MiamiTHRIVE Committees
Foundational Strengths Committees
Faculty, staff, and students will serve as chairs and members of nine committees dedicated to defining Miami’s foundational strengths and providing input to the working groups to ensure these strengths are woven into our 10 strategic opportunity areas moving forward.
Ellen Yezierski (chair), Helaine Alessio, Erica Fernandez, Andrew Jones, Janice Kinghorn, Tory Pearman, Tom Poetter.
Elizabeth Wardle (chair), Jason Berberich, Jason Boock, Mark Dahlquist, Darrel Davis, Annie Dell’Aria, Joyce Fernandes, Elizabeth Hoover, Tamise Ironstrack, Janice Kinghorn, Jennifer Kinney, Mandy Olejnik, Rena Perez, Jennifer Quinn, Brad Reitz, Naaborle Sackeyfio, Scott Sander, Sherrill Sellers, Todd Stuart, John Tassoni, Anne Whitesell.
Timothy Melley (chair), Zeb Baker, Carolyn Haynes, Tracy Haynes, Elisabeth Hodges, Cathy Wagner.
Olivia Herron (chair), Jeremy Davis, Kelsey Ellis, Carol Fabby, Susan Meikle.
Jayne Brownell (chair), Erica Campbell, Pete Haverkos, Maria Vitullo, Scott Walter, John Ward.
Susan McDowell (chair), Olga Brezhneva, Joyce Fernandes, Sarah Meaney, Nick Stanford.
David Sayler (chair), Michael Crowder, John Forren, Vince Frieden, Brad Okel, Christine Pacewicz.
Mackenzie Rice (chair), Kirk Bogard, Ryan Elias, Bruce Guiot, Carrie Powell, Kim Tavares.
Cristina Alcalde (chair), Kenya Ash, Rodney Coates, Carolyn Craig, Nate Jorgensen, Krista McDonald, Sean Poley, Hiram Ramirez, Jessica Sparks.
Opportunity Areas Committees
Faculty, staff, and students will serve as chairs and members of 10 working groups that will explore and develop strategies and actions for identified opportunity areas within five strategic pillars: Flexible, skills-focused curriculum; Leading programs within in-demand fields; Experiential learning for every student; Expansive partner ecosystem; Reinvigorated campus experience.
Jennifer Benz (chair), Elizabeth Hoover (chair), Douglas Coffin, Nathan French, Megan Gerhardt, Jennie Gilbert, Tracy Haynes, Nisreen Nusair, Kimberly Vance.
Artie Kuhn (chair), Adam Beissel (chair), James Chagdes, Erin Dunn, Jen Green, Kevin Messner, Brandon Prew, Tammy Schwartz, Steve Whayne, Cheryl Young.
Colleen Bush (chair), Lee Weldon (chair), Karla Guinigundo, Valarie Jacobsen, Christopher Lawson, Patrick Lindsay, Ashley Lomax, Brad Okel, Leah Wasburn-Moses, Aaron Shrimplin, John Woodard.
Jen O’Brien (chair), Jessica Rivinius (chair), Gwen Fears, Lindsay Holden, Gillian Oakenfull, Rosemary Pennington, Katie Rottner, Kim Tavares, Crystal Walker, Julia Ward, Chauncey Winbush.
Ande Durojaiye (chair), Bethany Perkins (chair), Michael Carrafiello, Marianne Cotugno, Steven Feldmann, Cathy Heinz, Brenda Homan, Peter Mkhatshwa, Cathy Moore, Liza Skryzhevska, Denny Sundermeier, Rachel Valerio.
Elise Radina (chair), Jayne Brownell (chair), Jennifer Beardslee, Rebecca Crews, Jason Ezell, Pete Haverkos, Molly Heidemann, Anthony James, Jonathan James, Nelchi Prashali, BaShaun Smith, Dasha Wood, Brian Woodruff.
Andrew Reffett (chair), John Weigand (chair), Adam Ares, Greg Brainard, Moira Casey, Dennis Cheatham, Todd Dupont, Ashlea Jones, Krysta Peterson, David Prytherch, Hui Wang.
Michael Crowder (chair), Stephanie Nicely (chair), Joseph Carlin, Bonnie Erwin, Greg Fisher, Nicole Hoyer, Fazeel Khan, Tom Mays, AJ Olszewski.
Katy Abbott (chair), Richard Page (chair), Maressa Dixon, Jonathan Grenier, Yingbin Hu, Tereza Jezkova, Michael Kumler, Anna Radke, Lindsay Regele, Darryl Rice, Matt Saxton, Anna Weisling.
Rachel Beech (chair), David Creamer (chair), Lindsay Carpenter, Drew Davis, Ekaterina Gay, Brad Goldie, Andrew Mascari, Amanda Means, Carla Myers, Donna Scarborough.
