Dr. Spitzmueller serves as the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and Strategy at the University of California at Merced. She is a Co-Principal Investigator for the P&T Project, aiming to shed light on systemic and structural issues preventing women and faculty of color from being promoted in academia. Through her research, Dr. Spitzmueller looks at the impact of diversity (or lack thereof) on student and research outcomes. She is further interested in work-family interface issues workers experience as they reconcile family and work demands. Her recently published book (edited with Russell Matthews) “Research Perspectives on Work and the Transition to Motherhood” examines these issues. Before transitioning to her current role at UC Merced in 2022, Dr. Spitzmueller received her Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Bowling Green State University and joined the faculty of the University of Houston in 2003, becoming a Full Professor in 2017. She served as the Managing Director for the University of Houston’s NSF-funded Center for ADVANCING UH Faculty Success (ADVANCE) from 2017-2019. Over the past years, The UH Center for ADVANCING Faculty success has changed what UH scientists look like: The representation of women at the Full Professor level has increased by 43%, and the representation of African American and LatinX members among UH tenure and tenure track faculty has grown substantially. As part of UH’s ADVANCE team, Dr. Spitzmueller is a recipient of NIH’s 2021 HeroX award for advancing gender equity in academia. Recently, Dr. Spitzmueller also served as a committee member on the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s consensus study on mentorship in STEMM, with a focus on increasing mentoring access for students from marginalized backgrounds. She currently serves on the editorial boards for Journal of Organizational Behavior, Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, and Organizational Research Methods.

Dr. Madera is a Professor of Global Hospitality Leadership who worked on the UH ADVANCE IT grant as a social science collaborator. Dr. Madera joined the faculty in 2008 as an assistant professor, earned tenure and promoted to associate professor in 2014, promoted to full professor in 2020; honored with the Curtis L. Carlson Endowed Professor in August 2021; author of more than 80 peer-reviewed journal articles, trade articles and book chapters; recipient of numerous grants and fellowships from such institutions as the National Science Foundation, USDA-National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Sloan Foundation and Ford Foundation; a fellow for the Society of Industrial/Organizational Psychology and serves as an editorial board member of numerous peer-reviewed journals (e.g., Journal of Business and Psychology, Personnel Assessment and Decisions, and International Journal of Hospitality Management); serves as a research fellow for the Center for Advancement UH Faculty Success where he is involved in both research and policy work for the promotion and tenure process; and holds a joint teaching appointment with the Department of Management & Leadership at UH’s Bauer College of Business. On this project, he will provide expertise as a diversity researcher, and particularly in using LIWC as an analysis tool for linguistic characteristics of text, and in linking LIWC analyses with predictor and outcome data. Recommendation letters for women in academia have been widely cited and achieved a broad impact in university settings across the country.

Dr. Henderson is an Associate Provost for Faculty Recruitment, Retention, Equity, and Diversity at UH. She spearheads innovative and evidence-based practices in the recruitment of diverse faculty that has resulted in a 46% increase in minority TT faculty hiring at UH over the last three years. On this project, she will lead national and local dissemination and change initiatives geared towards translating study findings into improved P & T practices with improved ERL validity.

Dr. Michelle Penn-Marshall is the inaugural Vice President of Research and Innovation at Texas Southern University (TSU). She joined the TSU community on March 1, 2022. She received the B.A. (scientific curriculum) and M.S. in biology with a concentration in environmental science from Hampton University (HU). She received her Ph.D. in community nutrition from the Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, and Exercise at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.

Her grantsmanship spans a broad array of disciplines, with funding support from various federal agencies and corporations, such as the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, National Library of Medicine, Toyota, and Dominion Energy.

She has served as co-PI for the Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC) and the Undergraduate Research Training Initiative for Student Enhancement (U-RISE), both designed to expand the number of underrepresented minorities in STEM who earn the PhD or MD/PhD. For the past eight years she served as the project coordinator for the Washington Baltimore Hampton Roads – Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (WBHR-LSAMP), with Howard University (lead) and Morgan State University. WHBR-LSAMP addresses the dearth of black, indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC) in STEM by increasing the number of BIPOC undergraduate student researchers in STEM. As a result of this 25-year alliance, more than 30,000 WBHR-LSAMP students earned BS degrees, 3,335 earned MS degrees and 965 earned PhD degrees in STEM fields.

