Tusty ten Bensel is Professor of Criminal Justice and Associate Dean for Student Success, Curriculum, and Research in the College of Business, Health, and Human Services at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She brings more than a decade of experience in academic leadership, faculty development, strategic planning, and program innovation within higher education. As an Associate Dean, Tusty has led efforts to expand student success initiatives, strengthen faculty research support, and build meaningful partnerships across higher education and community organizations. Currently, she serves as the Provost’s Faculty Fellow in Accreditation, where she co-leads the university’s accreditation processes and academic strategic initiatives. She also co-chairs several university-wide committees focused on integrated planning, mission alignment, and leadership development. In addition, she is Director of the Justice Research and Policy Center, where she collaborates extensively with state and local agencies to translate research into policy and practice. A central focus of Tusty’s work is cultivating effective academic leaders. She co-developed and co-chairs the Academic Leadership Academy at UA Little Rock, a comprehensive leadership development program designed to support faculty and administrators transitioning into leadership roles. Her experience includes curriculum design, facilitation of leadership cohorts, and mentoring department chairs, associate deans, and […]
Shannon Collier-Tenison is Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs for Faculty Relations and Administration at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and is a tenured Professor of Social Work. She has served in a wide range of roles across academic affairs, from faculty to program coordinator to administrator. Shannon’s current role encompasses faculty support and development, academic personnel processes, position management and budgets, support for academic advising and student support initiatives within the colleges, and institutional reports. In support of faculty development, Shannon co-created and co-facilitates the Academic Leadership Academy, an initiative to cultivate and strengthen academic leadership on the UA Little Rock campus through cohort-based skill-building and support. She also facilitates the Faculty Mentoring Program for faculty new to the university. Shannon serves as the Provost Office liaison for a team of licensed social workers who provide support and resources to students in a variety of areas including emotional/mental health concerns, financial stress, academic challenges. She has experience working with survivors of interpersonal violence and sexual assault as a crisis counselor, researcher, and an advocate. Her teaching interests and scholarly work focus on interpersonal violence, bystander intervention, economic assets, social welfare programs and policy, and student success. In […]
Dr. Allison Sahl is Director of Faculty Services at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where she manages and provides leadership on administrative processes, policy development, faculty programming, and strategic initiatives that shape the faculty experience across the academic lifecycle. Reporting to the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs, she advises academic leaders on complex faculty matters and supports consistent, equitable decision-making across colleges and departments. In addition to her administrative leadership, Dr. Sahl is a social scientist with experience leading research on faculty satisfaction and organizational conditions, translating data into actionable insights for faculty, governance bodies, and senior leadership. She holds a Ph.D. in Sociology.
John Dixon is the Chief Human Resources Officer at Eastern Kentucky University where he also previously served as Director of the Office of Equal Opportunity as well as Title IX Coordinator. As Chief Human Resources Officer at EKU, John oversees all employee relations and employee benefits at all EKU campuses. Prior to joining EKU, John was a member of the marketing, communications, and public relations team for Bingham McCutchen, a global law firm, and before that he operated his own private law practice. He is a graduate of the University of Kentucky’s J. David Rosenberg College of Law.
