Michelle Hayford is Director of the Theatre, Dance, and Performance Technology Program at the University of Dayton. Michelle holds a PhD in Performance Studies from Northwestern University. Her creative scholarship utilizes theatre as community and civic engagement. Michelle’s Undergraduate Research in Theatre (Routledge 2022) and Performing Arts as High-Impact Practice (with Kattwinkel, Palgrave 2018) situate the rigor and creative praxis of our discipline as fundamental to a liberal arts education and the research profile of our institutions. Michelle is an applied theatre practitioner who advocates that the revolution for sustainable and equitable theatre practices must start in academic undergraduate theatre.