In addition to her work with undergraduate students, she is also a strong supporter of graduate education and faculty development. She served on the National Council of Graduate Schools Advisory Committee on Advocacy and Public Policy for the Council of Graduate Schools and served as the Co-PI for the Howard Hampton Morgan State (HHMS) Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) Alliance. Further, she serves as the Co-PI with colleagues from the University of Houston (lead) and nine other institutions, where external review letters are reviewed for validity and fairness in the promotion and tenure decision making process. Funding support for these projects are provided by the Sloan and the National Science Foundations.

Dr. Penn-Marshall partners with faculty, staff, students’, local, regional, and state industries to create and foster a culture of research and innovation. She is a strong advocate for the elimination of health inequities and works diligently to transform lives and provide educational opportunities and healthcare access for all. She provided visionary and transformational leadership while managing her former university’s research enterprise. Under her direction the total grant and contract funding awards increased by 78.3% in FY 2020-21 ($49.2M) compared to FY 2019-20 ($27.6M). She is an inclusive leader who practices collective wisdom and unity.

Dr. Penn-Marshall serves on the boards of the USRA HBCU Space Council and Springer Nature’s US Research Advisory Council. She is a member of numerous honor societies, civic and community organizations and is the proud mother of two daughters, Lauren and Ivana and a wonderful son-in-law, Trent.

Dr. Krasas is Deputy Provost for Faculty Affairs and a Professor of Sociology and Anthropology. She has 25 years of experience as a faculty member and administrator. For 10 years, she directed a gender studies program at Lehigh University and then became the first Associate Dean of Interdisciplinary Programs in the College of Arts and Sciences in 2014. As Director of Women’s Studies, she has worked to expand the program from an undergraduate minor in 2005 to one that now includes both an undergraduate major and an interdisciplinary graduate certificate. Her scholarship focuses on gender, race and employment inequality, masculinities, work and family, and non-standard work. As Associate Dean, she oversaw more than 20 interdisciplinary programs and centers, many with curricular components. Responsibilities included mentoring directors, working with programs on curriculum, policies, and procedures, and overseeing an office of administrative staff. As Deputy Provost, she handles all aspects of faculty employment including recruitment and hiring, promotion and tenure, FMLA, and retirement. She was Co-PI of Lehigh ADVANCE Grant and is the lead on our Aspire iChange Network membership.

Dr. Levine directs Lehigh University’s ADVANCE Center, based in the Office of the Provost, in order to support capacity and policy building to recruit, retain, and advance a more diverse faculty. She designs and facilitates mentoring efforts, professional development programs, and trainings about best practices to overcome implicit biases in evaluation of faculty at all stages. She frequently liaises and consults with numerous campus partners (including the Deputy Provost for Faculty Affairs, Faculty Senate, the PRIDE Center, Academic Departments, Associate Deputy Provost for Graduate Education, and the Diversity & Inclusion Council of the Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Sciences) to support an inclusive culture of belonging at Lehigh. Dr. Levine is a campus co-lead for Lehigh’s ASPIRE IChange efforts and is a member of the Council for Equity and Community. Prior to working at Lehigh, she was a Scientific Project Manager at the International Life Sciences Institute. She earned a PhD in Nutritional Sciences from Purdue University and attended the University of Florida where she graduated with a BS in Food Science and Human Nutrition.

Dr. Ghandour has her Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Rice University and is currently their Director for Faculty Development.

Dr. Qubbaj is the Dean for the College of Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) and the PI for the UTRGV’s ADVANCE Institutional Transformation grant funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), which focuses on increasing the representation and advancement of women in STEM fields. He is also the PI on an NSF INCLUDES (Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science) project/Symposium for ADVANCING STEM Latinas in Academic Careers. Prior to his Dean position, Qubbaj served as Senior Associate Vice President/Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs & Diversity at UTRGV. He is also a Professor in the department of Mechanical Engineering. Qubbaj received his Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma with a specialization in combustion and energy system. His research has been sponsored by NSF, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Defense.

