Dr. Sumanth G. Reddy received his B.S. from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, an M.S. from the University of North Texas, and a Ph.D. from Kansas State University, all in Geography. His research interests are in medical, cultural, population, and tourism geography, with regional application in Africa and Asia. Dr. Reddy has traveled globally for research, conferences, and leisure to over 45 countries. He is passionate about study abroad and providing students with the opportunity to experience the world beyond the classroom. As an undergraduate, he studied abroad in a semester-long program in Scotland, and he again studied abroad in Ghana as a graduate student. In 2016, he took 10 students to China on a 2-week Study Abroad trip, and in 2017, he took 10 students to Ghana and London on a 3-week Study Abroad trip (Travel Blog). For summer 2022, Dr. Reddy was awarded a $14,000 grant from the American Association of Geographers to conduct a camping and hiking trip with his students to explore several national parks in the Southwest. He was also the recipient of the University Presidential Teaching Award for 2021-2022. Besides the classroom, he enjoys hiking, cycling, gardening, cooking, and meeting people. He is a native of Bangalore, India.
Jill Gaby currently serves as Associate Vice President of Advancement for Operations Management at Miami University. Since June 2023, she has held the role of Chief of Staff to the Vice President for University Advancement. In this capacity, Jill is a key member of the senior management team, collaborating with senior staff across departments to ensure effective day-to-day operations—all in support of advancing Miami’s historic $1 billion campaign, For Love. For Honor. For Those Who Will., which concludes June 30, 2027. Jill brings expertise in strategic planning, project management, process improvement, executive advising, and board and meeting management. She is known for her ability to influence decisions and foster cross-functional collaboration through trusted relationships and strategic alignment. With a flexible, solutions-oriented approach, Jill excels at adapting quickly to shifting priorities and evolving organizational needs. Prior to her current role, Jill served as Assistant Vice President for Development, Regional Programs, where she led the university’s largest team of major gift fundraisers. Her earlier roles include Senior Director of Development for Regional Programs and Director of Development for the Central and Northeast Ohio regions. Jill has been with Miami University since 2005 and has dedicated her career to higher education fundraising and […]
Dr. David Reed is the Associate Provost for Strategic Initiatives at the University of Florida. He has been a driving force in the university’s AI Initiative, which began when the University was gifted academia’s fastest AI supercomputer worth over $65M. Reed has led the university’s effort to expand AI throughout the university, including creating and overseeing a dozen AI working groups. UF’s goal is to provide AI education to any student, regardless of their major or previous exposure to computer programming. UF also created a university-wide undergraduate certificate in AI so that students across the university can layer AI education on top of their current major. This dramatically increases the number of students getting AI experience, as well as the breadth of disciplines in which they are being trained. Reed established and currently leads the Artificial Intelligence Academic Initiative Center (AI2 Center), which supports the training of AI faculty, new AI course development, and student engagement in AI. The AI2 Center also oversees a five-year, multi-million-dollar project to expand AI offerings at the University of Florida. UF’s model of teaching AI to everyone is called “AI Across the Curriculum.” Reed and the AI2 Center are taking this innovative model of AI education to […]
Though institutions of higher education are increasingly looking for technological solutions to strategic challenges, downgrades in the rank of the chief information officer at institutions such as MIT and the University of Chicago raise questions about the CIO’s role in university leadership. While there isn’t any conclusive data to suggest that the CIO role is shrinking, concerns voiced over that possibility do serve to direct increased attention to one of IT’s pressing challenges: that is, how to position the CIO, and the broader IT organization, as a strategic partner within the institution. We turned to Gene Spencer, principal of Gene Spencer Consulting and a lead thinker on IT management, for practical advice on how chief information officers can grow, rather than shrink, their role. Missed Opportunities “Running an IT organization is about relationships first, then technology.”Gene Spencer, Gene Spencer Consulting Spencer suggests that CIOs who see their role shrinking may need to first look at their own approach to key interactions with partners across the institution. Common mistakes that a CIO can make which actually reduce his or her ability to engage with key decision-makers (and be seen as a strategic partner) include: The most critical thing is to shift your focus […]
A COLUMN FROM GETTYSBURG COLLEGEThis article is the fourth in a series by Ashlyn Sowell, Gettysburg’s associate vice president and campaign director. The previous articles are:Developing Your Campaign Reports: Getting it Right the First TimeSpring Clean Your Major Gifts Portfolio4 Lessons Learned from Campaign Volunteers at Gettysburg College Today, Sowell shares some critical reminders that are fresh on her mind after spending half a year with her New Zealand colleagues. For the past six months, I’ve had the good fortune to be living in Auckland, New Zealand while my husband is on sabbatical from Gettysburg College. Depending on whom you ask, the Kiwis are about 10-20 years behind the United States in creating a culture of philanthropy and in growing their advancement programs. And there’s nothing like looking at a young country to remind you of some important building blocks for development and alumni relations — building blocks that we might otherwise neglect in the rush of our work. I had the chance to experience these fresh reminders firsthand as I got to know colleagues across this small and wonderful country. Even for those of us with more mature programs, the following reminders from three of my New Zealand colleagues can […]
To get the most out of your limited professional development (PD) and training budget, consider these 10 tips: SELECTING THE EVENTS AT THE EVENT ON THE WAY HOME BACK ON CAMPUS We hope these tips will prove useful at your conferences this year! Learn more about how some institutions are leveraging professional development in our report, The State of Professional Development in Higher Education.” Read the full report here. Check out an AI Conference AI conferences are unique because they are informed by our research on professional development and are designed to facilitate the kind of planning and action discussed in this article.
