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Promising Practices for Strengthening the Regional STEM Workforce Development Ecosystem (2016)

Chapter: Appendix A: Biographical Information of Committee and Staff

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Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Biographical Information of Committee and Staff." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Promising Practices for Strengthening the Regional STEM Workforce Development Ecosystem. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21894.
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Appendix A

Biographical Information of Committee and Staff

COCHAIRS

RICHARD CELESTE is president emeritus of Colorado College. Mr. Celeste served two terms as governor of Ohio, from 1982 to 1990, and previously as lieutenant governor of Ohio. He also served as managing partner of Celeste and Sabety Ltd., an economic development consultancy, director of the U.S. Peace Corps, and from 1997 to 2001 was the U.S. ambassador to India. Mr. Celeste is a lifetime National Associate of the National Academies. He formerly served on the boards of the North American Advisory Board for BP Oil, the Secretary of Energy’s Advisory Board, Navistar International, Republic Engineered Steels, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the American Council on Education, and the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. He also cochaired the Pacific Council’s International Policy Task Force for Study on India. Mr. Celeste earned his B.A. in history from Yale University and studied as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University.

TERESA SULLIVAN is the University of Virginia’s (UVA) eighth president. Since taking office in 2010, she has led UVA through a period of significant progress. In fall 2012, she launched a planning effort to provide a roadmap for the university’s future, while gathering input from 10,000 alumni, parents, students, faculty, staff, and others. This effort produced a new strategic plan for the university, the Cornerstone Plan. President Sullivan developed a new financial model for the university to ensure stability and transparency and to spur innovation in a period of significant financial pressure in higher education. President Sullivan is a respected scholar in labor force demography. The author or coauthor of six books and many scholarly articles, her most recent research has focused on measuring productivity in higher education. President Sullivan came to UVA from the University of Michigan, where she was provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. Prior to her work at Michigan, Dr. Sullivan was executive vice chancellor for academic affairs for the University of Texas System from 2002 until May 2006. She served as a faculty member at the University of Texas at Austin from 1981 to 2006. She is a graduate of Michigan State University’s James Madison College, and earned her doctoral degree in sociology from the University of Chicago.

MEMBERS

RITA COLWELL is distinguished university professor both at the University of Maryland, College Park, and at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health; senior advisor and chairman emeritus, Canon U.S. Life Sciences, Inc.; and president and chief executive officer of CosmosID, Inc. Her interests are focused on global infectious diseases, water, and health, and she is currently developing an international network to address emerging infectious diseases and water issues, including safe drinking water for both the developed and developing world. Dr. Colwell served as the 11th director of the National Science Foundation (NSF), 1998–2004. In her capacity as NSF director, she served as cochair of the Committee on Science of the

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Biographical Information of Committee and Staff." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Promising Practices for Strengthening the Regional STEM Workforce Development Ecosystem. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21894.
×

National Science and Technology Council. Dr. Colwell has held many advisory positions in the U.S. government, nonprofit science policy organizations, and private foundations, as well as in the international scientific research community. She is a nationally respected scientist and educator, and has authored or coauthored 17 books and more than 750 scientific publications. She produced the award-winning film Invisible Seas, and has served on editorial boards of numerous scientific journals. Before going to NSF, Dr. Colwell was president of the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute and professor of microbiology and biotechnology at the University of Maryland. She was also a member of the National Science Board from 1984 to 1990. Dr. Colwell has previously served as chairman of the board of governors of the American Academy of Microbiology and also as president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Washington Academy of Sciences, the American Society for Microbiology, the Sigma Xi National Science Honorary Society, and the International Union of Microbiological Societies. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences; the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm; the Royal Society of Canada; the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; and the American Philosophical Society. She is immediate past president of the American Institute of Biological Sciences. Dr. Colwell has also been awarded 55 honorary degrees from institutions of higher education and received numerous awards. Born in Beverly, Massachusetts, Dr. Colwell holds a B.S. in bacteriology and an M.S. in genetics from Purdue University, and a Ph.D. in oceanography from the University of Washington.

BRIAN FITZGERALD is the Business-Higher Education Forum’s (BHEF) chief executive officer, developing long-term strategy for the membership organization. Under Dr. Fitzgerald’s leadership, BHEF’s National Higher Education and Workforce Initiative (HEWI) has emerged as the organization’s signature enterprise. Through the collaboration of its business and academic members, the HEWI includes regional projects focused on strategic business–higher education partnerships in regions across the country, as well as on a national initiative that disseminates the learning from the projects and scale-effective practices. The initiative deploys a model of strategic business engagement in higher education to address members’ high-skill, high-priority workforce needs. Prior to joining BHEF, Dr. Fitzgerald served as staff director for the federal Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, which advises Congress on higher education and student aid policy. Dr. Fitzgerald has written extensively on policies to improve college access and success. He also served as an adjunct associate professor of government at American University, teaching advanced studies courses on the politics of education. In the private sector, Dr. Fitzgerald held senior project management positions for large-scale education research projects for federal agencies. Earlier in his career, he served as assistant dean and as a lecturer in education at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. Dr. Fitzgerald earned his master’s degree and doctorate from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where he also served on the alumni council for 4 years and as chairman. He currently serves on the Dean’s Leadership Council. He received his bachelor’s degree from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, which named him Distinguished Alumnus and awarded him an honorary doctorate in public service.

ELSA GARMIRE is Sydney E Junkins Professor of Engineering Sciences at Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire. Professor Garmire served as dean of the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College from 1995 to 1997. Professor Garmire has been elected member of the National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She is a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, the Optical Society of America, the American Physical Society, and the Society of Women Engineers. She received the Society of Women Engineers Achievement Award (their highest award), has been a Fulbright Scholar, and was elected an honorary member of Phi Beta Kappa. Dr. Garmire’s research has focused on lasers and optics, including optoelectronics, nonlinear optics, optical devices, fiber optics, quantum electronics, device fabrication, and semiconductors. She has held numerous technical consulting appointments in industry and government laboratories. Dr. Garmire has advised government pol-

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Biographical Information of Committee and Staff." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Promising Practices for Strengthening the Regional STEM Workforce Development Ecosystem. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21894.
×

icy makers through service on advisory boards and panels for the Department of Energy, the Air Force, the National Science Foundation, and through the public affairs committees of the American Physical Society and the American Institute of Physics. Most recently, she has served on the Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy of the National Academies. Prior to coming to Dartmouth, Dr. Garmire was William Hogue Professor of Electrical Engineering, professor of physics, and director of the Center for Laser Studies at the University of Southern California. Dr. Garmire received her A.B. in physics at Harvard and her Ph.D. in physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and served on the research staff at the California Institute of Technology for 9 years.

WILLIAM KIRWAN, chancellor emeritus of the University System of Maryland, is a nationally recognized authority on critical issues shaping the higher education landscape. He served as president of Ohio State University for 4 years and president of the University of Maryland, College Park, for 10 years. Prior to his presidency, he was a member of the University of Maryland faculty for 24 years. A respected academic leader, Dr. Kirwan is a sought-after speaker on a wide range of topics, including diversity, access and affordability, cost containment, innovation, higher education’s economic impact, academic transformation, and financial aid. Currently, Dr. Kirwan chairs the National Research Council Board on Higher Education and Workforce, chairs the College Board Advocacy and Policy Center Advisory Committee, and cochairs the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics. He also serves on the Business-Higher Education Forum. In Maryland, Dr. Kirwan is a member of the boards of the Maryland Chamber of Commerce, Greater Baltimore Committee, Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore, and the Maryland Business Roundtable for Education. In 2013, the U.S. Senate Education Committee named Dr. Kirwan cochair (with Vanderbilt University Chancellor Nicholas Zeppos) of its new Task Force on Government Regulation of Higher Education, and the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges appointed Chancellor Kirwan to its newly formed National Commission on College and University Board Governance. In 2012, the Maryland Chamber of Commerce presented Dr. Kirwan with its second annual Maryland Public Service Award. In 2010, Dr. Kirwan was appointed to the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity and was also named chair of the College Board Advocacy and Policy Center Advisory Committee. Dr. Kirwan received his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Kentucky and his master’s and doctoral degrees in mathematics from Rutgers and the State University of New Jersey, in 1962 and 1964, respectively.

SUSAN LAVRAKAS is a consultant to the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) on STEM education and workforce matters. She served as the director of workforce for the AIA from 2011 to January 2015. In that role, she led AIA’s STEM education and workforce development activities. Ms. Lavrakas has more than 40 years’ experience in national security affairs. Having studied political science and international affairs, she started her career at the Central Intelligence Agency. She did graduate studies at the University of Southern California, conducted research at the RAND Corporation, and was recruited into the defense industry by the Northrop Grumman Corporation, where she was employed for nearly two decades. From 2003 to 2011, Ms. Lavrakas worked in government relations at BAE Systems. She chaired the AIA Industrial Base and Workforce Committee from 2007 and was also a member of the AIA Workforce Steering Committee from its founding in 2009 until she joined the AIA staff in 2011. She simultaneously served as vice president for legislative liaison of the STEM Workforce Division of the National Defense Industrial Association. Ms. Lavrakas is a member of the board of directors of the National Girls Collaborative, the STEM Equity Pipeline National Advisory Board of the National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity, the board of trustees of the Center for Excellence in Education, the board of directors of the Arts Council of Fairfax County (Virginia), the board of directors of the National Coalition for Aviation and Space Education, and the Education Committee at the Wolf Trap Foundation.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Biographical Information of Committee and Staff." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Promising Practices for Strengthening the Regional STEM Workforce Development Ecosystem. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21894.
×

MARY WRIGHT is the senior program director of demand side engagement and analytics at Jobs for the Future (JFF) and directs JFF initiatives that help low-skilled adults move into and through postsecondary education and on to careers that pay family-sustaining wages. One such initiative is Credentials That Work, which seeks to utilize innovations in the collection and use of real-time labor market information to better align investments in education and training with the needs of the economy. Ms. Wright has more than 20 years of experience in municipal finance, government affairs, and workforce development. Before joining JFF, she served as director at the Conference Board in New York City, driving its work in workforce readiness, business, and education partnerships, as well as improving the employment outcomes for people with disabilities through research and convenings. During her tenure at the Conference Board, she also served on the boards of three Boston-area nonprofits that support educational opportunities for underrepresented youth, housing options for low-income families, and the arts. Ms. Wright has an M.B.A. in public/nonprofit management from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree in urban affairs from Connecticut College.

