Education professor’s impact has ripple effect on future leaders

At Auburn University’s College of Education, the phrase “Opening Doors and Improving Lives” isn’t just a tagline — it’s a lived reality, embodied by educators like Jill Salisbury-Glennon. With a teaching philosophy rooted in empathy, engagement and empowerment, Salisbury-Glennon has spent her career cultivating classrooms that do more than deliver content — they ignite transformation.

“We love it and we're passionate about education,” said Salisbury-Glennon, a professor of Educational Psychology in the College of Education’s Department of Educational Foundations, Leadership, and Technology. “But I think we need to share that love and passion with our students and help them to find that as well.”

From the moment students step into her classroom, they’re met not with lectures, but with dialogue, discovery and a deep sense of belonging.

“I always aim in my classroom to create a supportive, just welcoming learning environment and probably most importantly, a learner-centered environment,” she explained. “And I tell them from day one, I'm not going to be a sage on the stage. I'm not going to lecture. It's going to be a lot of discussion, a lot of facilitation on my part, a lot of application.”

That learner-first approach resonated deeply with Christopher Wyckoff, now assistant director of Academic Initiatives within Auburn’s First Year Experience (FYE) program. Their paths first crossed during Wyckoff’s junior year as an undergraduate. The timing was serendipitous, but the impact was enduring.

A transformative educator

“The most unique thing about her teaching style was that she held us accountable for everything that we did,” Wyckoff said. “She loved to tell personal stories that were very relatable. She infused humor in all of it.”

Wyckoff earned his Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Psychology in 2016. Today, he oversees all courses and academic programming in Auburn’s First Year Experience, which helps new students acclimate to university life, build academic confidence and foster meaningful connections. His work is a direct extension of the values he learned in Salisbury-Glennon’s classroom: preparation, participation and personal investment.

“She was a big believer in having us do a lot of the legwork before we come to class,” he said. “We had to a lot of times teach the content on our own, and then she would serve as a coach to help us walk through it, giving extra information and filling in the blanks along the way.”

That coaching extended far beyond the classroom. Wyckoff remembers the patience and support Salisbury-Glennon offered during advising appointments, where she took a personal interest in his growth.

“She showed a personal interest in me, and that helped me understand that I need to show a personal interest in my students to help inspire them to greatness as well,” he said.

The impact of a ripple effect

For Salisbury-Glennon, the true measure of her work reveals itself in moments outside the classroom — walking through local K-12 schools, visiting campus and seeing former students thriving in diverse careers.

“We show up to work every day, but we don't really understand the magnitude of what we do outside of the classroom,” she said. “It's just really neat to see full circle the range of careers that we have prepared our students for.”

She added that “our impact reaches so far beyond the walls of the College of Education that we don’t always see that the magnitude of our impact is a ripple, including the many students that they work with and impact every day.”

And for those who’ve walked through the doors that she’s helped open, like Wyckoff, the journey continues — with gratitude, purpose and the enduring influence of a teacher who believed in them first.

“Dr. Salisbury-Glennon helped me understand that teaching is not just about delivering content — it’s about building relationships,” Wyckoff said. “That’s the kind of educator I strive to be every day.”