Our Staff

Craig L. Engstrom, Ph.D., CPTD, is an associate professor of communication and a certified talent development professional.

Dr. Engstrom earned a bachelor’s degree in business economics from Colorado Mesa University (2001), a master’s degree in intercultural communication (2006), and a doctorate (2010) specializing in organizational and instructional communication from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. He is a Certified Microsoft Educator and in 2020 earned the Master Online Leader and Administrator Certificate from the University of Illinois-Springfield.

Dr. Engstrom has taught or led educational programs in Kazakhstan (Peace Corps, 2001–2003), China, and Europe. He taught at the University of Montana (postdoc), Elmhurst University (2011–2015), and teaches undergraduate and graduate courses at SIU within the School of Communication Studies. In total, he has 23 years of teaching experience in international and U.S. contexts.

Dr. Engstrom joined the CTE after serving as the Director of Undergraduate Programs for the School of Communication Studies and the course administrator and advisor for the Saluki Success Program (First-Year Experience Course, UNIV 101).

Dr. Engstrom has published several book chapters as well as academic articles in professional journals such as the International Journal of Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management, Journal for Critical Organization Inquiry, Communication Studies, Communication Teacher, and Business and Professional Communication Quarterly. He is the author of the books Fundamentals of Business Communication for Career Success and Qualitative Communication Consulting: Stories and Lessons from the Field.

Select Awards and Recognitions

• 2017 “Rising Star Award,” National Communication Association – Training Division
• 2017 SIU College of Liberal Arts Outstanding Teacher
• 2020 “Outstanding Service Award,” National Communication Association – Training Division
• 2020 “Outstanding Mentor Award,” Summer Research Institute (SIU McNair Scholars)

Keep up with Dr. Engstrom's teaching and research activities via his webpage, LinkedIn, or YouTube.

• craig.engstrom@siu.edu
• 618-453-6208
• Director's Message

Kelly H. Caringer PhD, is Chief Instructional Media Systems Engineer at CTE. In this role, he designs, installs, and maintains digital presentation systems used in shared learning spaces. Dr. Caringer received a bachelor’s degree in Recording Industry from Middle Tennessee State University (1999), a master’s degree in Professional Media Management (2009), and a doctorate in Mass Communication and Media Arts (2017) from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. He is a critical technologist who considers the practical sociocultural implications of technology in a given application. Regarding technologies commonly deployed in classrooms, he investigates technical claims made by product manufacturers and determines through research and experimentation what product features are most useful in a higher education setting.

Before venturing into educational technology, Dr. Caringer worked for nearly 25 years in various media industries; from editing and mastering albums on Nashville’s historic Music Row, to verifying the data integrity of music and motion picture masters for Universal Music Group and Technicolor. In 2011/2012, his doctoral studies led to an international research fellowship at the British Library Sound Archive and invitations to the EMI Archive Trust and Abbey Road Studios in London, where he uncovered an alternate history of the invention and development of stereophonic sound recording from 1931-1958.

A lifelong Saluki, Jeff earned his Bs degree here at SIU while majoring in photography from 1991-95

Jeff began working as a photographer at 16 years-of-age, by shooting numerous weddings and other events while freelancing for local newspapers. After high school, Jeff was accepted at SIU and received more training, education, and experience through his university coursework.

Jeff began his career here in 1996 as a University Photographer. Over the next 15 years, Jeff won several awards for his photography work while aiding in the marketing of SIU Carbondale at SIU Communications.

After years of photography and marketing work, Jeff wanted a change and started a new chapter of his career by transferring to the Center for Teaching Excellence in 2011. Along with maintaining the departmental website, Jeff is also the campus administrator for the Echo360 Active Learning Platform, an application used to help faculty better engage with students within their online, live or hybrid courses.

