In her current role as Vice Provost for Faculty Success, Magdalena oversees all aspects of faculty recruitment and the tenure and promotion process, with a deep commitment to supporting diverse faculty who bring asset-minded pedagogies to the classroom. Prior to joining the Office of the Provost in 2020, she was Professor and Department Chair of Chicana and Chicano Studies and the Faculty-in-Residence for Diversifying the Faculty in SJSU’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Magdalena’s current research focuses on the experiences of historically underserved students and faculty in higher education; her work has appeared in a wide range of journals, edited collections, and higher–education news outlets. She is the co-author of The Latinx Guide to Graduate School (Duke University Press, 2023), a book that exposes the unspoken rules and expectations of grad school so that students can merge their academic and cultural identities—finding success not simply to play the game, but to transform institutions and widen the path for those who follow. The granddaughter of Mexican immigrants and first in her family to pursue post-secondary degrees, Magdalena holds a B.A. in English and Latin American Studies from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. in Modern Thought and Literature from […]
Jennifer Greer is dean of the College of Communication and Information at the University of Kentucky. A former journalist, Greer has spent 25 years in administrative roles, including vice provost, associate provost, acting dean, department chair, and graduate director, at three state flagship universities. She has led leadership development programs for faculty and staff at various levels, has formally mentored new and aspiring administrators, and is working on becoming an ICF-certified coach.
In her current role, Sarah oversees annual giving, legacy giving, corporate and foundation relations, student support initiatives, and development for the (non-health) academic colleges and community-facing organizations at the university. She also serves on the leadership team for the University’s Advancement program and is engaged in managing the University’s $2.5 billion comprehensive campaign, Imagine New Heights. Sarah’s appointment in Advancement began September 1, 2019, and she continues to hold the position of Adjunct Professor of Biology at the University of Utah. For 27 years prior to moving to University Advancement, Sarah was Executive Director of the Natural History Museum of Utah at the University of Utah. Sarah and her team of staff and board developed a $103 million new building, exhibits, and landscape for the Natural History Museum of Utah—the Rio Tinto Center—which opened in 2011. Working in museums since she was an undergraduate at the University of Puget Sound, she received an M.S. at Fort Hays State University, and a Ph.D. at the University of New Mexico, all in biology. Prior to moving to Utah, she was Curator of Mammals at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and held adjunct faculty appointments in the biology departments at […]
As Dean of Rutgers School of Business-Camden, Rutgers University, Dr. Adya steers the direction of the school through strategic growth of undergraduate and graduate programs, an executive education unit, as well as Centers of Excellence. Her current priorities include developing and implementing strategies for bridging academic scholarship with industry, and developing the school as a model for access to high-quality business education. She previously served as Chair of Management at Marquette University. As a scholar in information systems, currently her research interests include the design and use of decision aids, as well as the participation and experiences of girls and women in information technology careers.
Monica J. Casper is Dean of the College of Arts and Letters and Professor of Sociology at San Diego State University. She brings to her work extensive administrative experience, including leadership development, faculty affairs, ADEI, strategic planning, and more. In 2021, she received the ChangeMaker Award from the International Association of Maternal Action and Scholarship for her efforts to better understand and address the needs of working mothers. She is deeply committed to fostering a humane, collegial, and equitable workplace. A First-Gen scholar, she is the author of numerous articles and books, including, most recently, Babylost: Racism, Survival, and the Quiet Politics of Infant Mortality, from A to Z (Rutgers University Press, 2022).
