Notes from faculty research with Professor Kim Huisman

Background

Professor Kim Huisman (she/her) is a sociologist and educator with over twenty-five years of teaching experience. Since 2015, she has worked at Georgetown’s Center for New Design in Learning and Scholarship (CNDLS), where she partners with faculty across campus on a wide range of teaching and learning initiatives. Her work focuses on inclusive pedagogy, dialogue across difference, and designing meaningful learning experiences that foster belonging and connection. She also collaborates on publishing a podcast for CNDLS on teaching and learning in higher education, What We’re Learning About Learning.

Prior to joining Georgetown, Kim was a tenured professor of sociology at the University of Maine, teaching for twelve years in the Department of Sociology. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Southern California and her M.A. and B.S. from Saint Joseph’s University. Over the years, she has taught courses on social inequality, immigration, social psychology, deviance, social problems, the sociology of the family, and research methods. Her scholarship spans the scholarship of teaching and learning, immigration, gender, and identity, and she is very committed to community-based and collaborative research.

Kim recently published this op-ed in the Portland Press Herald in support of the Somali community in Maine, where she conducted community-based research alongside Somali community members and students for a decade. This work culminated in the co-edited book Somalis in Maine. The op-ed was inspired by a desire to offer a truthful counternarrative to harmful mischaracterizations of the Somali community.

She is also co-editor of Fostering Belonging in the Classroom and on Campus (forthcoming, May 2026), an interdisciplinary anthology exploring the relationship between belonging, equity, and thriving in higher education. Co-edited with her former undergraduate professor and longtime mentor, the book brings together diverse voices and practical strategies to help educators create inclusive, reflective, and compassionate learning environments. Through storytelling and evidence-based approaches, it offers concrete tools to help students feel seen, supported, and connected.

Research as a Collaborative Process

Professor Huisman collaborates closely with former and current colleagues, student partners, and local community organizations. Her process is relational and iterative—grounded in listening, sharing drafts, testing ideas in real classrooms, and learning together. She finds that the strongest work grows out of collaboration rather than working alone.

Research Advice and Mentoring

Stay curious and build strong relationships. Consider collaborative and/or community-based research. Ground your work in both research and lived experience, and don’t be afraid to experiment—some of the most meaningful learning comes from trying something new, reflecting, and revising. If you’re interested in dialogue, storytelling, or designing more inclusive learning experiences, connect with Professor Huisman.