International Affiliates

2026 Affiliates

Chaouki T. Abdallah, Ph.D.

President

Lebanese American University

Beirut, Lebanon

Dr. Chaouki T. Abdallah became the tenth president of LAU on October 1, 2024. Most recently, he served as Executive Vice President for Research at The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), from September 2018 until September 2024.

Under Dr. Abdallah’s leadership, research expenditures at Georgia Tech increased significantly from approximately $850 million at the start of his term in 2018 to $1.45 billion as of December 2023. Dr. Abdallah previously served as the 22nd president of the University of New Mexico. His efforts there contributed to an 8% increase in first-year student retention and a 125% increase in four-year graduation rates. A prominent expert in control theory and systems engineering, he has authored eight books, serving as co-editor for three of them and co-author for five. Additionally, he has contributed to more than 400 peer-reviewed articles. Dr. Abdallah is deeply committed to guiding students and has personally mentored 36 Master’s degree and 16 Ph.D. candidates.

Dr. Abdallah studied at the Faculté d’ingénierie of the Université Saint-Joseph in Lebanon before continuing his studies in the United States at Youngstown State University in Ohio, where he obtained a Bachelor of Engineering (B.E.) degree in 1981. He earned M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from Georgia Tech in 1982 and 1988, respectively.

Dr. Abdallah is a native of Rachana, a village in northern Lebanon known for its beautiful sculptures, where some of his family still live. He and his seven siblings are all first-generation college graduates, thanks in part to the hard work of their parents. Dr. Abdallah met his wife, Catherine, also an engineering graduate, at Georgia Tech. She is the president of a global supply chain company. They have two engineering graduate sons.

Robert B.  Gibbs, Ph.D.

Professor

University of Toronto, St. George

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Dr. Robert Gibbs recently completed a 10-year term as Inaugural Director of the Jackman Humanities Institute. He is a Professor of Philosophy and of Religion.

His current research focuses on Higher Education, and he has recently completed a book length manuscript, The University in Question: Ideas in Dialogue. In it he inquires what a Research University is for and explores different models of universities by refocusing on the research capacities of students.

His previous research is located on the borderlines of philosophy and religion, with a comparative and historical focus on law and ethics. He has worked on ethics in relation to the modern Jewish philosophical tradition and has numerous publications in this and in related fields in continental philosophy.

Christine Logel, Ph. D.

Professor, Social Development Studies

University of Waterloo

Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

As a Co-Founder and Head of Research with the College Transition Collaborative based at Stanford University, Dr. Logel develops and tests psychological interventions and promotes institutional change to help foster belonging and growth, increasing equity in academic achievement and improving well-being for disadvantaged students.

In her recent scholarly research, she studies identity and belonging among structurally disadvantaged students including racialized minorities, financially-stressed students, students with disabilities, students with higher body weight, English Language Learners, and students contending with the implications of the covid-19 pandemic. She also examines the negative effects of weight stigma.

Dr. Logel received University of Waterloo’s 2018 Equity Award for her work promoting women’s success in STEM fields. In her teaching and service, Dr. Logel supports, and advocates for, students with visible and invisible disabilities, non-traditional students, students in financial need, and online learners. Her work has been funded by organizations including the Raikes Foundation, the National Science Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and the Higher Education Quality Council of Canada. Dr. Logel teaches Introductory Psychology, Personality Theory, and Psychological Interventions.

2025 Affiliates

Christina Hancock

Christina L. Hancock, Ph.D.

Director, Centre for Teaching and Learning Research

University of Sussex

Brighton, U.K.

Christina's doctoral research focused on investigating the role of functional play in the lives of autistic children with severe learning difficulties. Through this research, she developed a comprehensive framework aimed at assisting practitioners in schools. Christina is currently researching playful pedagogies within Initial Teaching Education and serving on the board for the International Council for Children's Play.

