Common Ground Research Networks

Bill Cope is a Professor in the Department of Education Policy, Organization & Leadership, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His research interests include theories and practices of pedagogy, cultural and linguistic diversity, and new technologies of representation and communication. His and Mary Kalantzis’ recent research has focused on the development of digital writing and assessment technologies, with the support of a number of major grants from the US Department of Education, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the National Science Foundation. The result has been the Scholar multimodal writing, publishing and assessment environment. With Kalantzis, he has coauthored or coedited: New Learning: Elements of a Science of Education, Cambridge University Press, 2008 (2nd edition, 2012); Ubiquitous Learning, University of Illinois Press, 2009; Towards a Semantic Web: Connecting Knowledge in Academic Research, Elsevier, 2009; The Future of the Academic Journal, Elsevier, 2009 (2nd Edition, 2014); Literacies, Cambridge University Press 2012 (2nd edition, 2016); A Pedagogy of Multiliteracies, Palgrave, 2015; and e-Learning Ecologies, Routledge, 2017.

As the Chief Social Scientist Phillip Kalantzis-Cope works with local host committees, journal editors and advisory boards to craft themes, select speakers, and leads overall program and strategic development at Common Ground Research Networks. He is an active member of the American Association of Publishers, currently serving on the Committee for Digital Innovation, and is the Co-Founder of New Criticals. He serves on the Board of the Modern Greek Studies Program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Phillip completed his PhD (Politics) at The New School for Social Research in New York City. A published author, his research addresses the political economy of “big-data;” the nature of immaterial labor within digital networks; and the conceptual boundaries of the “material” and “immaterial” in the politics of intellectual property. He is currently a University Fellow in the Faculty of Business, Law and Education at Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Australia. Phillip is also an internationally exhibited and published, photographer.

José Luis Ortega is an Associate Professor in Teaching of English as a Foreign Language at the University of Granada, Spain. From 2004 to 2008 he was Vice-Dean in charge of International Relations and from 2011 to 2015. He was Secretary of the Local Organising Committee of the International Learning Conferences held in Granada (2005), Montego Bay (Jamaica, 2006), the International Social Science Conference held in Granada in 2007, and the International Conference on Diversity (2016). A member of the scientific committee of several international journals, Dr Ortega has lectured and taught at numerous European and American universities. He is the author of more than fifty scholarly publications including books, chapters and peer reviewed papers on bilingualism, TEFL, teacher training, classroom management, and student motivation. Dr Ortega is currently heading a national Project in Spain on bilingualism funded by the British Council and the Spanish Ministry of Education.

Rae-Anne Montague has been active in academia for the past two decades. She currently serves on the Information Studies faculty at Chicago State University. Previously she was a member of the Information and Computer Sciences faculty at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and also worked for several years in student affairs at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Montague's research interests emphasize community engagement, inquiry, and social justice. She has provided leadership for a number of innovative grant projects.

Leslie Crowley has served in a variety of academic positions, and has a diverse background with experience in English, Education, Engineering, Human Services, and Law. She is an experienced writer and editor, with publications on enhancing teaching and learning, developing communication practices, and therapeutic writing. Leslie has also worked as an academic advisor and faculty development expert, and has developed multiple programs to support student-faculty engagement and dialogue. She has written and facilitated a variety of grants in areas ranging from faculty development, innovations in teaching writing, and social and human service projects.

Common Ground Research Networks are connected by overarching principles that bring scholars together. Yet each Research Network is distinct in focus and practice. Ebony Jackson leads the development and implementation of the visual identities of each Research Network, ensuring our core principles, and those of the network, are matched in design .

As a Communications Designer, Brittani Musgrove aims to make Common Ground’s physical and digital design presence simple and informative for our delegates. Common Ground has 24 Research Networks, each having an annual conference, which she creates various promotional materials for which ensures that our delegates can easily associate with a particular conference. In addition, she helps manage our social media presence across all platforms and looks for ways to implement our visual identity throughout.

Across our 24 Research Networks, Common Ground is continually announcing opportunities for Research Network Members and new delegates to present at conferences, pursue publication, and volunteer within their respective subject communities. Alexandra Pate, our Communications Designer, creates online mailings and manages Common Ground’s social media presence so that our delegates are up to date on all of the latest CG events.