Research University Leaders to Convene, Call for Action on Undergraduate STEM Education

January 15, 2025 

The Association for Undergraduate Education at Research Universities (UERU), hosted by Colorado State University, will convene to discuss implementation of the new National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) recommendations for equitable and effective teaching in undergraduate STEM education. The event, which will take place on January 24 at Howard University in Washington, D.C., will feature higher education leaders and STEM pedagogy experts who will make the case for action to the assembled research university leaders.

Undergraduate students pursuing STEM disciplines are more likely to succeed when their learning is supported by evidence-based teaching practices. These practices, however, have not been adopted consistently and with attention to equity, leaving some students behind. The impact of equitable and effective teaching is arguably greatest at research universities, which award 60% of bachelor’s degrees in science and engineering fields and which very often serve as home to state-of-the-art research infrastructure and expert faculty in STEM disciplines.

The NASEM report includes specific recommendations for bringing equitable and effective STEM teaching to scale. This report builds upon decades of prior research and change initiatives among universities and higher education associations – all of which have laid the groundwork for systemic transformation.

“Evidence-based and inclusive teaching practices are well-known among STEM faculty,” says Steve Dandaneau, UERU’s Executive Director and Associate Provost at Colorado State University. “The problem is their systemic implementation, with attention to equity for students, faculty, and staff alike. Our convening is a call to action in response to NASEM’s recommendations, which UERU will address via a community of leading research universities that, once they review the NASEM report, commit to pursuit of equity/excellence in undergraduate STEM education.”

The NASEM recommendations are consistent with the UERU-sponsored Boyer 2030 Commission Report, which called upon research universities to meet “the equity/excellence imperative” across multiple areas critical for undergraduate education, including teaching and learning. A blueprint for action, the Boyer 2030 Report has been downloaded over 30,000 times since its publication.

Agenda and speaker information can be found on UERU’s website at https://www.ueru.org/news-events/undergraduate-stem-convening. UERU will publish a summary of proceedings following the event, highlighting the discussion and key outcomes.

The convening is sponsored by the Raikes Foundation and the National Science Foundation.

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About UERU

The Association for Undergraduate Education at Research Universities (UERU, pronounced “You-Roo”) is dedicated to excellence and access in undergraduate education by sharing and developing expertise across member institutions and other higher education organizations. The UERU membership is comprised of 125 research universities across the U.S., which collectively serve nearly 3 million undergraduate students. UERU helps its members stay current and forward-thinking, fosters connections across academic units, and enlists leaders in common projects to meet the challenges and opportunities facing undergraduate programs. Learn more at ueru.org.

For media inquiries, please contact homeoffice@ueru.org.

Kerry Brenner, Ph.D., is a senior program officer for the Board on Science Education at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. She is leads the Roundtable on Systemic Change in Undergraduate STEM Education and the Equitable and Effective Undergraduate STEM Teaching study. She was co-study director for the Disrupting Ableism workshop series on people with disabilities in the STEM workforce and the Call to Action for Science Education project. She also lead the Symposium on Imagining the Future of Undergraduate STEM Education, Undergraduate Research Experiences for STEM Students and Science and Engineering for Grades 6-12: Investigation and Design at the Center. She earned a bachelors' degree from Wesleyan University and a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from Princeton University.

Robert A. Brown, a distinguished chemical engineer and educator, served as President of Boston University from 2005 to 2023. It was a period of transformation and growth for the University, recognized externally by increasing student outcomes, improved rankings and, in 2012, by membership in the American Association of Universities, the organization of the leading research universities in the United States.

Dr. Brown emphasized the continued improvement of academic quality across the university, while creating a centralized university management system that set clear priorities based on strategic planning, achieving its goals through fiscal control, benchmarking, and periodic review, He underscored the central importance and interrelationship of teaching and research, with a focus on the interconnections spanning disciplines and programs. As a result, Boston University has strengthened its position as a leading private research university, deepened its commitment to quality residential undergraduate and graduate professional education, and innovated in online education. During his tenure, the University's first comprehensive fundraising campaign raised $1.9 billion, while the research expenditures from external sources increased to over $600 million annually.

Important academic initiatives included the establishment of the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratory (NEIDL), a national resource for understanding and curing the deadliest diseases, the Kilachand Honors College, the Pardee School of Global Studies, and the Rajen Kilachand Center for Integrated Life Sciences and Engineering. A unique all-university initiative in machine learning and AI was launched with the Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences and the construction of the Center for Computing & Data Sciences, the 19-story, 380,000 square foot, carbon-free building at the heart of the Boston University campus.

Prior to his appointment at Boston University, Dr. Brown served as provost and Warren K. Lewis Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT, where he was on the faculty from 1979 to 2005. He has published more than 250 papers in areas related to mathematical modeling of transport phenomena in materials and served as executive editor of the journal Chemical Engineering Science from 1991 to 2004. He also served for 18 years as chairman of the Academic Research Council, the primary advisory and oversight committee for university research for the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Singapore. He was named an honorary citizen of the Republic of Singapore in 2005.

Dr. Brown is a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the National Academy of Sciences. He was honored in 2008 as one of the top 100 Chemical Engineers of the Modern Era by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. In 2014, the National Academy of Engineering awarded Dr. Brown the Simon Ramo Founders Award for his contributions to engineering and his leadership in transforming disciplines in institutions. He earned BS and MS degrees in chemical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, and a PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Minnesota. He and his wife, Dr. Beverly Brown, have two grown sons.

Dr. Brown is currently Professor of Engineering and Computing and Data Sciences at Boston University and is a frequent contributor to the literature on leadership of modern research universities. He has a forthcoming book.

