Annie Catherine Kelly

Dr. Annie Kelly is a passionate academic leader committed to advancing student success and facilitating high-impact programs to increase student retention, belonging, and engagement. Her work is grounded in the principles of Appreciative Advising and integrative learning, which is applied to supporting both students and her instructor team.

She is currently an Assistant Professor and Course Director of First-Year Seminars in the College of Cooperative Education and Professional Studies at the University of Cincinnati. In this role, she leads the strategic coordination of a first-year seminar course, encompassing faculty development, peer education, curriculum design, and assessment initiatives. Prior to joining the University of Cincinnati, Dr. Kelly held roles within faculty development, academic advising, and academic support at Loyola University Chicago and new student programming at the University of Kentucky. She earned her doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction from Loyola University Chicago.

Dr. Kelly is a speaker and author on topics related to first-year course design, peer leadership, and appreciative education. She serves as Editor of Insights for College Transitions for the National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition and is a faculty affiliate within the Office of Appreciative Education at Florida Atlantic University.

Outside of her professional endeavors, Dr. Kelly enjoys spending time with her husband and their two children, listening to Taylor Swift, and exploring Cincinnati’s coffee shops.

Peer Reviewed Publications

Kelly, A. (2024. ) Next bearcat lives here: A University of Cincinnati first-year seminar .Insights for College Transitions, , 20 (1 ) ,

Insights for College Transitions

Ford, J., Kelly, A., & Bloom, J. (2022. ) Challenges and Opportunities: Reinventing Faculty Advising in the Era of COVID-19 .Journal of Appreciative Education, ,

Other Publications

Kelly, A. (2021. ) (Re)Imagining Community-Engaged Curriculum & Pedagogy: Shifting Subjectivities & Power/Knowledge Among Faculty/Doctoral Students. [Doctoral dissertation, Loyola University Chicago]. ,

Book Chapter

Kelly, A., Cooper, C., & Miskovic, V. (2023 ) Developing an appreciative peer mentorship curriculum in a cooperative education program. New Directions in Student Services Appreciative Frameworks in Student Affairs.

Kelly, A. (2021 ) Feedback and Grading: Non-Graded Drafts. Keeping Us Engaged: Student Perspectives on Learning and Motivation. Stylus Publishing LLC.

Invited Presentations

Kelly, A. (2025. ) [Closing Speaker] Bringing it Home: Implementing Conference Insights at Your Institution. 44th Annual First-Year Experience Conference , New Orleans, LA.

Lehman, K., Kelly, A., & Cleary, S. (2025. ) Publishing Research and Practice on College Student Transitions .44th Annual First-Year Experience Conference, New Orleans, LA.

Kelly, A., Alanson, E., & Pfander, C. (2025. ) Integrating Career Education Student Outcomes in a First-Year Seminar .44th Annual First-Year Experience Conference, New Orleans, LA.

Kelly, A. (2025. ) Applying Appreciative Instruction to the First-Year Seminar .Appreciative Education Conference, Virtual.

Alanson, E. & Kelly, A. (2024. ) Career Education & the First-Year Seminar .Students in Transition Conference, Virtual.

Alanson, E. & Kelly, A. (2024. ) Rethinking a First-Year Seminar: Integrating First-Year and Career Education Outcomes .Midwest First-Year Experience Conference, Bloomington, IN.

Kelly, A., Alanson, E., Logan, A., & Cook, C. (2024. ) Rethinking a First-Year Seminar: Integrating First-Year and Career Education Outcomes .43rd Annual First-Year Experience Conference , Seattle, WA.

Kelly, A. & Winfield, J. (2022. ) An Appreciative Approach to Training Peer Mentors .41st Annual First-Year Experience Conference, Orlando, FL.

Kelly, A., Winfield, J., Propst Cuevas, A., & Hursh, B. (2021. ) Appreciative Mentorship .Office of Appreciative Education Webinar Series., Virtual.

Bloom, J., Propst Cueavs, A., & Kelly, A. (2020. ) [Pre-Conference Workshop] Engaging First-Year Students: Applying the Appreciative Advising Framework .39th Annual First-Year Experience Conference , Washington DC.

Clarke, K., Greene, C.S., & Kelly, A. (2019. ) [Pre-Conference Workshop] Designing Assignments that Engage and Assess First-Year Student Learning .38th Annual First-Year Experience Conference. , Las Vegas, NV.

Kelly. A. (2022. ) [Faculty Speaker] Transforming the Student Advising Experience: Applying the Appreciative Advising Framework .Southwest Adventist University,

Kelly, A. (2022. ) [Training Creator/ Facilitator] Peer Mentors & Appreciative Education .University of Hawaii,

Kelly, A. (2021. ) [Faculty Speaker] Creating Appreciative Curriculum .University of Rio Grande,

2024 -To Present: Editor, Insights for College Transitions National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition,