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Christie Chung

Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, Palo Alto University

Dr. Christie Chung currently serves as Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs at Palo Alto University (PAU), a premier institution dedicated to mental and behavioral health education headquartered in the heart of Silicon Valley. As the University’s Chief Academic Officer, Dr. Chung leads PAU’s academic mission and partners across divisions to advance excellence in teaching, learning, clinical practice, and research – preparing compassionate, confident professionals who make a meaningful difference in the world.

Dr. Chung is an award-winning academic executive, 2025 KRON4 TV Remarkable Woman, TEDx keynote speaker, consulting and executive coaching business founder, prolific author of numerous peer-reviewed research articles and two books, and Full Professor of Cognitive Psychology. She brings deep research expertise in cognitive aging, emotional memory, and cross-cultural cognition, with work that has been nationally recognized and widely cited. She is deeply committed to empowering leaders to reach their full potential through executive coaching and consulting, grounded in curiosity, collaboration, and inclusion.

Dr. Chung earned her Honours B.Sc. in Psychology (Distinction, Phi Beta Kappa) from the University of Toronto, followed by her M.A. and Ph.D. in Applied Cognitive Psychology from Claremont Graduate University, and completed postdoctoral training in Behavioral Neuroscience at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Brian Norman

Provost and Dean of Faculty, Warren Wilson College

Brian Norman, Ph.D., is a first-generation college graduate who believes in the transformative power of higher education and the civic role of colleges and universities.

As an academic leader, Brian brings over two decades of experience at mission-driven institutions, with special experience in organizational change, faculty development, curricular reform, institutional equity, diversified revenue streams, and shared governance. Currently, Brian serves as Provost and Dean of Faculty at Warren Wilson College, one of nine federally-recognized work colleges and the only national liberal arts college that fully integrates on-campus work and off-campus community engagement into its curriculum, united by a shared commitment to environmental sustainability, diversity, and social justice. Prior to joining Warren Wilson, Brian served in senior roles at several other mission-driven institutions: Antioch College in Yellow Springs, OH, Simmons University in Boston, and Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore.

As a scholar, Brian studies and teaches American literature and he has published a number of books, articles, and essays on the relationship between literature and social change, including Dead Women Talking: Figures of Injustice in American Literature (Johns Hopkins 2013), Neo-Segregation Narratives: Jim Crow in Post-Civil Rights American Literature (Georgia 2010), and The American Protest Essay and National Belonging (SUNY 2007). He has held residential fellowships at University of Maryland-Baltimore County, Wesleyan University, and Rutgers University. He earned his Ph.D. and M.A. in literature from Rutgers University, after a transformative undergraduate experience at Pacific Lutheran University.

As a thought leader, Brian serves on the editorial boards of the James Baldwin Review and ACAD Leader. He has also published on moving the needle on faculty diversity (Department Chair 2022), faculty leadership development (Change: A Magazine of Higher Education 2019), and religious pluralism and intolerance on campus (Conversations 2017).

David Ribble

Dean, D.R. Semmes School of Science, Trinity University (TX)

David Ribble is a biologist and professor at Trinity University, San Antonio, where he currently serves as the inaugural Dean of the D. R. Semmes School of Science. Prior to this role, he was the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs: Budget and Research (2018-2023). Ribble has been a faculty member at Trinity since 1992, teaching courses in ecology, evolution, and conservation biology, with a strong emphasis on field-based learning.

His research focuses on the ecology and evolution of small mammals across various regions, including North and Central America and Africa. Notably, he was part of a team that discovered the grey-faced sengi, a rare elephant-shrew species in Tanzania. He has led student research expeditions to locations such as Mexico, New Mexico, Costa Rica, and Africa, integrating hands-on experience into Trinity’s curriculum.
As an administrator, Ribble played a key role in shaping academic programs, securing grants, and improving science facilities at Trinity, including contributing to the development of the Center for the Sciences and Innovation. He has received multiple teaching and service awards, including Trinity’s highest faculty honor, the Z.T. Scott Faculty Fellowship. Nationally, he has been involved in efforts to reform life sciences education through organizations such as Partnerships for Undergraduate Life Science (PULSE) and the Council on Undergraduate Research. His leadership philosophy emphasizes collaboration, community-building, and promoting undergraduate research.