Dr. Campbell is Senior Associate Dean and Professor in the School of Education at American University.  Her research, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Raikes Foundation, and the Spencer Foundation, examines three interrelated streams: college teaching excellence, higher education quality, and the organizational environments that support faculty thriving in their careers.  Her 2023 book, Great College Teaching: Where It Happens and How to Foster It Everywhere, published by Harvard Education Press, describes the findings of the College Educational Quality study of more than 700 courses in different institutional contexts. Her current research examines the systemic policies and organizational practices to support broad scale improvement of teaching excellence in higher education.  Prior to coming to American, Dr. Campbell was tenured Associate Professor in the department of Organization and Leadership at Teachers College, Columbia University.  Dr. Campbell’s research has been published in several top-tier journals, such as the Journal of Higher Education, Research in Higher Education, and Teachers College Record.  Her work has been highlighted in news venues, such as Inside Higher Education, the Wall Street Journal, NPR, the Washington Post, and the New York Times.  Dr. Campbell has served on several editorial boards, including Review of Higher Education and Review of Educational Research as well as a committee of the National Academies on assessment and college student success.  Dr. Campbell received her Ph.D. in educational policy from the University of Maryland, M.A. in Higher Education and Student Affairs from The Ohio State University, and B.A. in psychology from the University of Virginia.

Steve Dandaneau is Associate Provost at Colorado State University and Executive Director of the Association for Undergraduate Education at Research Universities (UERU). In these roles, Steve provides leadership for an association of U.S. research universities focused on equity/excellence in undergraduate education and collaborates with colleagues to strengthen the undergraduate experience at CSU.

Dandaneau previously served as Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies at Kansas State University; Associate Provost and Director of the Chancellor’s Honors and Halsam Scholars Programs at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville; Visiting Professor of Sociology at the University of Maryland, College Park; and Director of the University Honors & John W. Berry Sr. Scholars Programs at the University of Dayton. He earned a B.A. in Economics (with honors) from Michigan State University and an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Sociology from Brandeis University.

Professor Dennin has been Professor of Physics and Astronomy at UCI since 1997, and was appointed the Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning and Dean, Division of Undergraduate Education in May 2015. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Physics from Princeton University, and his PhD and Masters in Physics from UCSB.  His research focuses on the dynamics of foams, Langmuir monolayers, modeling of ice mélange, and institutional issues in education. The studies in complex fluids are crucial for many applications including foam use in oil recovery as well as granular matter in the form of powders and pills in the medical industry. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, a Sloan Research Fellow and a Research Corporation Cottrell Scholar. He is a recipient of UCI Senate awards in all three categories: UCI Senate Distinguished mid-Career Award for Service, UCI Senate Distinguished Faculty Award for Teaching, and UCI Senate Distinguished Assistant Professor Award for Research. Professor Dennin has been very active in translating educational research to practical applications within the university.  He is dedicated to public outreach in the area of science – teaching a number of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), including co-teaching one based on the AMC television program The Walking Dead. He has appeared on numerous television programs – including Science of Superman, Spider-man Tech, Batman Tech, Star Wars Tech, and Ancient Aliens. You can find Prof. Dennin on his YouTube Channel (http:// https://www.youtube.com/michaeldennin) with interviews focused on higher education and his series Physics of X. In addition, Prof. Dennin serves as an expert on the podcast Fascinating Gadgets, Gizmos, and Gear-Based Technologies where he explains how to make fictional technology a reality (http://fgggbt.com). Recently, he published a science outreach book on the intersection between science and faith: Divine Science: Finding Reason at the Heart of Faith, from Franciscan Media.

Wayne A. I. Frederick, MD, MBA is the interim CEO of both the American Cancer Society (ACS) and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN). In this role and alongside the organization’s Board of Directors, he guides both organizations – and their more than 3,000 team members and 1.3 million volunteers – toward a vision to end cancer as we know it, for everyone. Also, president emeritus of Howard University, Dr. Frederick served as the institution's 17th president from 2014 to 2023. Under his leadership, Howard University made significant strides in student opportunity, academic innovation, public service, and fiscal stability. In June 2023, The Howard University Board of Trustees unanimously approved the re-naming of the Undergraduate Library in honor of Dr.  Wayne A. I. Frederick.

Dr. Frederick remains a practicing cancer surgeon at Howard University Hospital, where he continues to see patients and perform surgeries. He was recently appointed by the Howard University Board of Trustees as the distinguished Charles R. Drew Professor of Surgery. Dr. Frederick graduated from Howard University’s dual BS/MD program at age 22. He later earned an MBA from Howard University's Business School in 2011. His academic career began as the associate director of the cancer center at the University of Connecticut. An accomplished scholar, Dr. Frederick has authored numerous peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, abstracts, and editorials, and is a widely recognized expert in the fields of health care disparities and medical education. His medical research focuses on reducing racial, ethnic, and gender disparities in cancer care outcomes, with a particular emphasis on gastrointestinal cancers.

