Provost Fellows make meaningful contributions to advance the goals of the University. With thanks from University leadership for their many contributions, we are pleased to spotlight faculty who have served as Provost Fellows.
2023
Seri Robinson
Dr. Robinson is a tenured Associate Professor of Wood Anatomy in the Department of Wood Science and Engineering in the College of Forestry. Since joining their department in 2013, they have been a champion of student success and mentoring as well as community outreach and engagement related to wood safety and education. They have been instrumental to programmatic growth in the College of Forestry, designing and leading a new Art & Design option in the Wood Innovation for Sustainability degree program, which seeks to engage, retain, and recruit underserved students. Dr. Robinson will be collaborating with Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and Senior Vice Provost Alix Gitelman on initiatives to elevate undergraduate student success and degree completion.
2022
Katherine Gunter
Dr. Gunter is a tenured professor in Extension Family and Community Health and the School of Biological and Population Health Sciences in the College of Public Health and Human Sciences. Her work emphasizes the translation of research to practice with the goal of increasing physical activity behaviors and improving health outcomes across the lifespan. She does this by working with stakeholders to develop and adapt innovative programs, policies, systems, and environments. Dr. Gunter’s work stimulates community engagement and produces evidence-based solutions to make it easier for people to engage in health promoting physical activity. As a Provost Fellow she will work with Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs Rick Settersten and shared governance partners on initiatives aimed at strengthening promotion and tenure processes throughout the university.
2021
Matthew Johnston
Dr. Matthew Johnston is an associate professor in the College of Engineering, where he develops new sensor systems and teaches both undergraduate and graduate electronics courses. Prior to joining Oregon State in 2014, he co-founded and worked at multiple start-up companies, mostly focused on instrumentation for the life sciences. Matt's research group at Oregon State University uses silicon integrated circuits, microfabrication, and other approaches to build new technologies for low-power chemical, biological, and physical sensing systems - and with collaborators from across the university demonstrates these both in the lab and in the field.
2020
Chrissa Kioussi
Dr. Chrissa Kioussi is a professor in the College of Pharmacy and her research focuses on the developmental programs that define how different gene subsets become available to each particular cell type as the body forms. She uses animal models to understand the molecular mechanisms and signals that embryos normally use to create functional organs with the aim to build body parts to correct birth defects in newborns or replace body parts in the aging. As a Provost Fellow, Chrissa will work with Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School Philip Mote to advance SP4.0 priority projects related to graduate student competencies and transferrable skills.
2020
Inara Scott
Inara Scott practiced law for over a decade before joining the College of Business. In private practice, Inara represented clients on matters including general corporate, environmental, and business law, before specializing in energy law and utility regulation. Inara’s research at Oregon State centers on sustainable business, clean energy, and legal and policy implications of climate change. As a Provost Fellow, Inara will work with Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education Alix Gitelman on initiatives related to the continued improvement of remote teaching and learning.
2019
Emily Ho
Dr. Ho is a professor in the College of Public Health and Human Sciences and served as the Endowed Director of the Moore Family Center for Whole Grain Foods, Nutrition and Preventive Health until 2020. Her Provost Fellow project focused on developing additional resources and programming to help create and sustain successful faculty in research and scholarship. Some areas of focus included enhancing faculty onboarding, mentoring and management, and leadership training. Secondly, Dr. Ho is passionate about improving a culture of health across campus – that should include a focus on faculty health and wellness. Mental health is a growing concern across academia that impacts the success of both faculty and students they serve. In collaboration with other units on campus, Dr. Ho worked to evaluate needs and develop plans for supporting faculty health and wellness. On July 1, 2020, Dr. Ho assumed the directorship of the Linus Pauling Institute.
2019
Tara Williams
Dr. Williams served as associate dean of the Honors College, professor of English, and author of Inventing Womanhood: Gender and Language in Later Middle English Writing (Ohio State University Press, 2011) and Middle English Marvels: Magic, Spectacle, and Morality in the Fourteenth Century (Penn State University Press, 2018). As a Provost Fellow, she focused on expanding access to faculty development opportunities. Her project examined the potential for online modules available on-demand and complemented by in-person sessions or facilitated peer mentor groups. She also explored opportunities to support the design and delivery of non-credit offerings (including workforce development and continuing education) at OSU. Tara currently is the Dean of the Honors College at University of Alabama.
2018
Alix Gitelman
Dr. Gitelman joined the Statistics faculty at Oregon State in 1999. During her career as an academic statistician, she taught, mentored, advised and provided problem-solving support to numerous undergraduate and graduate students, scientific researchers, collaborators and colleagues. In her statistical consulting work, she worked with over 100 OSU researchers, ranging from undergraduate students to senior faculty members. Alix also served for many years as the Director of Graduate Studies for the Statistics programs. She received the D. Curtis Mumford Faculty Service award in 2015, and she has served on several Faculty Senate committees including the Graduate Council, the Baccalaureate Core Committee and the Executive Committee.
While serving as a Provost Fellow, Alix was actively engaged in the statewide transfer initiatives and credit mapping, and establishing processes to streamline transfer articulation. This included working on initiatives related to undergraduate transfers to OSU, high school-based accelerated credit programs, legislative proposals affecting academic policies and programs, and OSU’s engagement with the Statewide Provosts Council and the Higher Education Coordinating Commission. Alix currently serves as the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and has been actively engaged in curriculum approval processes, remote teaching and COVID resumption planning.