Dr. Rebecca Culyba is a senior academic leader at Carnegie Mellon University, where she leads strategic initiatives, institutional planning, and academic operations from the Office of the Provost. She brings over two decades of experience bridging higher education, research administration, and public health. Prior to joining CMU, she held leadership roles at UPMC and Emory University, where her work focused on healthcare innovation, evaluation, and HIV/AIDS research and education. Rebecca holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in Sociology from Northwestern University, an M.A. in Communication, Culture, and Society from Goldsmiths, University of London, and a B.A. in Sociology from Smith College.
John M. Wallace, Jr., PhD, serves as Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement and Leadership Development, and Chair (interim) of the Department of Africana Studies, at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Wallace is a full professor and holds the David E. Epperson Endowed Chair, with appointments in the School of Social Work, Katz Graduate School of Business, and Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences. Wallace is certified as a Gallup Strengths Coach, a Kotter Change Leader, a Courageous Conversations Facilitator, and a LUMA Institute Human Centered Design Practitioner. Dr. Wallace brings decades of experience in advancing diversity, developing faculty, supporting systemic change, and mentoring, coaching, and consulting in higher education, and for-profit, not-for-profit, and faith-based organizations. He earned is AB from the University Chicago, and his MA and PhD from the University of Michigan, all in sociology.
Gilpatrick Hornsby’s work focuses on faculty success and educational development, specifically emphasizing leadership development and well-being. As a member of the faculty affairs and curriculum leadership team, Gilpatrick leads projects and initiatives on behalf of the provost, such as equity in workload conversations, faculty welcome week and new faculty academy, and leadership programs such as Aspire and the Mid-Career Leadership Academy. Gilpatrick also directs the Center for Faculty Innovation, which supports faculty to be great teachers, flourishing scholars, and thriving professionals by focusing on the entire faculty life cycle. As a tenured associate professor, Gilpatrick embodies the perspective of faculty empowering faculty by partnering with colleagues to achieve success.
Kris Plunkett, Ed.D. is the Senior Director of Advancement at the University of Florida, where he leads efforts to drive philanthropic growth and strengthen donor engagement of the Levin College of Law. With nine years of experience in higher education fundraising, he previously served as Director of Principal Gifts at the University of Texas McCombs School of Business and held multiple roles at the University of Florida Warrington College of Business. Dr. Plunkett completed his undergraduate and master’s degrees from Texas Tech University before earning an EdD in Higher Education Administration from the University of Florida. His research focuses on leadership and organizational behavior in higher education advancement, exploring the impact of servant leadership on fundraiser retention and performance. His dissertation, Servant Leadership in Higher Education Advancement: Relationship Between Turnover Intentions and Challenge-Hindrance Stress, examined how leadership approaches influence organizational culture and development team success. With extensive frontline fundraising experience and a background in teaching leadership and organizational behavior, Dr. Plunkett blends research-driven insights with practical application to help advancement teams build sustainable, high-performing cultures.
Casey Landry is a fundraising leader and serves as Executive Director of Development at The University of Texas at Austin. In his role, he leads a team of 15 major and principal gift officers and operates within a larger unit responsible for raising over $200M annually for UT. Casey manages an international portfolio of alumni, parents, and friends. He collaborates with campus leadership to generate resources that support students, faculty, and solutions for global challenges. Casey has experience in developing organizational culture and teaching peak performance throughout his career in sales, collegiate coaching, and higher education fundraising. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Education from Butler University and a Masters in Sports Administration from Northwestern University, with a concentration on achieving optimal performance in the workplace. Casey is committed to higher education and its impact. He aims to advance the industry by helping teams reach their potential and providing more robust services to philanthropic families. Casey resides in Austin, Texas with his wife and two children. He can be found in Austin or in airports around the world.