Dr. Werner is the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs in the College of Arts and Sciences at Texas A & M University. Dr. Werner received her MA and Ph.D. in Anthropology from Indiana University. She joined the faculty at Texas A&M as an assistant professor in 2001 and served as the head of the Department of Anthropology from 2011-2019. She has also been an active member of the Women's and Gender Studies Program at Texas A&M. Dr. Werner’s research on Soviet and post-Soviet efforts to manage ethnic relations and to change women's lives are themes that cut across all of these areas of inquiry, thus providing her with a unique lens for understanding race, ethnicity, and gender in connection with the experiences of faculty from underrepresented groups on U.S. campuses. Dr. Werner is the recipient of fellowships and grants from the National Research Council, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the National Science Foundation, and the National Council for Eurasian and East European Research. She is also the past president of the Central Eurasian Studies Society. Prior to serving as Associate Dean, Dr. Werner served as the Director of ADVANCE at Texas A&M. In that role, she helped develop a training workshop for faculty serving on promotion and tenure committees, and led a research project on the differential impacts of COVID-19 on scholarly careers. In her current role, she oversees the promotion and tenure process for faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences. This NSF project aligns with all of these administrative responsibilities and current research efforts.

Dr. Rizzuto received her Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University in Industrial and Organizational Psychology, with a minor concentration in Information Systems and Technology. In June 2021, Dr. Rizzuto accepted the position of Director of the School of Leadership and Human Resource Development. The overarching focus of her research program is on developing human capital and organizational capacity through technology-mediated processes, with the goal of increasing access to the knowledge, expertise, and resources needed to manage change in the modern workplace. Applying quantitative multilevel and network modeling to describe person-environment interactions, she studies attitudinal and behavioral responses to large-scale organizational change across a wide variety of settings and technologies used to support post-secondary education and professional training. Her secondary research interests include workforce aging issues and understanding change reactions to workplace disasters. Dr. Rizzuto is also associated with over $15M in grants from state and federal sources including NSF, the U.S. Department of Interior, Department of Education, and Department of Justice. Her research is published in journals across disciplines including psychology, management, information systems, sociology, and education, and has been featured in popular media outlets such as The New York Times, National Public Radio’s Market Place, and American Public Radio Works. She was also a 2015 TEDxLSU speaker. In 2016, Dr. Rizzuto received the LSU Distinguished Faculty Award, and in 2018 she received the Jacobs Professor of Excellence Award.

Dr. Matthews is a Miller Professor of Management in The Culverhouse College of Business at the University of Alabama. He earned his Ph.D. in industrial/organizational psychology, with graduate certificates in occupational health psychology and quantitative research methods, from the University of Connecticut. His research focuses on employee attitudes, health, and well-being. Dr. Matthews has received several awards in recognition of his teaching, service, and research contributions, and is a Fellow of the Society for Industrial/Organizational Psychology. He has published extensively in various journals, including Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Management, and the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology. To support his research, Dr. Matthews has been associated with approximately $3,000,000 in external funding from private industry as well as state and federal sources. To this end, he has more than 15 years of practical experience consulting with regional and national organizations, city municipalities, and various government agencies.

 

Dr. Skorinko is a professor of psychology at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in the Department of Social Science and Policy Studies. Her research program attempts to understand how factors in our social environment, especially those factors we are unaware of, influence decisions and interpersonal interactions. She investigates how different types of external and internal influences (e.g., subtle contextual signs, stereotypes/stigmas/biases, perceptions of others, the ability to perspective take, cultural orientation) affect perceptions, decisions, and self-views, especially in the legal and organizational domains. She was awarded the 2023 WPI Board of Trustee’s Outstanding Research and Creative Scholarship Award. In relation to the fairness and bias in promotion, Dr. Skorinko was the PI on WPI’s ADVANCE Adaptation grant where the team worked to improve the promotion pathway from Associate-to-Full to increase gender (and other) representation among the senior ranks of faculty. This work was recognized with the NIH’s 2021 Award for Enhancing Faculty Gender Diversity in Biomedical and Behavioral Sciences.  

Dr. Lindner is an Assistant Professor of Information and Logistics Technology at UH. Peggy has her doctorate through the University of Stuttgart's High-Performance Computing Center, and her research is on emerging patterns through data in areas where qualitative and quantitative data sources come together. She is an experienced data scientist with expertise in integrating data across systems and platforms, the development of mobile apps for the collection of ESM data, as well as development and usability testing for dissemination websites. On this project, utilizing her data science expertise, she will contribute to data management, data integration, and big data analytics, and will be responsible for integrating data from the participating institutions, setting up data management processes, and creating a data repository for the study data that will be made available to other P & T researchers through the Open Science Framework (OSF).

Dr. Yu, Assistant Professor in Hospitality Management, Pennsylvania State University, will provide data analysis expertise with a focus on complex multilevel models accounting for data structures nested at the candidate, and institution levels.