Dr. Sahotra began his role as associate vice provost for faculty affairs in January 2025. In this role, he provides leadership in critical areas supporting faculty success and institutional excellence at UNLV. He oversees the review and alignment of department, college, and school bylaws with UNLV and NSHE policies, serving as a key liaison with the Faculty Senate Bylaws Committee and other stakeholders to enhance bylaws creation and revision processes. Haroon Sahotra also co-chairs the university’s Conflict of Interest Oversight Committee, managing academic faculty conflict of interest/conflict of commitment processes to ensure compliance with university, NSHE, and federal guidelines while driving improvements in these critical areas. In collaboration with the vice provost for faculty affairs and other campus offices, Sahotra develops and implements initiatives to support faculty recruitment, retention, and development, including resources for fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion. As professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Sahotra has been involved in interdisciplinary research of climate change impact and hydrology with specific emphasis on applications of remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS) and specific focus on safeguarding and improving urban quality of life. He has also been involved in several federal- and state-sponsored research projects involving research […]
As Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs (VPFA), Dr. Totten oversees resources, services and programs to promote faculty success across all career stages, including providing strategic vision and leadership, overseeing critical administrative processes, developing and refining policies related to faculty participation in university decision-making, supporting faculty development initiatives, and collaborating with academic leaders and campus offices to navigate conflict and disciplinary processes. Dr. Totten has held a number of leadership roles throughout his career, including as graduate program director, department chair, and faculty senate chair at North Dakota State University, and department chair at UNLV. He has served on a number of national and international editorial and executive boards in his field. Dr. Totten has a PhD in English, with expertise in late nineteenth- and twentieth-century US literature, multiethnic US literature, travel writing, and critical theory. He is the editor-in-chief of the journal MELUS: Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States, published by Oxford University Press. He has written, edited, and co-edited a number of books, and he has published over forty articles or chapters in peer-reviewed journals and edited collections. His most recent edited books include A Companion to Multiethnic Literature of the United States (Wiley, 2024) and Race in the Multiethnic Literature Classroom (U of […]
Quinn Koller is a global higher education strategist and foresight practitioner whose career has spanned five continents and more than thirty years of helping people and institutions think differently about what’s next. As Director of Academic Strategy at Utah Valley University and Principal of QR Strategic Foresight, Quinn helps universities, governments, and organizations anticipate disruption, align strategy with purpose, and design futures worth creating. A pioneer in blending strategic foresight, artificial intelligence, and value-creation learning (VCL), Quinn’s work sits at the crossroads of data, design, and human insight. He’s known for turning complex ideas into practical, inspiring action—helping leaders navigate uncertainty with clarity, courage, and imagination. A former championship rugby coach and lifelong educator, Quinn brings the same mix of discipline, humor, and purpose to the classroom and boardroom alike. His sessions challenge audiences to see beyond the noise, question assumptions, and build futures rooted in integrity, curiosity, and bold optimism. Whether he’s advising university presidents, facilitating a foresight simulation, or writing about the future of learning and work, Quinn’s message is consistent: the best way to predict the future is to create it.
Jillian joined Academic Impressions in October 2025 as a Partner Success Manager, bringing over 14 years of experience in higher education. Before joining Academic Impressions, she served as a Talent Development Specialist at the University of Texas at Dallas. Her career in higher education also includes roles as a Community Engagement Specialist, Adjunct Professor, and Academic Support Coordinator. Jillian holds a B.A. in History and an M.S. in College Personnel and Administration with an emphasis on developmental theory from the University of Central Arkansas. She is passionate about supporting institutions in fostering leadership development and creating impactful learning experiences. When she’s not working, Jillian enjoys spending time with her husband and her cat, Thunder, as well as shopping, reading, and cheering on the Baltimore Ravens and Manchester City Football Club.
Hua-Yu Sebastian Cherng is the Vice Dean of Research and Equity—responsible for both NYU Steinhardt’s Office of Research and Office of Diversity, Equity, and Belonging—and Professor of International Education at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. He received his PhD in Education Policy and Sociology from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Cherng’s research focuses on comparative perspectives on race, ethnicity, and (im)migration, with particular attention to the United States and China. His earlier work examined the role of social support in the lives of marginalized youth, revealing that resources such as teacher support are often more critical to non-dominant youth but less readily available to them. His current scholarship interrogates widely accepted educational “truths,” such as the assumption that early high test scores reliably predict later STEM outcomes or that college advising serves as an equalizing force for students of color. His work has been published in leading journals including American Educational Research Journal, Educational Researcher, and Social Forces. He has secured over $11 million in research funding from organizations such as the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the William T. Grant Foundation, and the Spencer Foundation. His research has also reached broader audiences through […]