STAFF

ELIZABETH (LIBBY) O’HARE, Ph.D., is a program officer with the Board on Higher Education and Workforce at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Her current portfolio includes projects that address STEM workforce development, the competitiveness of American research universities, and the higher education regulatory environment. Prior to joining the Academies, she served as a legislative assistant for Representative Rush Holt (NJ-12), where she handled energy, science, and education policy issues and staffed Rep. Holt in his role as the senior Democrat on the Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee, House Committee on Natural Resources. Dr. O’Hare got her start in science policy after being selected by the Society for Research in Child Development as a 2010 American Association for the Advancement of Science Congressional Science Policy fellow. She holds a Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of California, Los Angeles, and an A.B. in psychology from Bryn Mawr College.

TOM RUDIN is the director of the Board on Higher Education and Workforce at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine—a position he assumed in mid-August 2014. Prior to joining the Academies, Mr. Rudin served as senior vice president for career readiness and senior vice president for advocacy, government relations and development, at the College Board from 2006 to 2014. He was also vice president for government relations from 2004 to 2006 and executive director of grants planning and management from 1996 to 2004 at the College Board. Before joining the College Board, Mr. Rudin was a policy analyst at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. In 1991, Mr. Rudin taught courses in U.S. public policy, human rights, and organizational management as a visiting instructor at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey. In the early 1980s, he directed the work of the Governor’s Task Force on Science and Technology for North Carolina Governor James B. Hunt, Jr., where he was involved in several new state initiatives, such as the North Carolina Biotechnology Center and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics. He received a B.A. degree from Purdue University, and he holds master’s degrees in public administration and in social work from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

NINA BOSTON is a research associate in the Policy and Global Affairs Division at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Ms. Boston supports the Board on Higher Education and Workforce, the InterAcademy Council, and Development, Security, and Cooperation. She earned her B.A. in anthropology at Elon University and is currently pursuing her M.P.P. at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Biographical Information of Committee and Staff." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Promising Practices for Strengthening the Regional STEM Workforce Development Ecosystem. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21894.
×

IRENE NGUN is a research associate with the Board on Higher Education and Workforce at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Before joining the National Academies, Ms. Ngun was a congressional intern with the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee’s Democratic Office and also served the office of her district congresswoman, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX-30). Ms. Ngun holds an M.A. in international relations from Yonsei Graduate School of International Studies and a B.A. in biochemistry and economics from Goshen College.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Biographical Information of Committee and Staff." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Promising Practices for Strengthening the Regional STEM Workforce Development Ecosystem. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21894.
×

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Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Biographical Information of Committee and Staff." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Promising Practices for Strengthening the Regional STEM Workforce Development Ecosystem. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21894.
×
Page 83
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Biographical Information of Committee and Staff." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Promising Practices for Strengthening the Regional STEM Workforce Development Ecosystem. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21894.
×
Page 84
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Biographical Information of Committee and Staff." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Promising Practices for Strengthening the Regional STEM Workforce Development Ecosystem. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21894.
×
Page 85
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Biographical Information of Committee and Staff." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Promising Practices for Strengthening the Regional STEM Workforce Development Ecosystem. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21894.
×
Page 86
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Biographical Information of Committee and Staff." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Promising Practices for Strengthening the Regional STEM Workforce Development Ecosystem. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21894.
×
Page 87
Suggested Citation:"Appendix A: Biographical Information of Committee and Staff." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Promising Practices for Strengthening the Regional STEM Workforce Development Ecosystem. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/21894.
×
Page 88
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U.S. strength in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines has formed the basis of innovations, technologies, and industries that have spurred the nation's economic growth throughout the last 150 years. Universities are essential to the creation and transfer of new knowledge that drives innovation. This knowledge moves out of the university and into broader society in several ways – through highly skilled graduates (i.e. human capital); academic publications; and the creation of new products, industries, and companies via the commercialization of scientific breakthroughs. Despite this, our understanding of how universities receive, interpret, and respond to industry signaling demands for STEM-trained workers is far from complete.

Promising Practices for Strengthening the Regional STEM Workforce Development Ecosystem reviews the extent to which universities and employers in five metropolitan communities (Phoenix, Arizona; Cleveland, Ohio; Montgomery, Alabama; Los Angeles, California; and Fargo, North Dakota) collaborate successfully to align curricula, labs, and other undergraduate educational experiences with current and prospective regional STEM workforce needs. This report focuses on how to create the kind of university-industry collaboration that promotes higher quality college and university course offerings, lab activities, applied learning experiences, work-based learning programs, and other activities that enable students to acquire knowledge, skills, and attributes they need to be successful in the STEM workforce. The recommendations and findings presented will be most relevant to educators, policy makers, and industry leaders.

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