Trudy W. Banta, Ed.D.

Dr. Banta is Professor of Higher Education and Senior Advisor to the Chancellor for Academic Planning and Evaluation at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. She has the following degrees: B.A. in Education (Biology and History in Secondary Education), University of Kentucky; M.A. in Counseling, University of Kentucky; Ed.D. in Educational Psychology (Minors: Psychology and Educational Administration), University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She is the recipient of seven national awards for her work and has consulted with faculty and administrators in 46 states, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates on the topic of outcomes assessment and has given invited addresses on this topic at national conferences in Canada, China, France, Germany, Spain and Scotland. She has developed and coordinated 22 national assessment conferences in the U.S. and 15 international conferences held in Australia, Austria, England, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Scotland, South Africa, and the United States. Dr. Banta has written or edited 15 published volumes on assessment, contributed 26 chapters to other published works, and written more than 200 articles and reports. She is the founding editor of Assessment Update, a bi-monthly periodical published since 1989 by Jossey-Bass and winner of a national award for overall excellence in 2003. Previous appointments have included the following: US Secretary of Education’s Special Study Panel on Education Indicators, National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences (panel on encouraging outstanding college teaching in science, math and engineering) and the Executive Committee of the National Postsecondary Education Cooperative of the National Center for Education Statistics. Dr. Banta was a recipient of the National Council on Measurement in Education Award for outstanding use of educational measurement, the Sidney S. Suslow Award of the Association for Institutional Research for significant scholarly contributions to higher education, and University of Kentucky Hall of Distinguished Alumni award.

 Judith V. Boettcher, Ph.D.

Judith V. Boettcher is a nationally known author and consultant in online and distance learning with expertise in faculty development, learning theory, and instructional design. When the opportunity arises, she is also an instructional futurist. Judith’s career spans decades, beginning with computer-assisted instruction in the 1980s.  She has supported faculty at Penn State and Florida State Universities as they created programs for effective uses of instructional technologies and launched new distance degrees. Judith served as the Executive Director of CREN from 1997-2003, writing, designing, and co-hosting the very first webinars, TechTalks. Judith co-authored the Faculty Guide for Moving Teaching and Learning to the Web, 2nd edition (2004) and is an editor of the recently released second edition of The Encyclopedia of Distance Learning (2009). Major current projects include designing support services for faculty teaching in online environments and authoring a new faculty survival guide to be published in late 2009. Judith has delivered presentations and workshops to hundreds of faculty and administrators.  She generously provides resources such as her popular Countdown Guide for Planning Degree Programs and a library of e-Coaching Tips via her website: www.designingforlearning.info.

 Kathleen Dixon, Ph.D.

Dr. Kathleen Dixon is Professor and Head of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, College of Science, The University of Arizona (UA). She is also a member of the Arizona Cancer Center where she serves as Leader of the Cancer Biology and Genetics Program. She obtained her undergraduate degree in biology from Barnard College (Columbia University) in New York City, and then her Ph.D. in biology from the University of Rochester (New York) in 1970. After postdoctoral work at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver, she took her first faculty position as Assistant Professor, Department of Biological Chemistry, UCLA.  From there she moved to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at NIH, Bethesda, Maryland. Her next faculty position was as Associate and then Full Professor in the Department of Environmental Health, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. Dr.  Dixon’s current research focuses on cellular responses to DNA damage and genomic instability related to neurodegeneration and cancer. She is particularly interested in understanding the molecular consequences of genetic syndromes that are characterized by increased genome instability. Her work has been funded by NIH for more than 30 years.  Since coming to UA in 2004, she has become involved in initiatives to improve teaching and student learning in the biological sciences and to foster integration of quantitative skills into biology instruction. This effort has focused on improving Introductory Biology, an undergraduate course that currently serves almost 1800 students per year. One NSF-funded project brings faculty from math and biology together to design new teaching modules for the course. She has served on study sections for NIH, NSF and the American Cancer Society and she is currently a member of the NIH-NIEHS Scientific Advisory Board. She has served as mentor to 27 trainees (8 postdoctoral fellows, 14 Ph.D. students, and 5 master's students). She also served as the faculty mentor on a NIH K08 Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Award and currently serves as a faculty mentor on an NIH K22 Career Transition Award.

 Victor A. Yanchick, Ph.D.

Victor A. Yanchick was appointed Dean and Professor of the School of Pharmacy at Virginia Commonwealth University, Medical College of Virginia Campus, on July 1, 1996. Prior to his appointment at Virginia Commonwealth University he served for eleven years as Dean and Professor of Pharmacy at The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center College of Pharmacy. He began his academic career in 1968 as an Assistant Professor of Pharmacy at The University of Texas at Austin. He remained at The University of Texas until 1985, holding various administrative positions including Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs and Associate Dean. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in pharmacy and a Master of Science degree in Hospital Pharmacy from The University of Iowa. He also completed an ASHP-accredited residency program in hospital pharmacy from the University Hospitals in Iowa City, Iowa. Dr. Yanchick received his Ph.D. from Purdue University in 1968.

In 1996 Dr. Yanchick was named Distinguished Alumnus of The School of Pharmacy and Pharmacal Sciences at Purdue University where he also served as a member of the School’s Professional Council. In 2004 he was named the 2004 Distinguished Alumnus of the College of Pharmacy at The University of Iowa. In 2001 he was elected to the National Academies of Practice. He also received numerous teaching awards both at The University of Texas and The University of Oklahoma and has developed and taught courses in geriatric pharmacotherapy and antimicrobial pharmacotherapy at both The University of Texas and The University of Oklahoma. Dr. Yanchick served as Chair of the Council of Deans of American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy from 2003―2006 and is currently serving a third term as a member of the Association’s Board of Directors. He was inducted as President of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy July 2008 and will officially serve this term through July 2009. He has published many articles in the areas of geriatrics and gerontology, authored four book chapters, and has given over 200 invited presentations to professional groups and conferences. He has supervised the M.S. or Ph.D. programs of 20 graduate students.