Throughout his career, Dr. Frederick has received numerous recognitions, including the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. In 2021, he was recognized by the Carnegie Corporation of New York as one of 34 naturalized citizens honored for their contributions to strengthening the United States. Dr. Frederick currently serves on the boards of Humana and Insulet and served on the American Cancer Society Board before taking on this role. He is an active member of several professional associations, including the American Surgical Association and the American College of Surgeons. Recently, he was appointed senior independent director of Mutual of America and serves as an advisor for Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

Ruanda Garth-McCullough, Ph.D., the Digital Learning & Evidence-Based Teaching Program Officer at The Gates Foundation, manages investments in evidence-based digital teaching and learning solutions that guide institutions to scale effective practices that support equitable outcomes for Black, Latine, Indigenous and poverty-impacted students in gateway courses. Previously, Ruanda was the Director of Program Development at Achieving the Dream (ATD) where she led their Every Learner Everywhere digital learning initiative, designed, and delivered faculty development coaching services for student success and supported the organization's equity-minded institutional transformation initiatives. Prior to ATD, Dr. Garth-McCullough was a faculty member in the School of Education at Loyola University of Chicago for 12 years. At Loyola she taught graduate level courses including Multicultural Education, Teaching and Learning in Urban Communities, Sociological Analysis of Urban Education, Classroom Assessment, Curriculum Development and Implementation, and Qualitative Methodology. Dr. Garth-McCullough was also a founding partner at Specialized Urban Community Collaborative for Educational and Economic Development, (SUCCEED) Consulting, Inc. At SUCCEED she led a research team for 20 years to conduct short-term and longitudinal program evaluations for organizations, schools, and colleges’ curricular initiatives.

Dr. Garth-McCullough’s expertise in culturally responsive teaching guides her faculty-focused professional learning and coaching work in the equity and social justice space. She has worked with dozens of colleges, state system and public schools to support educators to apply the principles and methods of culturally responsive teaching, center student learning, and assess and revise curriculum across disciplines. Ruanda approaches her work from an equitable, culturally affirming and asset-based perspective that supports educators to create opportunities in their practice in ways that invite and integrate their students’ cultural knowledge and experiences as a cognitive tool in service of their achievement and success. Her work leads teams of educators to investigate equity for each element of their practice from policies, materials, and instruction to assessments.

Ruanda earned her doctorate and master’s degree in Administrative Institutional Policy Studies/Urban Education from the University of Chicago. Her research focused on the effects of culturally-bound prior knowledge on African American students’ reading comprehension.  She received her BA in Psychology and African American Studies from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut.

Jody Greene came to UC Santa Cruz in 1998 and has served as Professor of Literature, Feminist Studies, and the History of Consciousness. Their research interests in legal and literary studies include Early Modern intellectual property law;  non-dualist Western philosophy, especially the work of Spivak, Derrida, and Nancy; human rights and international law; queer studies; and the history of literary discourse and literary institutions. Their most recent co-edited collection is Teaching Environmental Justice, co-edited with Sikina Jinnah, Jessie Dubreuil, and Sam Foster (Edward Elgar 2023). Jody writes frequently for and is regularly interviewed in the higher education press, including the Chronicle of Higher Education and Inside Higher Ed. Jody is the recipient of the UCSC Humanities Division John Dizikes Teaching Award (2008), the Disability Resource Center Champion of Change Award (2018), and, twice, of the UCSC Academic Senate Excellence in Teaching Award (2001, 2014). In 2016, they were appointed the founding Director of the Center for Innovations in Teaching and Learning (CITL, now the TLC) and now serves as UC Santa Cruz’s first Associate Campus Provost for Academic Success.

Archie L. Holmes, Jr., PhD, joined The University of Texas System as Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs in October 2020. He provides oversight and guidance for the eight UT System academic institutions, who enroll more than 220,000 students, produced nearly 59,000 graduates, and have an aggregate annual operating budget of more than $6.7 billion.

Prior to joining U. T. System, Archie was the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs at the University of Virginia and was a faculty member at both the University of Virginia and The University of Texas at Austin. As Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, he served as chief advisor to and representative of the executive vice president and provost in academic matters related to the curriculum and general health and welfare of the academic units.  Over this career, Archie has co-authored over 110 referred technical articles and 70 conference presentations and received numerous awards for his teaching and advising activities.

Dr. Holmes graduated from Round Rock High School in 1986 and received his bachelor’s and PhD degrees, both in electrical engineering, from the University of Texas at Austin and the University of California at Santa Barbara respectively.

As provost and senior vice chancellor, Joseph J. McCarthy has primary responsibility for the University of Pittsburgh’s academic mission, including supporting scholarly excellence among more than 5,900 faculty members and academic success among nearly 34,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students on all five campuses.

McCarthy assumed the role of provost and senior vice chancellor in April 2024 after a national search and after having served as interim provost and senior vice chancellor in July 2023.

Prior to this role, McCarthy served as vice provost for undergraduate studies, focusing on enhancing the academic experience of Pitt’s undergraduates. This work included developing and facilitating programs to improve student satisfaction and retention, student success, and the overall learning environment (quality of programs, dissemination of opportunities, undergraduate advising and mentoring, and diversity of perspectives and people). In addition, he and his team coordinated the review of programs and policies affecting undergraduate education and collaborated with University committees, including the Provost’s Advisory Committee on Undergraduate Programs and the Enrollment Management Steering Committee.

McCarthy is also the William Kepler Whiteford Professor in the Swanson School of Engineering’s Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering. A member of Pitt’s faculty since 1998, he has been recognized for his contributions to teaching and curriculum development and for his leadership of undergraduate research programs. In 2008, he earned the Carnegie Science University Educator Award for developing and implementing the innovative “Pillars” curriculum that reshaped undergraduate education in chemical engineering. His other accolades include the Swanson School’s Outstanding Educator Award (2012) and the Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award (2015).

McCarthy’s record of administrative experience in the chemical engineering department dates back to 2005 and includes serving as undergraduate coordinator, then as vice chair for education. In these roles, he focused on leading department-wide educational initiatives for undergraduate and graduate programs during a period when the department’s undergraduate enrollment more than tripled. 

He is a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), American Physical Society (APS) and the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). He also has served on the editorial board of the AIChE Journal and as an executive committee member for the 2013 APS – Division of Fluid Dynamics meeting and as an organizer and plenary speaker at the 2007 international Discrete Element Methods conference in Brisbane.