"By utilizing all of the skills and disciplines I have acquired during my years at SIU, I value the opportunity to work with the faculty in the hopes of creating a better teaching and learning environment for both the instructors as well as the students"

Gary W Griffith is a longtime resident of Carbondale and serves as an Instructional Media Systems Technician for the Center. He installs, operates, and maintains control and media presentation systems, provides faculty and departmental A/V consultation and support, and designs modern technological solutions for hybrid and hyflex classroom spaces.

 Previously, Gary worked for seven years as the Recording Engineer, Studio Manager, and Archivist for the SIU School of Music. He has served as Sound Designer, Audio Engineer, Streaming Engineer, and A/V Consultant for over 45 theatrical productions and thousands of concert events in the region over the years, and has been privileged to work with multiple Grammy, Emmy, and Tony winners.

 In his spare time Gary enjoys old school video games, coaching youth soccer, spending time with his family.

Lucas Luper is an Instructional Media Systems Technician at CTE. In this role, he installs and maintains the digital presentation systems used in shared learning spaces, as well as providing on-site support to faculty and staff.

Lucas received his bachelor’s degree at SIUC in Radio, Television, and Digital Media with a specialization in Audio Production in 2018. Lucas went on to do freelance audio work for a few years before starting his position at CTE in August of 2022.

In his free time, Lucas enjoys watching movies, creating music, and drinking Dr. Pepper.

You can also connect with him on LinkedIn or contact him via email

Priscilla Pimentel has lived in Carbondale for over 25 years and considers Southern Illinois her home. She has a bachelor’s degree in Radio Television Production from SIUC. Her favorite courses were film classes, and she created a 16mm film. Before she came to SIUC, she worked eight years at a medical education company preparing visual media for interactive computer learning experiences.

She identifies as Puerto Rican and queer. She is the Civil Service Representative for the Hispanic Latino Faculty Staff Council.

In her spare time, Priscilla likes to garden with native plants, enjoys live music, and goes swimming in the many beautiful lakes in the region.

Dr. Abby Razer is a highly motivated and determined individual committed to elevating her leadership skills. She is a repeat graduate of SIU: she has master's and Ph.D. degrees from the university.

Abby uses her skills to support and inspire faculty as an instructional designer for CALPS, SOE, COBA, and the School of Law.

Abby has been a valued member of The Office of Information Technology since 2009, progressing through the organization to lead the SalukiTech Solution Center. Those skills have now carried over and grown into the administration of D2L Brightspace, SIU’s Learning Management System. Additionally, Abby is thrilled to be a member of the Chancellor’s L.E.A.D. Team for 2023-2024.

Abby’s interests include dog sports, cooking, and reading.

Connect with Abby via her LinkedIn profile, via email, or through the CTE’s service request form the OIT Knowledgebase: Requesting D2L Services.

Mickey is the administrator for the Course Evaluations system. Course Evaluations is a customizable, online product for delivering instructor and course evaluations. This involves managing user accounts for faculty, staff, and students, delivering the appropriate survey instrument/report to the appropriate user according to their role, and providing technical support.

Mickey also oversees the grading of exams given using Scantron sheets as well as harvesting other types of data from Scantrons. He is also administrator for the department’s Ubuntu Linux development server.

I have been doing photography, filmmaking and video since the 1980s. I have a BFA in Communications from the New York Institute of Technology, 1987 and an MA in Telecommunications from SIUC, 1998. I have been with CTE since 1999. Photography and videography are my professions and my hobbies. I've made countless videos for the SIU Campus community and many more, independently for clients and for myself. My career began in the film industry in NY. I began as a camera production assistant and worked up to being a first assistant cameraperson. Most notably, I worked on the feature film "Rocket Gibraltar" and the Def Leppard music-video "Hysteria." I moved to southern Illinois for personal reasons, joined SIUC as a grad student in 1995 and soon after I completed my MA, I was hired as Video Producer in the ISS (now CTE) department of Morris Library, where I work to this day. I look forward to continuing to help the SIU Community with video and photography needs.