecture Prize, the 2019 Jane Dempsey Douglass Prize from ASCH, and a 2018 China Residency from the OAH. Her research has been supported by fellowships from the Yale Divinity School Library, the Presbyterian Historical Society, the Schlesinger Library, the Charles Warren Center at Harvard, and the Humanities and Arts Research Program at Michigan State University. She is currently writing Around the World with the Browns, a micro-history of religion and foreign relations at the turn of the twentieth century focusing on the 1901-1902 world tour of Jennie Arthur Judson Brown.

Renee Miller Zientek is serving as strategic co-curricular lead and currently serves as the Executive Director of the Michigan State University Center for Community Engaged Learning (CCEL), where she leads initiatives that advance MSU’s outreach and community engagement mission. Under her decade of leadership, CCEL has helped MSU achieve the No. 1 national ranking in Service-Learning by U.S. News & World Report in both 2024 and 2025. Student participation in community-engaged learning has reached record levels, making it a defining element of the Spartan experience.

Renee also serves as co-director of the MSUvote Campus and Community Initiative, which has been instrumental in driving some of the highest student voter turnout rates in the country. She has championed numerous programs focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion, including the Community-Engaged Scholars Program and the Spartan Volunteer Service Awards.

Prior to her current role, Renee served as Executive Director of Michigan Campus Compact, supporting 45 college and university presidents in advancing the public purpose of higher education. She also held leadership positions with the Michigan Nonprofit Association and served as Assistant Vice Chancellor for University Outreach at the University of Michigan-Flint, overseeing departments such as Outreach and Engagement, Alumni Relations, and Corporate and Foundation Relations.

She currently serves on the leadership board of the Research Universities Civic Engagement Network (TRUCEN), is book editor for the Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, and is a board member of the United Way of Southeast Michigan. Renee holds both a B.A. and M.A. from the University of Michigan.  She is deeply committed to creating lasting societal impact through education, collaboration, and meaningful community engagement.

Helena Gardner is serving as the operational co-curricular lead and currently serves as the Director of Residence Education and Housing Services (REHS) at Michigan State University (MSU), where she provides visionary leadership and strategic oversight for the day-to-day operations of the on-campus residential experience. With nearly 25 years of professional experience in student housing, Helena has built a career dedicated to supporting and educating diverse student and residential populations—including first-year students, returning residents, families, faculty/staff, and visiting scholars.

Throughout her career, Helena has managed a broad and dynamic housing portfolio that includes residence halls, apartments, single-family homes, and sorority communities and has been a part of several residence hall renovations and construction projects. She has cultivated and led successful collaborations with both public and private partners, sorority advisors, and a wide range of campus stakeholders. Her work has consistently emphasized the integration of academic partnerships, particularly in support of residential colleges, living-learning communities, and residential curriculum.

A recognized leader in co-curricular development, Helena has contributed extensively to the field through her work on learning outcomes and curricular design. She served for multiple years as a faculty member for the American College Personnel Association’s (ACPA) Institute on the Curricular Approach, provides continued support to the Residential Learning Experience within REHS to include Spartan Compass and Spartan Navigator.

In addition to her administrative leadership, Helena is a co-host of Here’s the Story, a segment of the Student Affairs Now podcast, where she engages in thought-provoking conversations that highlight the experiences and voices of student affairs professionals. Additionally, she has formally mentored emerging professionals through the ACUHO-I Leadership Academy and informally supports and mentors professionals at institutions across the country. She currently serves as a co-facilitator for the MSU Student Life and Engagement Leadership Development program with a focus on collaboration.  Helena considers collaboration, service, learning and listening to be critical compliments to student (and staff) success.

With career opportunities across the country, her small family has lived in many places, yet Helena proudly calls Detroit, Michigan, her hometown. She is a devoted Spartan parent and describes raising “the kindest human” as her greatest joy. Helena is passionate about encouraging others to live their most full and most authentic lives and she lives by the guiding philosophy: Be Great.

Stephen Thomas is serving as the operational curricular lead and currently serves as an Academic Specialist in curriculum development, Interim Associate Dean for Curriculum in Undergraduate Education, and Associate Director of the Center for Integrative Studies in General Science at Michigan State University.

Trained as a biologist with a background in ecology and science education, he has taught a wide range of courses in biology, environmental science, and science pedagogy, both in person and online. His work focuses on designing and evaluating curriculum across modalities, leading faculty development initiatives, and supporting institutional efforts toward accessible, equitable, and interdisciplinary learning.

He has led or co-led curriculum reform projects across multiple colleges, facilitated cross-campus communities of practice, and developed educational products ranging from a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) to a video series on Drawing to Learn. His approach to curriculum development is grounded in collaborative and reflective processes that surface local needs and connect them to evidence-based practices and national conversations—resulting in learning experiences that are both institutionally aligned and meaningful to students.