McCarthy has published more than 60 peer-reviewed manuscripts in various international journals, conference proceedings and popular press outlets such as Nature, PNAS, Langmuir, Angewandte Chemie, Soft Matter, Physical Review Letters, Physical Review E, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, the Journal of Physical Chemistry C, the AIChE Journal, Powder Technology, Chemical Engineering Science, the International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, and Chaos. His publications have resulted in an H-index of 32, and his research group has given more than 45 invited lectures to industry, national laboratories, academia, international conferences, and workshops.

McCarthy holds a PhD in chemical engineering from Northwestern University and a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Notre Dame.

Peter was the Co-Chair of the Boyer Commission. He is President Emeritus of the Association of Public Land-grant Universities (APLU ) after serving over 16 years as President with deep involvement in the whole range of higher education issues. He is the President Emeritus of Michigan State University where he served for 11 years. He was an Executive Vice President of Bank of America, Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Treasure, and the longest-serving Administrator of the U.S. Agency for Development (U.S. foreign aid program). He was the General Counsel of the Reagan-Bush Presidential Transition and served as Interim White House Legal Counsel for President Reagan before going to USAID. Peter was a Special Assistant to President Gerald Ford and was a tax lawyer who was the managing partner of the Washington office of a large Ohip law firm.

He now serves on the Board of Overseers of Virginia State University. He now serves on a number of boards and is chair of the board of the International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES), and is chair of the board of H+S, whose work is the distribution of nutritionally enriched crops in the Global South.

Julia Michaels is Director of Development and Strategic Partnerships for the Association for Undergraduate Education at Research Universities (UERU) at Colorado State University. In this role, she helps UERU grow its base of support and work with other higher education stakeholders to advance equity and excellence in undergraduate education. Julia has nearly two decades of professional experience in higher education.

Prior to joining UERU, Julia worked for the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), leading multiple projects that engaged university networks including APLU’s Powered by Publics initiative and Urban Universities for HEALTH collaborative. Other past roles include leading an undergraduate student internship program at the University of Texas at Austin and supporting international programs at Oregon State University. She was also a Visiting Research Fellow at the American University in Central Asia, where she conducted field research on the impact of U.S. aid on civil society development in the region. Julia holds a Master of Public Policy degree from Oregon State University and a B.A. in political science from St. Olaf College. 

Emily R. Miller, Ph.D. is Deputy Vice President for Institutional Policy at the Association of American Universities. She brings over 20 years of experience in higher education administration, research, and policy to AAU.

In partnership with the association’s member research universities, Dr. Miller has primary responsibilities for advancing transformational organizational change initiatives in undergraduate and graduate education as well as the research enterprise. She directs the AAU Undergraduate STEM Education Initiative, the AAU Teaching Evaluation project, the PhD Education Initiative, and other strategic projects.

Dr. Miller frequently represents AAU’s portfolio of work with other national associations, universities, professional and disciplinary societies, industry leaders, policymakers, federal agencies, and foundations working to improve undergraduate and graduate education and advance science and innovation. She also staffs AAU’s STEM Network and Association of Graduate Schools constituent groups and serves as liaison to the AAU Arts & Science Deans and AAU Data Exchange (AAUDE) groups.

Dr. Miller has published peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on evidence-informed innovations in undergraduate STEM and doctoral education; academic work and faculty reward structures; systemic organizational change at research universities; and multi-institutional strategies and approaches to advance equity and community in STEM disciplines.

Dr. Miller earned her PhD in Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education from Michigan State University; MA in Education Policy and Management from Harvard Graduate School of Education; and BA in Political Science from Gettysburg College.

After 27 years working in the University of California system, Molinaro has joined UMD to work with leaders and educators across campus to develop learning analytics at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and supporting campus in using those data and systems to improve educational opportunities for all.

Dr. Molinaro, Biophysical Chemistry Ph.D. from UC Berkeley, has over 30 years of educational experience creating and leading applications of academic analytics, technology for instruction, scientific visualization and simulation, curriculum development and evaluation. Molinaro has served on National Academy of Science studies (currently serving on a study of Equitable and Effective Teaching in STEM), APLU and numerous NSF grant-related committees and received funding from the NSF, NIH and various private foundations such as Gates, Intel, the Helmsley Trust and HHMI.

Michael S. Palmer has been in the University of Virginia’s Center for Teaching Excellence since 2003, where he is currently Barbara Fried Director. His educational development research is broad and has focused on topics such as teaching consultation techniques, graduate student professional development, course design initiatives and the impact intense instructional development activities have on teacher beliefs and practices, alternative grading techniques, and pedagogical innovation. His scholarly work and professional contributions have been recognized nationally by the Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education (POD Network), including three Innovation Awards, the Robert J. Menges Award for Outstanding Research in Educational Development, and the Bob Pierleoni Spirit of POD Award, the organization's highest award, akin to a lifetime achievement award. 

Palmer has held numerous leadership roles within the POD Network, including serving as editor-in-chief of To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development and as a member of the organization’s Board of Directors.

Palmer obtained his B.S. and Ph.D. in chemistry at the University of Wyoming in Laramie and conducted postdoctoral research in chemical engineering at the University of Virginia.

G. P. “Bud” Peterson is currently President Emeritus and Regents Professor in the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he served as the 11th

president from April 1, 2009 through August 31, 2019. Under his leadership Georgia Tech grew innovative collaborations and strategic partnerships locally; expanded its global reach and impact, with a focus on innovation; exceeded the capital campaign goal by 20%; and more than doubled the new research awards, exceeding $1 Billion for the first time in 2019. Under his leadership in 2011, Georgia Tech was invited to join the Association of American Universities (AAU), the first university to be admitted in 10 years.

