CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The Big Ten Academic Alliance recently announced the 2024-25 fellows for its Academic Leadership Program and Department Executive Officers Seminar. Eleven University of Illinois faculty members have been selected to participate.
“The BTAA Leadership Institute is a valuable resource for developing the next generation of academic leaders. By providing strategic, collaboration-focused training tailored to the unique challenges of large research universities like Illinois, the institute equips faculty and administrators with the skills and networks needed to lead in today’s complex higher education landscape.” said Provost John Coleman. “Congratulations to each of our faculty members and leaders selected to participate.”
The Big Ten Academic Alliance offers the Academic Leadership Program, a yearlong extensive leadership development program that is specifically oriented to address the challenges of academic administration at major research universities and help faculty members prepare to meet them.
The following faculty from the U. of I. were nominated by their respective colleges and have been chosen to participate in the Academic Leadership Program for 2024-25.
Nerissa Brown is the associate dean of graduate programs, chief learning and innovation officer, and professor of accountancy in the Gies College of Business. She is a certified fraud examiner and a former academic fellow of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Her research on financial reporting issues and her expertise on accounting matters have been covered by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, NBC News, Bloomberg, CNBC and NPR.
Jason P. Chambers is the associate dean for diversity, equity and inclusion and a professor of advertising in the College of Media. His research on advertising history and the African American consumer market has been covered by various media sources including CNN, Forbes, The Guardian, NPR and The New York Times. His most recent book, “Advertising Revolutionary: The Life and Work of Tom Burrell,” was published by the University of Illinois Press in 2024.
Lynford Goddard is the Edward C. Jordan Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the associate dean for diversity, equity and inclusion at The Grainger College of Engineering. His research group fabricates, tests and models photonic sensors, circuits and instrumentation. He received a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers award from former President Barack Obama and the Early Career Public Engagement Award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is a fellow of SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, and Optica.
Brendan Harley is the Robert W. Schaefer Professor in Chemical and Biomolecular engineering. His research group develops biomaterial platforms to dynamically regulate cell behavior for applications in musculoskeletal regeneration, hematopoietic stem cell biomanufacturing, endometrial pathologies and invasive brain cancer. He co-founded a regenerative medicine company to commercialize a biomaterial for osteochondral regeneration. He received a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, a Young Investigator Award and the Clemson Award for Basic Research from the Society for Biomaterials. He is an elected fellow of the AAAS, the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering and the Biomedical Society.
Wendy Heller is the Marjorie Roberts Professor in Liberal Arts and Sciences. She is a professor in psychology and previously served as head of the department. She is the executive associate dean for social and behavioral sciences and area centers in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. She is a fellow of the Association for Psychological Science and past president of the Society for Research in Psychopathology. She received the Illinois Executive Officer Distinguished Leadership Award and the LAS Impact Award for demonstrating a spirit of service and sacrifice that went beyond expectations to serve our community during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. As a presidential fellow of the University of Illinois System, she co-led the Gender Inclusive Leadership Project.
Colleen Murphy is the associate dean for academic affairs and the Roger and Stephany Joslin Professor of Law in the College of Law. She also holds courtesy appointments as a professor of philosophy and of political science. She is the chair of the campus committee for the Illinois Scholars at Risk Program and a member of the Diversity Realized by Visioning Excellence Committee. She is a scholar and teacher in the areas of moral, political and legal theory. Her research focuses on political reconciliation and transitional justice in response to entrenched injustice and on the legal and ethical dimensions of risk.
Department Executive Officers Seminar
The Big Ten Academic Alliance also offers the Department Executive Officers Seminar, which brings together department heads and chairs from across the Big Ten. Topics range from conflict resolution and mentoring to faculty development, performance reviews and group problem-solving. Every year, five department executive officers are selected by their respective universities to participate in this program.
The following Illinois department executive officers have been chosen to participate in 2024-25.
Diane M. Beck is a professor and the head of the Department of Psychology. She is the group leader of the Biologically Informed Artificial Intelligence Group at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology. She uses behavioral methods, functional magnetic resonance imaging, transcranial magnetic stimulation, electroencephalography and optical imaging to understand the neural processes that enable and limit our visual understanding.
Candice Jenkins is a professor and the head of African American studies. She is also a professor of English and is a faculty affiliate with the Unit for Criticism and Interpretive Theory. Her research and teaching use a critical Black feminist lens to consider how a variety of African American cultural texts address evolving questions of racial subjectivity, sexual politics and class in the U.S.
Matt Lambert is a professor of and head of the Department of Special Education. His scholarship focuses on assessment for children with disabilities within special education and related fields with a particular emphasis on psychodiagnostics testing, strength-based assessment and cross-cultural test adaptations. He investigates long-standing issues of inequity in special education and the role of assessment in either reducing or exacerbating disproportionality for racially minoritized students.
Janet Liechty is a professor and associate dean at the School of Social Work. She has joint appointments in the Carle Illinois College of Medicine, nutritional sciences and the Institute of Government and Public Affairs. Her research focuses on obesity and social determinants of health, positive body image and embodiment and interprofessional education and training for holistic, integrated care. She is a licensed clinical social worker.
Tony Wong is the chair of the Department of Astronomy. His research centers on the study of the interstellar medium in nearby galaxies as a probe of galactic structure, dynamics and star formation. Specifically, his research group uses observations of interstellar gas in galaxies to understand their structure and evolution. They study primarily CO, an abundant tracer of molecular gas in galaxies, and investigate the links between molecular clouds, their surrounding galaxies and the rate of star formation. They also use gas as a probe of the dynamics of galaxy disks.