Implementation of National Academies Report on Effective Teaching in Undergraduate STEM Education

Tracie Marcella Addy, PhD, MPhil is an accomplished academic leader in higher education. She is the founding director of the center for teaching and learning (CTL) at Rutgers University-New Brunswick where she is also an affiliate faculty member in the Graduate School of Education. Prior to Rutgers, she oversaw the CTL at Lafayette College. Dr. Addy received her B.S. from Duke University, M.Phil. from Yale University, and Ph.D. from North Carolina State University. She is a published scholar of teaching and learning and educational development. Her two main scholarly areas of focus include learner-centered teaching practices and the work of centers for teaching and learning. Dr. Addy’s scholarly work has been featured in a variety of academic journals and outlets and she is the lead and co-author of several books. She served on the committee that produced the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine consensus study report, Transforming Undergraduate STEM Education.

Archie Holmes joined The University of Texas System as Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs in October of 2020. He provides oversight and guidance for the nine UT System academic institutions, who enroll more than 228,000 students, produce nearly 60,000 graduates a year, and have an aggregate annual operating budget of more than $7.7 billion. Prior to joining U. T. System, Archie was the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs at the University of Virginia and was a faculty member at both the University of Virginia and The University of Texas at Austin. As Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, he served as chief advisor to and representative of the executive vice president and provost in academic matters related to the curriculum and general health and welfare of the academic units. Dr. Holmes received his bachelor’s and PhD degrees, both in electrical engineering, from the University of Texas at Austin and the University of California at Santa Barbara respectively.

Daysha Jackson-Sanchez, as a first-generation college graduate, Daysha is passionate about improving the student experience and removing barriers to student success. Serving in leadership roles such as Dean of Student Success and Assistant Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, she has spent over fifteen years in higher education administration, where she led institutional initiatives focused on improving organizational effectiveness, and long-term student achievement. Daysha currently serves as the Vice President of Impact and Strategic Initiatives at Lumen Learning, where she leads efforts to improve student outcomes through evidence-based instructional strategies and technology-enhanced courseware. She partners with faculty and institutions to implement teaching practices that create learning environments where all students can thrive. Daysha has been a longtime adjunct faculty member and communities-of-practice facilitator, regularly engaging national audiences on topics related to teaching, learning, and student success. She is currently completing her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership at Indiana State University, where her research explores how professional development shapes faculty teaching practices and the learning environments they create.

Marco Molinaro is the Executive Director for Educational Effectiveness and Analytics at the University of Maryland, College Park. This expanding role involves working with leaders and educators across campus to develop data focused approaches and tools at the undergraduate and graduate levels and supporting the campus in using those data and approaches to improve educational opportunities for all. Prior to coming to Maryland, Molinaro served as the Assistant Vice Provost for Educational Effectiveness at UC Davis where he created and oversaw the Center for Educational Effectiveness (CEE) - a unit focused on empowering instructors and staff, improving the educational system and fostering educational innovation and discovery in service of removing disparities in undergraduate student outcomes while maximizing learning. Dr. Molinaro has over 30 years of educational experience creating and leading applications of academic analytics, innovative technology for instruction, scientific visualization and simulation, curriculum development and evaluation, and the creation of communities focused on the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL). Since 2024, Molinaro has focused on expanding his approach to improving faculty and departmental instructional effectiveness through the use of disciplinary faculty communities (in biology, chemistry and mathematics), targeted analyses, customized tools and AI based approaches to understand and improve the instructionally related work of faculty and administrators. Molinaro has served on two National Academy of Science studies including the 2024/25 study on Equitable and Effective Teaching in STEM, APLU and numerous NSF grant-related committees and received funding from the NSF, NIH, the California Learning Lab and various private foundations such as Gates, Intel, the Helmsley Trust and HHMI.