Peterson came to Georgia Tech from the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he served as Chancellor for three years. He previouslyserved as provost at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, New York for six years and was a member of the faculty at Texas A&M for nearly 20 years, serving in numerous administrative roles, including Associate Vice Chancellor for Engineering for the Texas A&M University System, Executive Associate Dean of Engineering, and Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. During his career he has served as a visiting research scientist at NASA-Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, Program Director for the National Science Foundation and Associate Professor and Head of the General Engineering Technology Department at Kansas Technical Institute in Salina, Kansas.

Throughout his career, Peterson has played an active role in helping to establish the national research and education agendas, serving as a member of a number of congressional task forces, research councils, and advisory boards. A distinguished scientist, he was appointed in 2008 by President George W. Bush to the National Science Board (NSB), which oversees the NSF and advises the President and Congress on matters related to science and engineering research and education, and in 2014 was reappointed to the board by President Barack Obama. He has also served on the U.S. Council on Competitiveness, the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (NACIE), and was one of six University Presidents appointed by President Obama to the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership (AMP) 2.0 Steering Committee. He has also served as a member of the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, and as Chair of the NCAA Board of Governors.

Peterson earned a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, a second bachelor's degree in Mathematics, and a master's degree in Engineering, all from Kansas State University. He earned a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Texas A&M University. He and his wife, Val, have four adult children and eight grandchildren.

Dr. Sarah Rajala has dedicated her career to fostering inclusive environments where all voices are not only heard but valued at every level. Through her ascent to leadership roles in both professional and volunteer capacities, Rajala has been steadfast in her commitment to breaking down barriers and ensuring that historically marginalized groups, particularly women, have a seat at the table in vital discussions. Her unwavering advocacy has paved the way for future generations, leaving an indelible mark on the landscape of equality in both academia and beyond. 

While pursuing her bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech), Rajala found herself as the sole woman in her class in the electrical engineering program. It was these formative experiences that ignited her passion for advocating for women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), a commitment she carried through her career in academia and volunteer endeavors. Rajala went on to earn a master’s degree and a doctorate degree in electrical engineering at Rice University. 

Rajala has forged an illustrious path in STEM, marked by her leadership and dedication. In 2022, she was elected to the National Academy of Engineering, one of the highest professional recognitions in engineering. Rajala earned the Sharon Keillor Award for Women in Engineering Education from the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) in 2020. She received the 2015 Harriett B. Rigas Award from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in addition to the 2017 Meritorious Achievement Award in Accreditation Activities from the IEEE Educational Activities Board. She is a fellow of AAAS, ABET, ASEE and IEEE. 

Jennifer King Rice serves as senior vice president and provost for the University of Maryland, responsible for steering UMD’s academic enterprise, including providing strategic direction for its 12 schools and colleges. Rice’s leadership is driven by her commitment to inclusive excellence; innovative and transformative teaching and learning; and impactful research and scholarship. 

Serving as provost since 2021, Rice led the campus wide development of the university’s ambitious strategic plan. Fearlessly Forward: In Pursuit of Excellence and Impact for the Public Good sets forth UMD's bold vision of being a university in service to humanity through an unwavering dedication to advancing the public good. Reflecting her collaborative, innovative and values-centered approach, the plan is centered on the university’s shared commitments to reimagine learning, take on humanity’s grand challenges, invest in people and communities, and partner to advance the public good.

Rice has served on the faculty and in college and campus leadership roles at UMD for three decades, and she was recognized as a Distinguished Scholar-Teacher. Prior to becoming provost, she served as dean of UMD’s College of Education where she launched new academic programs, advanced initiatives to cultivate an environment of inclusion and belonging, and expanded research activity to unprecedented levels.

A prolific scholar and a Fellow of the American Education Research Association, her research draws on the disciplines of economics and philosophy to understand the policies, practices and resources needed to support more effective and equitable educational opportunities for all students.

Deborah A. Santiago is the Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Excelencia in Education, America's premier authority on efforts accelerating Latino student success in higher education. As an innovator, thought leader, and educational visionary, she has led research and advanced evidence-based practices and strategies for more than 20 years. She has held leadership positions with education organizations around the country, including the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans and the Los Angeles Alliance for Student Achievement.

She co-founded Excelencia in Education in 2004 to inform policy, compel action, and collaborate with those ready to accelerate student success with an unapologetic Latino lens. Among her many contributions, Deborah has addressed federal legislative issues in higher education at the Congressional Research Service and informed program and policy implementation at the U.S. Department of Education. She also improved awareness and education opportunities for Latinos with federal agencies as the Deputy Director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans. Among Deborah’s community efforts, she has provided program design and implementation for dropout prevention and parental engagement for the ASPIRA Association and translated data for community engagement at the Los Angeles Alliance for Student Achievement.

As CEO, Deborah leads Excelencia’s programming and engagement efforts, including expanding and leveraging community-informed research in improving educational opportunities for students, working directly with education leaders, and informing campus practices as well as state and federal policies. Driven by a deep desire to advance asset based, student-centered understanding of the needs and opportunities for the Latino community, Deborah is a sought-after speaker about Hispanic Serving Institutions, college affordability, and equity in higher education. Her work has been cited in numerous publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Economist, and The Chronicle of Higher Education.

She serves on the Advisory Board of TheDream.US. and the technical panel for the Carnegie Classification led by the American Council on Education.

Doneka R. Scott is the Vice Chancellor and Dean for the Division of Academic and Student Affairs at NC State University. She leads a division dedicated to preparing students to succeed academically, professionally and personally, to embrace a commitment to lifelong learning, and to become informed, engaged, and productive citizens.

