Steve Smith is a Professor of Psychology at Saint Mary’s University. He has previously held the roles of Associate Vice-President Academic & Enrollment Management, Dean of Science, and Registrar, all at SMU. As an administrator, Steve’s focus was on initiatives to support student success. In partnership with his SMU colleagues, he launched (and assessed) several new initiatives. The research he has presented and published on those initiatives has demonstrated the short- and long-term benefits of several different student success programs.  Steve’s Tri-Council, provincial, and industry ..read more

Denise Bartell is Associate Provost for Academic Affairs at Kent State University, where she facilitates strategic initiatives related to access, retention, completion, and student success with a focus on improving equity of outcomes for historically underserved students and empowering faculty as key stakeholders in this work. Her scholarship takes a systemic and explicitly relational approach, most recently exploring a reconceptualization of faculty development to utilize principles of high impact learning experiences and authentic engagement to create communities of transformation where memb ..read more

 Dr. David L. Graham is the Assistant Vice-Provost for Student Academic Success at The Ohio State University. He has been at Ohio State since 2006 and has over twenty-five years of higher education experience in academic affairs, student life, and intercollegiate athletics. Dr. Graham was a 2013-2014 American Council on Education (ACE) Fellow and earned a bachelor’s degree in Electronic Engineering, Technology, and Mathematics from Savannah State University, a master’s degree in Sports Management from Georgia Southern University, and a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from the Ohi ..read more

Paul LePore is the associate dean for Student and Academic Programs in The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and a clinical professor in ASU’s T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics. His appointment began in December 2008. As associate dean, LePore focuses on issues involving student success, including new student recruitment; improving student retention and time to graduation; academic advising; curriculum development; learning assessment; student engagement in high impact practices; managing the college’s residential living/learning programs; and enrollment management. A so ..read more

Professor Sally Kift is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (PFHEA), a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law (FAAL), and President of the Australian Learning & Teaching Fellows (ALTF). She has held several Australian university leadership positions, including as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) at James Cook University (JCU) and inaugural Director, First Year Experience at Queensland University of Technology (QUT). Sally is a national Teaching Award winner (Business & Law: 2003), a national Program Award winner (Assessment & Feedback: 2006) and was appointed an Au ..read more

 His 30 years of experience in teaching, research & executive leadership, includes being a 2003 Fellow of the American Council on Education. Currently, he is the Northwest region President at the Community College of Allegheny County in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. Previous roles included President, Campus CEO and Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management. He was the recipient of the Faculty Award, for "Excellence in Scholarship" while serving as faculty and chairperson of the education department at Olivet College. In 2020, he was the recipient of the prestigious Parag ..read more

Stephen J. Handel, PhD, oversees a portfolio of grants designed to solidify ECMC Foundation’s commitment to the systematic and widespread improvement of students' postsecondary education outcomes, especially students from underserved groups. Steve’s special focus is on college and university transformation as a key lever in substantially increasing student degree and credential completion and advancing their social and economic mobility. Prior to joining the Foundation, he served as the College Board’s Senior Strategist for Strategic Higher Education Assessment Use and Opportunity. In this cap ..read more

Jeffrey Baylor, who has successfully led enrollment efforts at institutions across the U.S., joined the University of Virginia’s College at Wise in 2022 as Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management.  Baylor spent three years at West Texas A&M University (WTAMU) as the Associate Vice President for Student Enrollment Engagement and Success. During his time at WTAMU, he led the University’s recruitment efforts through the pandemic, including recording WTAMU’s highest enrollment on record.   Prior to Texas, Baylor spent eight years as Vice President for Marketing, Enrollment and Stud ..read more

Dr. Andrew Koch is a child of immigrants who came to the United States in pursuit of a better life. His first language was not English, and postsecondary education was valued by his family as a means for realizing the American Dream. A recipient of need-based aid while in school, Koch is a staunch advocate for and leader of efforts that increase student access to and, ultimately, completion of postsecondary education. He has worked in and with higher education institutions for over 30 years. He has done so since 2010 at the Gardner Institute where he was named Chief Executive Officer in 2021 ..read more

Brooke Barnett, Ph.D., Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, previously served as Dean of the College of Communication at Butler. Brooke earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and Communication Studies at Georgetown College, a Master of Arts in Journalism and doctorate in Mass Communication with a concentration in Law and Visual Communication at IU-Bloomington. Prior to her arrival at Butler, and in addition to her career as a teacher and scholar spanning more than 25 years, at Elon University Brooke served for nine years on the President’s senior cabinet, as Associate Provost for Aca ..read more