Christina is also an advocate for a positive research culture. Most recently Christina is leading a funded project with Brighton and Sussex Medical school to deliver a Collaborators Retreat- aiming to induce greater interdisciplinary engagement across UoS.

In addition to her research Christina teaches modules across both undergraduate and postgraduate programs that address topics surrounding inclusion, diversity, and autism. Through her teaching, she aims to equip future educators with the knowledge and skills necessary to create inclusive learning environments that cater to the diverse needs of all learners.

Christina grew up near Baltimore, Maryland, USA and obtained an undergraduate degree in Elementary Education from Wesley College. She taught in a elementary schools in the United States prior to coming to England to work in a school for children with severe learning difficulties. She holds a Masters in Special Education from the University of Chester and a Ph.D. from the University of Bedfordshire. Christina began working in Higher Education at the University of Chester part time and then moved to the University of Bedfordshire where she was the Course leader for the BA Education Studies and then the course leader for the BA in Special Educational Needs and Inclusion. Christina joined the University of Sussex in September 2017 and was the Head of Primary Teacher Education (2021-23). Christina led the team through a highly successful Ofsted inspection and has recently taken on new leadership as the Director of the Centre for Teaching and Learning Research.

Susan Lewis

Susan Lewis, Ph.D. (she/her)

Vice Provost (Academic Programs) and Professor of Musicology

Western University

London, Ontario, Canada

Susan is an accomplished scholar and academic leader with a strong commitment to advancing the principles of EDI and truth and reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, a successful track record for expanding experiential learning opportunities for students, and an enthusiasm for helping us pursue the priorities of our new strategic plan.

Prior to joining Western, Susan was Acting Vice-President & Provost and Associate Vice-President Academic Planning at the University of Victoria where she has also served as a faculty member in the School of Music since 2001. Leading up to her current executive roles, Susan has held increasingly senior positions including Director of the School of Music and Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts.

Karen McCrindle

Karen McCrindle, Ph.D.

Associate Dean, Teaching and Learning, and Director, Centre for Teaching and Learning

University of Toronto, Scarborough

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Dr. Karen McCrindle is an Associate Professor, Teaching Stream; Associate Dean, Teaching and Learning; and Director, Centre for Teaching and Learning. She holds a PhD in French linguistics from the University of Toronto. She has also studied at York University and Carleton University and has taught in Canada and in France. She teaches a variety of courses, such as Semantics, Sociolinguistics of French, French Phonetics and Phonology, and Pidgin and Creole Languages. She is committed to experiential education and her current research interests include the implications and impact of multilingualism in Canada and the influence of media on language change.

Mary Wright

Mary C. Wright, Ph.D.

Professor of Educational Scholarship at Educational Innovation, DVC (Education)

University of Sydney

Sydney, Australia

Dr. Mary C. Wright is currently serving as Professor of Educational Scholarship at Educational Innovation, DVC (Education) at the University of Sydney, Australia. From 2016-2025, Mary served as Associate Provost for Teaching and Learning, Executive Director of the Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning, and a Professor (Research) in the Department of Sociology, Brown University. Previous to Brown, Mary worked at the University of Michigan’s Center for Research on Learning and Teaching for 13 years. Mary is a former president (2017-18) of the POD Network, and in 2024, she won the organization's highest award, the POD Network’s Bob Pierleoni Spirit of POD Award. Mary’s most recent book, Centers for Teaching and Learning: The New Landscape of Higher Education, was published by Johns Hopkins Press in 2023. She is a co-editor of the International Journal for Academic Development (IJAD), the journal of ICED (the International Consortium for Educational Development). Mary served as a commissioner on the Equity/Excellence Imperative: A 2030 Blueprint for Undergraduate Education at Research Universities (available: https://my.ueru.org/boyer-2030-report/about-the-commission). Her PhD area is sociology (University of Michigan).

The Boyer 2030 Report in International Perspective: Focus on Teaching/Learning (November 12, 2024; POD Network 49th Annual Conference)