Dr. Scott joined NC State in 2021 after serving as the Associate Vice Provost and Associate Dean for Student Success, then as the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and Student Success at the University of Oregon. There she was responsible for the overall strategy and execution of undergraduate education and student success efforts on campus. She worked to eliminate institutional barriers that prohibit students from being successful and inhibit them from completing a degree program in a timely manner.

With the Division of Academic and Student Affairs, Dr. Scott manages the seamless integration of all aspects of undergraduate education, serves as a key strategic advisor to the provost and works to support the success of the whole student. Working closely with the Chancellor’s Cabinet, college deans, university faculty, and administrative colleagues, she leads all aspects of an innovative and coordinated delivery of student services.

Dr. Scott directs staff and resources to maximize impact on the curricular and co-curricular programs of the university, including the programs and services of University College; academic advising; academic enrichment programs; Exploratory Studies; cross-college interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary programs; advising technology; Health and Exercise Studies; Music; undergraduate courses, curricula and academic standards; Arts NC State (NC State LIVE, Crafts Center, Dance Program, Gregg Museum, University Theater, and Ticket Central); academic success programs; business administration, residential programs, and engagement; student development, health, and wellness. In addition to these areas, Scott also oversees the Office of Academic Support Programs for Student Athletes; assessment; development; student ombuds; and marketing and communications for the division.

A noted innovator, scholar, and higher education leader, Rahul Shrivastav has served as executive vice president and provost at Indiana University Bloomington since 2022. 

Shrivastav leads daily operations for the IU Bloomington campus, serving more than 47,000 students, 3,000 faculty, and 10,000 staff, with an annual operating budget of over $2 billion. His portfolio includes IUB’s 17 schools and eight vice provost areas covering undergraduate and graduate education, research, faculty affairs, student life, enrollment management, and DEI. 

Under his leadership, IU Bloomington has embarked on a new strategic plan, IUB 2030, which charts an ambitious, seven-year vision, building on IU Bloomington’s historic strengths, to further elevate the campus and increase impact across the communities it serves and supports. Shrivastav’s efforts to elevate the student experience include new academic programs in high-demand areas, a redesign of academic advising, and an expanded focus on experiential learning and career development. He has also expanded campus research and creative activity and sparked a $45 million lab space renovation project and an innovative faculty hiring initiative in fields of strategic growth.  

Shrivastav previously served as Vice President for Instruction at the University of Georgia, where he oversaw 20 different offices and programs that support critical teaching and learning functions, as well as pandemic-related planning and implementation, student success initiatives, and critical research, innovation, and entrepreneurship programming and support. In that role, he was also part of the university’s executive leadership team as a member of the President’s Cabinet, the Senior Advisory Group, and the provost’s leadership team, including its Academic Leadership Group. His planning, development, and implementation of student success initiatives led to significant improvements in external rankings; improved retention and graduation rates; and an increasingly accomplished, diverse student body.  

Prior to joining the University of Georgia, Shrivastav was a professor and chair of the Department of Communicative Sciences and Disorders at Michigan State University, where he also directed the Voice and Speech Laboratory. There, he was responsible for oversight of all departmental faculty, budget, academic programs, facilities, students, external communications, and fundraising. He recruited new faculty, developed new research laboratories, and doubled the enrollment in the master’s graduate program. 

Shrivastav served on the faculty at the University of Florida and directed its Voice Acoustics and Perception Laboratory and was a research scientist at the Malcom Randal VA Medical Center, where he was a part of the Oral-Motor Research Group within the Brain Rehabilitation Research Center. In 2007, he co-founded the start-up company Audigence, Inc. to commercialize some of the intellectual property developed by this research group. He has served at Audigence as chief scientist and on its scientific advisory board. 

Over his career, Shrivastav has taught graduate and undergraduate courses across a range of topics, including phonetics of American speech, speech disorders, neural bases of communication, and speech anatomy and physiology; mentored doctoral students and post-doctoral fellows at the University of Florida and Michigan State University; and hosted Fulbright fellows from India, Jordan, and Brazil. 

The author of more than 150 publications, Shrivastav’s research is focused on speech perception abilities and speech production deficits in people with various diseases. This work helps design better health care and commercial applications, measurement systems for treatment outcomes, improved hearing aids, cochlear implants and mobile phones, and assessment and screening tools for a variety of diseases. 

The National Institutes of Health, the Department of Veterans Affairs, Florida High Tech Corridor Council, and Audigence, Inc., have all provided funding for Shrivastav’s research. He also serves several national and international professional organizations in various scientific, administrative, and executive roles. 

Shrivastav has received numerous awards and honors during his career, including the Colonel Allan R. and Margaret G. Crow Term Professorship at the University of Florida. In 2013, he was named a Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. The National Academy of Inventors elected him as a Fellow in 2020. 

Shrivastav’s undergraduate and graduate training are in speech and hearing sciences from the University of Mysore, India. He received his doctoral degree in speech and hearing sciences, with a minor in cognitive sciences, from IU Bloomington. 

As Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, Mark Siegal works closely with New York University’s 13 undergraduate schools to ensure academic excellence throughout the University. Major areas of focus include pedagogy, academic advising, undergraduate research, and academic policies that promote equitable student success.

Dr. Siegal has been at NYU since 2005, and has served as Director of Undergraduate Studies for Biology and as Vice Dean of the College of Arts & Science. As Director of Undergraduate Studies, he spearheaded major changes to the introductory Biology curriculum. As Vice Dean, he directed the College Core Curriculum and was co-investigator on an Association of American Universities STEM Mini-Grant to improve introductory instruction across the lab sciences. He has spoken in many settings on innovative teaching and on diversity and inclusion in science and teaching. He was named a National Academies Education Fellow in the Life Sciences; was awarded a National Science Foundation CAREER award for research and teaching; and earned the College of Arts & Science's Golden Dozen teaching award, the Graduate School of Arts & Science's Outstanding Faculty award, and the University's Distinguished Teaching Award.