Monica Jacobe is currently the Director of Advising for the Undergraduate Division of The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where her team supports diverse students from pre-matriculation to graduation. She has spent nearly 25 years in higher education focused on faculty development and student success, as well as on assessment and management of student learning in a variety of leadership roles serving domestic, international, and multilingual learners. Her focus has always been on questions of equity in and access to education for diverse students, leading data-informed decision-making, and seeking to “educate educators” on contemporary student realities. As a first-generation college student herself, Monica seeks to empower students to be agents of their own success, and to ultimately give voice to those who do not arrive feeling authorized to speak. As the author of dozens of essays and book chapters, her research and writing interests include higher education and academic labor, humanities education, and the scholarship of teaching and learning. She holds a PhD in English Language & Literature from The Catholic University of America, an MFA in Creative Writing from The American University, and a BA in English and Mass Communication from Emory & Henry College.
Wayne is the inaugural Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion and a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Cognitive and Learning Sciences at Michigan Technological University. As Vice President, he is responsible for providing vision, strategic leadership, and thoughtful change management for campus diversity, equity, inclusion, and sense-of-belonging (DEIS) initiatives. Wayne works collaboratively with Michigan Tech faculty, staff, students, alumni, and external constituents to advance the University’s commitment to all aspects of diversity and inclusion. His senior leadership role includes communicating the value proposition of DEIS initiative educational and innovation impacts on the University’s overall performance-related scholarship and research. Additionally, he coaches University leaders to become culturally proficient in order to promote and sustain culturally responsive leadership. Prior to joining Michigan Tech, Wayne served as Assistant Research Professor and Chief Diversity Officer for the Applied Research Laboratory at Pennsylvania State University. He is the founder and principal of Oasis Strategic Consulting LLC and earned his PhD in Workforce Education and Development, with emphasis on Human Resources, along with an MEd in Counselor Education (both from Penn State). Additionally, he holds certificates from the Harvard University Institute for Management and Leadership Education (Cambridge, Massachusetts), and the Cornell University School of […]
Louis Diez advises nonprofits in annual fund development, digital fundraising, and engagement strategies. He is the founder of the Donor Participation Project and the Annual Fund Toolkit. He teaches at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. Previously, he was Executive Director of Annual Giving at Muhlenberg College, Director of the Annual Fund and Development Business Operations at the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and Associate Director of Development at Johns Hopkins SAIS. In these roles, he led teams that created growth in number of donors and dollars raised through a model he calls the Sustainable Revenue Engine. Of varied interests, Louis holds an MBA from CUNEF, a PhD in Business Administration from Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (both in Spain), and an MM in Music Performance from the University of Tennessee. His thesis applied neural networks to predict economic performance indicators. He has also published articles on the investment value of musical instruments, edited peer-reviewed papers exploring applications for economic theories of legitimacy, and been featured in the music business section of the College Music Society’s journal.
Daryl Van Tongeren is an Associate Professor of Psychology and recently served as Interim Associate Provost for Academic Affairs at Hope College. His research focuses on the social motivation for meaning and its relation to virtues and morality. Specifically, he and his students adopt a social-cognitive approach to study meaning in life, religion and virtues, such as forgiveness and humility. His research has been funded by generous grants from the John Templeton Foundation. Daryl holds a BA in psychology, an MA in experimental psychology, and a PhD in experimental social psychology.
Michelle has been in fundraising for nearly 2 decades, having worked with donors of all types—from annual fund donors to third-party volunteers, principal gift donors, and corporations and foundations. From start-up non-profits in Tanzania, to complex institutions of higher learning in Canada, Michelle takes great pride in her passion for philanthropy and her drive to make a tangible impact in our communities and the world. Michelle is a strategic thinker with a track-record of turning vision into reality. She is an intuitive leader who identifies threads of opportunity across organizations and pulls them together to create organizational partnerships that drive results. She thinks big and inspires her colleagues to do the same. Her enthusiasm is contagious, and she uses that enthusiasm to create cultures of learning, innovation, and empowerment within the teams she leads. Michelle ultimately lives by the Dan Rockwell quote, “Fitting in is unsophisticated self-sabotage, but effectively standing out requires finesse,” and she aspires to see the fundraising profession modernize to better meet the needs of donors and the communities served through philanthropy.
