Brittney Paulk's blog

During our most recent Fellows Forum event, the UI team had the opportunity to meet Edmundo Hidalgo, ASU’s Vice President of Outreach Partnerships. Prior to coming to ASU, Edmundo served many years with Chicanos por la Causa, Inc. becoming the organization’s COO in 1999 and CEO in 2008. As a result of his leadership and talent for building dynamic community partnerships, CPLC saw double-digit growth and became a highly visible advocate organization for the Arizona community.

During our most recent Fellows’ Forum event, the UI team had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Kyle Squires, Interim Dean for the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. Dr. Squires has held a myriad of leadership positions at ASU. Prior to his appointment as Interim Dean, he served as the Director of the School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy (SEMTE), chair of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and co-director of ASU’s former Security and Defense Systems Initiative.

Recently, the Office of University Initiatives had the opportunity to meet with Director Ray Anderson, Athletic Director and Vice President for University Athletics at ASU. Prior to joining ASU, Director Anderson served as the executive vice president of football operations for the National Football League. His outstanding leadership and dedication to community engagement has been recognized on multiple occasions. In 2015, Director Anderson received both the Paul J. Tagliabue Award and the John Wooten Lifetime Achievement Award for his leadership and contributions to the NFL.

We welcomed Maj. Gen. Jon Miller, Executive Director of ASU’s Decision Theater Network as our Fellows’ Forum guest for October. The conversation started off with Maj. Gen. Miller describing his career path as ‘unusual’, explaining the broad spectrum of leadership positions he has held. Indeed, Maj. Gen. Miller’s national and international experience extends across sectors and fields. Prior to joining DTN, Maj. Gen.

As part of my Fellowship, I had the opportunity to read and give a summary presentation on Clayton Christensen and Henry J. Eyring’s book titled “The Innovative University.” Nearly half of the book is a history lesson on the changing trends of traditional Universities through the examination of two distinct institutions-Harvard and BYU-Idaho. The other half of the book provides an extraordinary vision for higher education that requires breaking away from tradition. I wanted to highlight some of the key takeaways.

On Thursday, August 6th, 2015, the UI team had the opportunity to meet with Dr. Gary Grossman as part of the monthly Fellows’ Forum series. Dr. Grossman holds myriad positions at ASU including serving as the Faculty Chair of the Global Technology and Development program, as former President of the Arizona State University Senate and Chair of the University Academic Council. He is also a Professor in both the Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes and School of Letters and Sciences.