Photo by the University of Alberta. The Student Connect centre. The Challenge Run-around, duplication of services, confusion for students, inconsistency of service delivery–these are just some of the challenges that come about as a result of the complex bureaucracies in higher education. As student services professionals, we all do our best to support our students, but there comes a time when a fundamental change, and a reimagining of how we do things, is required to address these issues. Like many large institutions, at the University of Alberta we operate in a decentralized environment. We support approximately 40,000 students across three main campuses in our province; we have 180 staff and 80 student volunteers in the Office of the Registrar (RO); and in the 2015/2016 academic year, we had a total of 104,252 interactions across all three channels (phone, email, and in-person). This volume has presented us with a challenge; our old, decentralized model was not enough to ensure we could help students access key services easily. In 2010, the RO at the University of Alberta began a journey to redesign what front line student service would look like. At the time the RO supported seven service points for students. Something […]
By Kathy Edersheim President, Impactrics Social distancing and isolation brought on by the pandemic have proven the importance of community and connection, the very priorities for alumni relations. As the vaccine rolls-out and we look forward to a new normal, it is the perfect moment for alumni associations to assess the challenges and, yes, opportunities that have emerged from an almost entirely virtual system and consider what that means for the future. Observing and working with over 25 institutions during the past year has provided perspective on the potential for new directions and greater success. During the outset of the pandemic Since March, alumni relations pivoted to the virtual world like everything else. The first challenge was how to get alumni to support students facing an abbreviated semester and, often, financial challenges. It was a major communication effort to keep alumni informed about cancelled events (including refunds for tickets), campus news, and to solicit donations for student emergency funds while working remotely. At some institutions, the alumni-student support network for career guidance was mobilized to assist graduating students. Overall, the remote management of this process was surprisingly well-accepted and effective in maintaining and building connections. For many institutions, the most […]
In working to meet the FERPA obligations of your campus, you’ll inevitably interact with board members, legal counsel, or other administrative leaders. Sometimes these leaders will call on you to release information or offer advice related to FERPA, and sometimes you must call on them in order to make a tough decision on FERPA. But managing these requests, and knowing when to ask for help, proves especially difficult when the stakes are high. Join us for this webcast to learn how to effectively manage FERPA requests from leaders while knowing when to ask legal counsel for assistance. You will leave with examples of FERPA situations you can resolve on your own and examples of situations in which you should always ask for help. Your purchase of this program includes access to the live webcast, as well as access to a website that houses a recording of the live webcast and other FERPA resources. You will be able to access the recordings and resources on the site through December 31, 2013 regardless of purchase date, so register now for this bundle! The sooner you register, the longer your access period will be. Beginning October 16, 2013, we will no longer offer […]
Out of all of the academic leaders in higher education, Deans are arguably the ones who are closest to the challenges and potential solutions of higher ed. Some of the most pressing challenges keeping deans up at night include: changing student demographics and the impending demographic cliff, how to ensure academic rigor and accessibility, faculty and staff morale and equity, and waning funding from traditional revenue sources. Join us for this free webcast to hear from two deans representing, respectively, a public, land-grant research institution as well as a small, private liberal arts college as they share their perspectives on what is keeping them up at night—as well as the practices they hope will enable their colleges and institutions to be successful in a more equitable and agile higher-ed landscape. Our speakers will discuss and invite peer insights on such topics as: You’ll leave this webinar with a greater awareness of how other higher-ed leaders strategize to surmount these issues—as well as how they address them firsthand.
