Enabling student success

Nada Marie Anid is vice-president for strategic communications and external affairs at NYIT. In 2009, Dr Anid became the first female dean of the NYIT School of Engineering and Computing Sciences and has long been an advocate for women pursuing education and career opportunities in the fields of science, technology, engineering and maths. Her efforts in this area include her recent book, The Internet of Women: Accelerating Culture Change. In March, Dr Anid was instrumental in launching NYIT’s Women’s Corporate Council, a group of female leaders whose goal it is to empower and inspire others within the institute’s community and beyond. She is also the recipient of numerous accolades, including the Long Island Software and Technology Network Diamond Award.

Katherine Bergeron joined Connecticut College in 2014 and has supported the faculty in developing an interdisciplinary education initiative in which students are encouraged to create deeper linkages between the work they do in courses, in jobs, in the community, and around the globe, to prepare them for leadership in an era of change. Previously, she was dean of the college at Brown University. She sits on several boards, including the Association of American Colleges and Universities, and is a commissioner for the New England Commission of Higher Education.

Alexander Cartwright joined the University of Missouri in 2017. An internationally-recognised researcher in the area of optical sensors, Dr. Cartwright holds a joint appointment as a professor of electrical engineering and computer science. He served as provost and executive vice-chancellor from 2014-2017 at State University of New York, and prior to that he spent almost 20 years at the University at Buffalo where he held multiple senior administrative positions including vice-president of research and economic development.

Dr Cook is the executive director of the Center for Online Learning, Research and Service and research professor in the College of Education at the University of Illinois Springfield. She holds a PhD in higher education administration and an MS in adult education.  Dr Cook has been engaged in providing consultancy on faculty development to educational leaders across the US, Canada and Mexico.  Her research interests include generational learning and heutagogical approaches to teaching and learning.

Richard Ekman has been president of the CIC since 2000. Previously, he was vice-president for programmes of Atlantic philanthropies, and secretary and senior programme officer of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. He has also been director of education programmes at the National Endowment for the Humanities, and vice-president and dean at Hiram College. He currently serves as a member of many boards, including those that provide guidance to the Harvard University’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (which he chairs), American Academic Leadership Institute, Emeriti Retirement Health and Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute.

Prior to joining NYIT in June 2018, Junius Gonzales served as senior vice-president for academic affairs and chief academic officer for the University of North Carolina. He also served as provost at the University of Texas at El Paso and was founding dean of the College of Behavioral and Community Sciences at University of South Florida. Throughout his career, he has spearheaded many initiatives in support of student and faculty success. He recently completed an Association of Chief Academic Officers’ Digital Learning Fellowship supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Dr Kington was appointed president of Grinnell College in 2010, before which he served in a range of positions at the National Institutes of Health. Prior to this, he was a division director at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He has also been a senior scientist at the RAND Corporation and an assistant professor of medicine at University of California, Los Angeles. He was elected to the Institute of Medicine (now the National Academy of Medicine) in 2006. His research has focused on the social determinants of health and more recently on diversity in the scientific workforce.

Dr Laursen joined SUNY in September 2018 from Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi where he was the founding president and served as its leader from 2010. Prior to that, he was member of the faculty of Duke University from 1992, during which time he had appointments in civil engineering, biomedical engineering and mechanical engineering, including serving as chair of the department of mechanical engineering and materials science (2008-10). He is a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

Dr Pasquerella took on her current role in 2016. A philosopher whose career has combined teaching and scholarship with local and global engagement, she has written widely on medical ethics, metaphysics, public policy and the philosophy of law. She hosts Northeast Public Radio’s The Academic Minute and is president of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. Previous positions have included president of Mount Holyoke College, provost of the University of Hartford and dean of the graduate school at the University of Rhode Island. She serves as an advisory board member of Newman’s Own Foundation.

Bernie Savarese joined New York University from The Ohio State University where he most recently served as director of first year experience and led the university’s standing committee on student success and retention. At NYU, he oversees the Office of Student Success, leads the university’s student success steering committee and directs NYU’s Martin Luther King Jr. Scholars Program and the state-funded Opportunity Program. He serves as a subject matter expert and consultative resource to university leaders on issues including the development of strategic initiatives to enhance student retention, graduation and the overall student experience.