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Kian Alavy is Director of Strategic Planning and Initiatives for the Division of Undergraduate Education and a doctoral student in Higher Education at the University of Arizona. Kian is interested in the history and evolution of undergraduate education offices at research universities in the United States, particularly their current nationwide organization around high-impact practices (HIPs). He earned his MA in Middle Eastern and North African Studies at the University of Arizona and his BA in History from the University of Minnesota.

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Gregory (Greg) L. Heileman currently serves as the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Arizona, where he is responsible for facilitating collaboration across campus to strategically enhance quality and institutional capacity related to undergraduate programs and academic administration. He has served in various administrative capacities in higher education since 2004.
Professor Heileman currently serves on the Executive Committee of AZTransfer, an organization that works across the system of higher education in the State of Arizona to ensure students have access to efficient, seamless, and simple ways to transfer from a community college to a university in Arizona. He serves on the board of the Association for Undergraduate Education at Research Universities, a consortium that brings together research university leaders with expertise in the theory and practice of undergraduate education and student success. In addition, he is a fellow at the John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education.
Professor Heileman’s work on analytics related to student success has led to the development of a theory of curricular analytics that is now being used broadly across higher education in order to inform improvement efforts related to curricular efficiency, curricular equity, and student progression.

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Ben serves as the Manager of Undergraduate Education Initiatives in the University of Arizona’s Division of Undergraduate Education in the Office of the Provost. He earned his BS in Public Health and MPH from the University of Arizona and is currently pursuing a PhD in Higher Education. Ben’s research interest is in understanding the social and cultural barriers students face in pursuing higher education and developing higher education pathways for students. With this research focus, Ben has devolved programs that target students throughout their academic journey and use culturally anchored curriculum to increase students’ knowledge and skills, improve students’ self-efficacy in pursuing higher education, increase sense of belonging on a university campus, and help students navigate campus systems.

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Dr. Ahmad Slim is a PostDoc researcher at the University of Arizona, where he specializes in educational data mining and machine learning. With a Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from the University of New Mexico, he leads initiatives to develop analytics solutions that support strategic decision-making in academic and administrative domains. His work includes the creation of predictive models and data visualization tools that aim to improve student recruitment, retention, and success metrics. Dr. Slim's scholarly contributions include numerous articles on the application of data science in enhancing educational practices.

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Mitchell L. R. Walker is a Professor of Aerospace Engineering and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at the Georgia Institute of Technology. His primary research interests include experimental and theoretical studies of advanced plasma propulsion concepts for spacecraft. Dr. Walker received his Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Michigan in 2004. His research activities include Hall thrusters, gridded ion engines, diagnostics for plasma interrogation and thruster characterization, vacuum facility effects, helicon plasma sources, and plasma-material interactions. He has authored 130 journal articles and conference papers in the fields of electric propulsion and plasma physics. Dr. Walker is the director of the NASA Joint Advanced Propulsion Institute.

Dr. Walker serves as the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Deputy Director for Space Rockets and Advanced Propulsion and as an Associate Editor of the Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets. He is also a consultant to the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board, a member of the Department of Energy Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee, and a member of the NASA Advisory Council – Technology, Innovation, and Engineering Committee. Dr. Walker delivered expert witness testimony to the Space Subcommittee - House of Representatives, Washington, D.C., to help guide national investments in electric propulsion technology. Dr. Walker is a recipient of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research Young Investigator Program Award, the AIAA Lawrence Sperry Award, the AIAA Sustained Service Award, and the Georgia Power Professor of Excellence Award.

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David Ruiter is the Faculty Director of the Teaching and Learning Commons at the University of California San Diego. He is also Associate Professor of Theatre and Dance.

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