Dr. Siegal is Professor of Biology in the NYU Center for Genomics and Systems Biology. His research focuses on the evolution of complex traits. He pioneered the use of automated microscopy to understand how similarities and differences between organisms are caused by the combined effects of genetics, environment and random chance. His laboratory has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. He has served on numerous grant-review panels and was Chair of the Genetic Variation and Evolution Study Section of the National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Siegal received a Ph.D. in Biology from Harvard University and a Sc.B. in Biology from Brown University.

Dr. Elizabeth H. Simmons is the Executive Vice Chancellor at the University of California San Diego. As UC San Diego's chief academic officer, she is responsible for policies and decisions relating to all academic programs and curriculum, instructional support programs, and faculty appointments and performance. She is the institution's second-ranking executive officer and acts on behalf of the Chancellor in overseeing the University in his absence.

Simmons aspires for UC San Diego to work collectively and coherently in becoming an inclusive student-centered, research-focused, service-oriented university. She envisions that the university will scale up the size, connectivity, and impact of research collaborations; be as proudly innovative in education as in scholarship; and empower every Triton to succeed - undergraduates, graduate students, staff, and faculty. As Executive Vice Chancellor, Simmons works with colleagues throughout Academic Affairs and partners across UC San Diego (and the broader community) to develop overarching strategic goals - and purposeful habits of collaboration required to make those aspirations attainable and sustainable.

EVC Simmons is also a Distinguished Professor in the UC San Diego Department of Physics. As a theoretical high-energy physicist, Simmons research focuses on the origins of the masses of the elementary subatomic particles, especially the top quark. She is currently studying how physics beyond the Standard Model, including dark matter and massive gravitons, might manifest in experiments at the CERN Large Hadron Collider and other facilities. She enjoys teaching physics courses at all levels, from introductory to graduate, and a central tenet of her mission as an educator is to encourage students from groups under-represented in physics to consider studies and careers in the physical sciences.

After completing an A.B. magna cum laude in physics at Harvard University and being inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, Simmons earned an M.Phil. in physics at Cambridge University as a Churchill Scholar. She returned to Harvard for her Ph.D. and postdoctoral fellowship, and then spent a decade as a professor at Boston University before joining the Michigan State University faculty in 2003 and then moving to UC San Diego in 2017.

Simmons is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science; a Fellow, Five Sigma Physicist, and Outstanding Referee, of the American Physical Society (APS); an Honorary General Member of the Aspen Center for Physics; and a past member of the Board of Directors of the Association of American Colleges and Universities. She currently serves as a Trustee of the Fleet Science Center in San Diego. She regularly publishes essays in Inside Higher Ed, addressing issues that bridge the divide between administrators and faculty.

In 2008 and 2011, she was a US Delegate to the International Conference on Women in Physics and since 2013 she has co-organized bi-annual conferences on professional growth for women physicists in the developing world at the International Center for Theoretical Physics (Italy). Simmons served for six years on the Organizing Board of the advocacy group Igbt+physicists, was a co-author of the LGBT Climate Report commissioned by the APS and then co-founded the APS Forum on Diversity and Inclusion.

Barbara R. Snyder  is president of the Association of American Universities.  Prior to that, she served as president of Case Western Reserve University from 2007 to 2020, where she  encouraged interdisciplinary excellence, catalyzed institutional collaboration, and reinvigorated alumni engagement and fundraising.

Barbara began her academic career as an assistant professor at Case Western Reserve’s School of Law, then joined the faculty of Moritz College of Law at The Ohio State University. After serving in several leadership positions at Moritz and within the central university, Barbara became OSU’s interim executive vice president and provost in 2003 before securing that position on a permanent basis the following year. She graduated from the University of Chicago School of Law, where she served as executive editor of the law review. She earned her bachelor’s degree from OSU.

Barbara is a director of KeyCorp and Progressive Corporation. She is an elected member of the American Law Institute. Previously, she has served as chair of the board of directors of the American Council on Education, chair of the board of directors at the Business-Higher Education Forum, vice chair of the board of trustees of Internet2, a member of the board of directors of the Greater Cleveland Partnership, a member of the board of directors of Jobs Ohio, a trustee of University Circle Inc., and a member of the Ohio Business Roundtable.

Senior Vice Provost for Academic Programs, Student Success, and Effectiveness and Liberal Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor of Physics at the University of Illinois Chicago. He works directly with the Provost and Chancellor to provide academic leadership to the university in multiple areas, including undergraduate and graduate education, academic advising, student success programming and research, academic programs, assessment, undergraduate student research, accreditation, summer programs, and transfer pathways.

Prior to his current role, Dr. Varelas has served as Vice Provost for Academic Programs and Effectiveness (2022-2024) and Vice Provost for Undergraduate Affairs and Academic Programs (2016-2022) where he initiated and advanced an array of innovative campus wide student success programs, contributing to significant improvements in student achievement and success. Dr. Varelas also serves as the Higher Learning Commission Accreditation Liaison Officer for UIC and led the campus efforts for the recent 10-year comprehensive accreditation review. Before his Vice Provost positions, Dr. Varelas served as Associate Dean for Student Academic Affairs in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Dr. Varelas’ research is in the field of high-energy particle physics exploring the fundamental constituents of the universe and their interactions. He was a member of the team of scientists who discovered the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, Switzerland in 2012. He has held several leadership positions in his field and his publication record exceeds 1,800 peer-reviewed journal articles. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a University of Illinois Scholar. Dr. Varelas earned his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Rochester.