With over 25 years of professional experience in large healthcare and higher education organizations, Erin has a unique combination of quality service-delivery, operational know-how and strategic instinct. She serves as the Chief Operating Officer at NYU Steinhardt, overseeing a number of cross-functional teams. Erin’s central skillset revolves around improving the fundamental building blocks for success, from conceptualization to implementation to evaluation. She has adapted, expanded and refined those skills to include organizational leadership, online/digital transformation services, learning management systems, partnership development and enrollment management within higher education. With advanced degrees in Leadership and Innovation, Health Policy and Management and Communication Sciences and Disorders, her approach to teaching, project management and leadership promotes interprofessional education and collaboration at all levels of academic, clinical and professional training.
Rebecca Brandriff is an accomplished leader in finance and administration at NYU Steinhardt. She has played a pivotal role in the school’s success. As the Vice Dean of Administration and Finance since 2015, she oversees HR, Finance, Facilities, Strategic Initiatives, and IT and ensures operational excellence. With over 25 years of experience in higher education finance and administration, including 19 years at Yale University, Rebecca has a strong background in budgeting, financial planning, and strategic management. Her leadership has driven Steinhardt’s growth, fostered innovation, and enhanced the school’s financial and operational efficiency. Rebecca holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and an MBA and is a doctoral candidate at NYU. She will graduate in May 2025. Rebecca is dedicated to advancing institutional success through strategic leadership, operational excellence, and continuous improvement.
Meredith Goldsmith is a professor of English at Ursinus College, where she specializes in late nineteenth and early twentieth-century US literature. She has published numerous articles on late nineteenth and early twentieth-century American literature in scholarly journals, including Legacy: A Journal of US Women’s Writing, American Literary Realism, American Literary History, Mosaic: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Literature, and modern fiction studies. She is the editor of three scholarly collections, American Literary History and the Turn toward Modernity (University Press of Florida), Edith Wharton and Cosmopolitanism (University Press of Florida), and Middlebrow Moderns: Popular Women’s Writing of the 1920s (Northeastern University Press). She is the former editor of the Edith Wharton Review and past president of the Edith Wharton Society. Beyond her scholarship, Goldsmith’s expertise lies in faculty development, teaching and learning, strategic planning, and the digital humanities. She has successfully sought support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Duke University Humanities Writ Large Fellowship program, and the Pennsylvania Consortium for the Liberal Arts/Arthur Vining Davis Foundation. At Ursinus, Goldsmith has served as the founding director of Ursinus’s Teaching and Learning Institute, assistant and associate dean of academic affairs, special assistant to the president, and chief strategy and innovation officer.
Cynthia Peterson is the Dean of the LSU College of Science and a Professor of Biological Sciences. Dean Peterson, a protein biochemist, earned a B.S. in biochemistry from LSU A&M, followed by a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the LSU Health Sciences Center Shreveport. She then pursued postdoctoral training at the University of California, Berkeley before assuming an assistant professor position at the University of Tennessee. Peterson was promoted to associate professor with tenure, then to full professor, eventually serving as department head and then Associate Dean of Academic Personnel in the UT College of Arts and Sciences prior to assuming her role at LSU. Dean Peterson is committed to mentoring and professional development across career trajectories and has led several federally funded projects that include a strong focus on inclusive excellence. In addition to being a strong advocate for faculty, she has and has successfully garnered and leveraged resources to support new initiatives and build infrastructure.
Jane Cassidy currently serves as Senior Vice Provost at Louisiana State University and holds the Roy and Margaret Gianelloni Alumni Professorship in Music. Her responsibilities include advising the Executive Vice President & Provost on faculty matters, academic space utilization and allocation, academic policy, institutional accreditation, and budget. The LSU Rural Life Museum, LSU Museum of Art, Brookshire LSU Military Museum, and LSU Press & The Southern Review report to her office. Previously she served as the Director of the School of Music and Interim Associate Dean of the College of Music and Dramatic Arts. She holds an undergraduate degree in music from the University of Hartford and a masters and PhD in music education from Florida State University. Dr. Cassidy’s field of expertise is music education and her research interests center around music therapy for premature infants, musical development of children, and teacher effectiveness.
