Shihua Brazill - Department of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences

Shihua BrazillAssociate Professor of Communication

Office: Natural Resources Building (NRB) 353 | Phone: (406) 994-2406
Email: sbrazill@mtech.edu | Google Scholar: Profile

Biography

Dr. Shihua Brazill has been named a 2025 Montana University System Teaching Scholar by the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education. With a Ph.D. in Higher Education and a graduate certificate in College Teaching, Dr. Brazill has years of dedicated experience in higher education. She specializes in communication, Artificial Intelligence (AI), instructional design, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and faculty development programming, positioning her as an expert in promoting teaching excellence, learning, and scholarship.

Dr. Brazill has led numerous faculty development programs, with an emphasis on instructional design leadership, accessibility, inclusive pedagogy, the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), faculty learning communities, and faculty mentoring. She has presented and published extensively on topics including AI, intercultural communication, instructional design, leadership, SoTL, faculty development, multicultural education, and social justice.

Research Interests

  •  Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Higher Education

    • Ethical and Responsible Use of AI in Teaching, Learning, and Leadership

    • Communication and AI Pedagogy

    • Faculty Development and AI Integration

  • Intercultural Communication

  • Universal Design for Learning and Inclusive Pedagogy

  • Interdisciplinary Approaches to Bridging Theory and Practice in AI and Communication.

Selected Courses Taught

Montana Technological University

  • Intercultural Communication (COMX 415)

  • Presenting Technical Information (COMX 230)

  • Interpersonal Communication (COMX 115)

  • Introduction to Public Speaking (COMX 111)

Selected Publications

Brazill, S. C. (2026). Teaching with AI, not against it: Supporting ethical and transparent student use in higher education. Proceedings of the Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference.

Brazill, S. C., Thurston, T., & Munday, P. (2025). Leadership in instructional design. In The SAGE handbook of instructional design.

Brazill, S. C. (2025). Documenting teaching excellence: Applying Universal Design for Learning 3.0 in communication courses.

Brazill, S. C., & Strause, S. (2025). Empowering future educators: Ethically enhancing classroom engagement with AI tools. Proceedings of the Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference.

Myers, S., Myers, C., Johnson, C., & Brazill, S. C. (2023). Support from institutional agents and perceptions of cultural and institutional fit among STEM international graduate students in the U.S. Journal of International Students.

Brazill, S. C. (2023). International doctoral student experiences in higher education. In International graduate and doctoral student experience: Navigating relationships, resources, and resilience.

Brazill, S. C., & Ruff, W. (2022). Using transformational leadership to create brave space in teaching multicultural education. International Journal of Multicultural Education.

Brazill, S. C., & Munday, P. (2022). Brave new world: Transformational teaching for a web-based multicultural education course in the age of COVID-19. In Teaching and learning for social justice and equity in higher education.

Brazill, S. C. (2022). Chinese international doctoral students’ cross-cultural socialization: Leveraging strengths and multiple identities. International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 17, 335–359. 

Brazill, S. C., & Munday, P. (2022). Coming home to China: Margaret Woo’s story. Journal of Modern Chinese History.

Brazill, S. C., Myers, C. B., Myers, S. M., & Johnson, C. M. (2021). Cultural congruity and academic confidence of American Indian graduate students in STEM: Peer interactions, mentor cultural support, and university environment fit. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education.

Brazill, S. C. (2021). Narrative inquiry into Chinese international doctoral students’ journey: A strength-based perspective. International Journal of Doctoral Studies.

Brazill, S. C. (2020). Pedagogical strategies for teaching a multicultural education course: Creating safe space and brave space for a community of learners. Educational Research: Theory and Practice.

Brazill, S. C. (2020). Race and gender factors in ACT English and composite scores. Educational Research: Theory and Practice.

Brazill, S. C. (2020). For the greater good: Student diversity and identity in e-learning environments. Proceedings of the Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference.

Brazill, S. C. (2019). Intercultural comparison of e-learning behaviors of Chinese vs. American students. In Technology in education: Pedagogical innovations. Springer.

Brazill, S. C., Masters, M., & Munday, P. (2016). Analysis of human vs. machine translation accuracy. Translatologia.

Selected Awards & Honors

  • Montana Tech Merit Award (2026)

  • Rose and Anna Busch Faculty Achievement Award (2026)

  • Montana University System Teaching Scholar Award (2025)