Steering Committee
Support and guidance to the work groups outlined above will be provided by a Steering Committee composed of leaders from the Board of Trustees and Executive and Academic Leadership:
- Mary Schell, Chair
- Steve Anderson, Trustee
- Biff Bowman, Trustee
- Mark Sullivan, Trustee
- Gregory Crawford, President
- Cristina Alcalde, VP Transformational and Inclusive Excellence
- Rachel Beech, VP Enrollment Management and Student Success
- Jayne Brownell, SVP Student Life
- Bradley Bundy, VP University Advancement
- David Creamer, SVP for Finance and Business Services and Treasurer
- Susan McDowell, VP Research and Innovation
- Liz Mullenix, Provost and EVP for Academic Affairs
- Ted Pickerill, Chief of Staff and Secretary to the Board of Trustees
- Jessica Rivinius, VP, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer
- David Sayler, Director Intercollegiate Athletics
- David Seidl, VP for Information Technology and CIO
- Brent Shock, Special Assistant to the President
- Amy Shoemaker, VP and General Counsel
- Randi Thomas, Esq., VP, ASPIRE
- Dawn Tsirelis, Executive Assistatnt to the President
- Renee Baernstein, Dean, College of Arts and Science
- Jerome Conley, Dean, University Librarian
- Michael Crowder, Dean, Graduate School
- Jenny Darroch, Dean, Farmer School of Business
- Ande Durojaiye, Dean, College of Liberal Arts and Applied Science
- Ryan Fisher, Dean, College of Creative Arts
- Amity Noltemeyer, Interim Dean, College of Education, Health, and Society
- Chris Makaroff, Special Assistant to the Provost
- Beena Sukumaran, Dean, College of Engineering and Computing
- Melissa Thomasson, Associate Dean, Farmer School of Business
- John Weigand, Special Assistant to the Dean, College of Creative Arts
Completed Working Groups
The beginning phase of this initiative was led and run by about 45 Miami faculty and staff administrators who were selected to join four working groups who identified opportunities to strengthen Miami’s programs, offerings, and position within the higher education landscape. These work streams and teams included:
Evaluate current and future student needs and develop bold strategies to meet those needs.
- Michael Crowder (lead), Associate Provost and Dean of the Graduate School
- Jayne Brownell, SVP Student Life
- Brad Bundy, VP, University Advancement
- David Creamer, SVP Finance and Business Services
- Ande Durojaiye, VP, Miami Regionals
- Brooke Flinders, Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs and Professor of Nursing
- Eric Hodgson, Associate Professor, Emerging Technology in Business and Design
- Cody Powell, Associate VP, Facilities Planning and Operations
- Melissa Thomasson, Associate Dean for Faculty Excellence and Professor of Economics
Academic Programs considered what academic program options Miami should consider to support the Miami Bold Strategy.
- Carolyn Haynes (lead), Sr. Associate Provost for Strategic Initiatives
- Cristina Alcalde, VP for Institutional Diversity and Inclusion
- Renée Baernstein, Senior Associate Dean and Professor of History
- Anne Farrell, Professor and Interim Chair of Accounting
- Nancy Parkinson, Clinical Faculty Kinesiology, Nutrition, and Health
- Anna Radke, Associate Professor, Psychology
- DJ Rao, Associate Professor of Computer Science and Systems Analysis
- Drew Reffett, Associate Dean for Educational Excellence and Professor of Accountancy
Enrollment Strategy explored and developed opportunities that Miami could focus on to build student interest in Miami and optimize student enrollment.
- Brent Shock (lead), VP Enrollment Management and Student Success
- Amy Bergerson, Associate Provost and Dean for Undergraduate Education
- Greg Brainard, Sr. Director of Miami Online
- Cathy Heinz, AVP Enrollment Marketing and Communications
- Bethany Perkins, AVP Admissions
- Jessica Rivinius, VP and Chief Marketing and Communications Officer
- BaShaun Smith, AVP and Dean of Students.
Operational Improvement will assess how Miami is performing across key operational areas and identify opportunities for Miami to improve in these areas. This work group is comprised of sub-groups across multiple areas, and led by:
- Advancement:
- Brad Bundy (lead), VP, University Advancement; Bruce Guiot, Associate Treasurer, Chief Financial Officer, Miami Foundation; Mackenzie Rice, President and Chief Administrative Officer of the Miami University Foundation, Assistant Vice President for University Advancement, Donor Engagement, and Board Relations.
- Auxiliaries and Facilities:
- Cody Powell (lead), Associate VP, Facilities Planning and Operations; David Sayler, Director of Athletics; Geno Svec, Special Assistant, Housing, Dining, Recreation and Business Services.
- Finance:
- David Ellis (lead), Associate Vice President for Budgeting and Analysis; Lindsay Carpenter, Associate Vice President for Budget and Analytics; Bruce Guiot, Associate Treasurer, Chief Financial Officer, Miami Foundation; Jennifer Morrison, Chief Accounting Officer; Jeff Pidcock, Director of Budgeting and Business Transformation.
- Human Resources:
- Dawn Fahner (lead), Associate VP of Human Resources; Kenya Ash, Associate Vice President for Equity and Equal Opportunity, Title IX Coordinator, and Section 504 and ADA Coordinator; Gary Barnes, Director of Compensation; Ruth Groom, Associate Vice President for Academic Personnel.
- Instruction and Research:
- Susan McDowell (lead), Vice President for Research and Innovation; Lindsay Carpenter, Associate Vice President for Budget and Analytics; Tom Mays, Associate Professor of Commerce; Darryl Rice, Associate Professor of Management; Padma Patil, Associate Vice President, Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness.
- IT Services:
- David Seidl (lead), Vice President, Information Technology and CIO; Troy Travis, Assistant Vice President, Enterprise Operations.
- Procurement:
- Mark Taylor (lead), Chief Procurement Officer; Allen Sizemore, Associate Director of Analytics and Data Administration.