Ben Vinson III, Ph.D., a distinguished historian, began serving as the 18th president of Howard University on September 1, 2023. An accomplished visionary leader, President Vinson guides the institution’s direction as a comprehensive, research university consisting of 14 schools and colleges; 13,000 students; 2,900 staff; and 1,200 faculty. He also serves as a tenured professor of history in the University’s College of Arts and Sciences.

Prior to accepting the presidency at Howard, Dr. Vinson served as provost and executive vice president of Case Western Reserve University from 2018-2023. During his tenure, Dr. Vinson led the University’s “Think Big” strategic planning initiative, which received national recognition for an innovative and inclusive planning process. He was also co-principal investigator of the Humanities in Leadership Learning Series (HILLS) program, funded by a $2 million grant from the Mellon Foundation to promote leadership development and diversity in the humanities. 

Dr. Vinson’s scholarly work centers on the African diaspora with a focus on Latin America history and culture. His latest book, Frank Etheridge: Musician of the African Diaspora, chronicles Etheridge’s experience playing in interracial orchestras and for mixed audiences while traveling abroad during America’s Jim Crow era.

As a historian and author on Latin America, he is a recipient of the 2019 Howard F. Cline Book Prize in Mexican History for his book, “Before Mestizaje: The Frontiers of Race and Caste in Colonial Mexico,” (2018). He has also co-authored and served as an editor of numerous other publications and journals.

Dr. Vinson’s prior executive administrative appoints also include serving as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at George Washington University (2013 – 2018); Director of the International Studies Program at Johns Hopkins University (2012-2013); Vice-Dean for Centers, Interdisciplinary Programs and Graduate Education at Johns Hopkins University (2010-2013); and Director/Founding Director of the Center for Africana Studies at Johns Hopkins University (2006-2010).

He began his academic career at Barnard College in the Department of History and has since served as a faculty member at Penn State University, Johns Hopkins University, and George Washington University. He received a bachelor's degree with honors as a double major in history and classical studies from Dartmouth College and a Master of Arts, Master of Philosophy, and Ph.D., in Latin American history, with distinction, from Columbia University.

Dr. Vinson is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Antiquarian Society. He is also president-elect of the American Historical Association.

He serves on the Boards of the American Council of Education Board, Fulbright Advisory Board, National Humanities Alliance, National Humanities Center, The Council of Library and Information Resources Board of Directors, Dartmouth College Guarini School for Graduate and Advanced Studies, Advisory Board.

President Vinson is married to Yolanda Fortenberry, Ph.D. They are the proud parents of daughter Allyson and sons Ben and Brandon.

Carl Wieman holds a joint appointment as Professor of Physics and of the Graduate School of Education. He has done extensive experimental research in atomic and optical physics. His current intellectual focus is now on undergraduate physics and science education. He has pioneered the use of experimental techniques to evaluate the effectiveness of various teaching strategies for physics and other sciences and served as Associate Director for Science in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. He led the Science Education Initiatives at the Universities of Colorado and British Columbia which carried out wide spread improvements in the teaching of science.

Professor Wieman is an emeritus Professor. He was awarded the Carnegie US University Professor of the Year, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (2003), as well as the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2001 by the Nobel Foundation, and the Yidan Prize for Educational Research in 2020 by the Yidan Prize Foundation

Dr. Wright will be serving as Professor of Education Scholarship, Office of the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Education), at the University of Sydney (Australia), effective February 3, 2025. She has over 20 years of experience in the field of educational development. From 2016-January 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. Prior to Brown, Mary worked at the University of Michigan’s Center for Research on Learning and Teaching and served in multiple roles that include Director of Assessment, Associate Research Scientist, and Coordinator of Graduate Student Instructor Initiatives.

Mary’s research interests include educational development strategy, operations, and impact; and curricular assessment of student learning. Her most recent book, Centers for Teaching and Learning: The New Landscape of Educational Development, was published by Johns Hopkins Press in 2023. Dr. Wright's first book, Always at Odds?, focuses on the development of cultures of teaching and was published in 2008 by SUNY Press. Developing High-Impact Course Design Institutes--a book collaboratively written with Jordan Troisi, Michael Palmer, Lori Hostetler, and Carol Hurney--will be published by Routledge in 2025. In 2026, Johns Hopkins Press will publish her fourth book--an extensive survey of U.S. educational developers that maps the evolution of the field over two decades--co-authored with Tracie Addy, Bret Eynon, and Jaclyn Rivard. Since 2021, Mary has been serving as co-editor of the International Journal for Academic Development (Taylor & Francis), the journal of the International Consortium for Educational Development. 

Mary is a former president (2017-18) of the POD Network, the U.S. professional association for educational development. In 2024, she won the POD Network’s Bob Pierleoni Spirit of POD Award, which is the organization's highest award (akin to a lifetime achievement award). Dr. Wright co-authored the ACE-POD Center for Teaching and Learning Matrix (2017), which created operational standards for Centers for Teaching and Learning (CTLs), and Defining What Matters (2018), which established guidelines for CTL evaluation. In 2021-22, she served on the commission (co-chaired by Barbara Snyder, AAU, and Peter McPherson, APLU) that authored The Equity/Excellence Imperative: A 2030 Blueprint for Undergraduate Education at U.S. Research Universities, a report which can be accessed at: https://ueru.org/boyer2030.

Dr. Wright earned an A.B. in sociology from Princeton University, an M.A. and Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Michigan, and an M.A. in higher education administration from the Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education at U-M.