Kendrick Brown

Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs, Morehouse College

Kendrick Brown is Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. He served previously Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Redlands in Southern California for four and half years. For 18 years, he was a faculty member, department chair, and Associate Dean of the Faculty at Macalester College in Saint Paul, MN. His research focuses on the perception of allies by Black, Indigenous, and people of color, as well as how skin tone bias affects the psychological well-being of Black people and the ways in which interracial contact on sports teams can promote empathy and policy stances. Dr. Brown earned his B.A. degree with general honors from Mount Union College and both his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.

Sheila Adamus Liotta

Vice President for Academic Affairs, Saint Anselm College

Dr. Sheila Liotta has been the Vice President for Academic Affairs at Saint Anselm College since June of 2022. Previously, she served as the founding dean of the School of Arts & Sciences at Providence College from January of 2009 through June of 2022. Prior to her time as dean, she served as chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry for eight years. She joined the Providence College faculty in 1993.

As VPAA at Saint Anselm College, Dr. Liotta has engaged faculty to make recommendations on strategies for the College to maintain and promote its liberal arts component of its identity to inform academic planning. She has also overseen the launch of the Jean School of Nursing and Health Sciences, the College’s first school, and will oversee the launch of two additional schools, the Robert J. Grappone School of Business and Innovation and the School of Arts and Sciences, in 2027, completing a reorganization of the Academic Affairs division. Other major initiatives include the implementation of a revised core curriculum beginning in Fall 2026 and the expansion of graduate program offerings across the College through the creation of new programs in strategic areas. At Providence College, through the development and support of both new academic programs and the College’s robust core curriculum, a renewed appreciation for the centrality of the liberal arts across the campus was realized during Dr. Liotta’s time as Dean. This helped to facilitate Providence College’s successful application, led by Dr. Liotta, for a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the premier arts and sciences honors society, which was installed in April of 2022.

Dr. Liotta obtained her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Rutgers University and her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Cornell University. An organic chemist and a strong proponent of undergraduate research, Dr. Liotta supervised thirty-five student researchers in her Providence College laboratory. More recently, she primarily taught a course for non-science majors on contemporary issues in chemistry.

Bridget Keegan

Dean of Arts and Sciences, Creighton University

Bridget Keegan was appointed Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Creighton University in 2015, after serving two years as Interim Dean. Now in her twenty-third year at Creighton, she has held a variety of positions, including chairing the English department as well as the department of Modern Languages, serving a term as Associate Dean, and directing the university’s office of scholarships and fellowships. Dr. Keegan is deeply committed to the transformative power of a liberal arts education and led the team that brought a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa to Creighton’s campus in 2012. More recently she was instrumental in the design and launch of Creighton’s Kingfisher Institute for the Liberal Arts and Professions, which will support innovative, interdisciplinary research and curriculum. As a faculty member and now as dean, she is dedicated to creating a strong, institution-wide commitment for high-impact practices, most notably undergraduate research. She is equally passionate about student advising and mentoring and has recently begun a four-year comprehensive advising program for students that draws its foundation on the principles of discernment and service expressed by the founder of the Society of Jesus, St. Ignatius of Loyola.

Dr. Keegan received her A.B. in Literature from Harvard University and her Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Dr. Keegan’s areas of scholarly and teaching interests include eighteenth-century British literature, environmental literature and Catholic writers. She has written and edited numerous books and published over 40 essays, many devoted to the work of laboring-class authors. She serves as a grant reviewer for the NEH and the National Humanities Center as well as a reviewer for numerous journals and university presses.

Emmanuel Hernandez-Agosto

Dean, College of Business, St. Petersburg College

Emmanuel Hernandez-Agosto is a seasoned mid-level executive and academic professional with over 18 years of experience in management, entrepreneurship, and education. He currently serves as the Dean of the College of Business at St. Petersburg College, where he has significantly enhanced strategic partnerships and course offerings. Previously, he was an Associate Professor and Program Manager at Gulf Coast State College, where he led the development of entrepreneurial programs. Emmanuel is a former founder of Mindhatch Ventures and held various leadership roles at Ana G. Mendez University. He has a Doctorate in Business Administration, an MBA in Marketing, and a BBA in Management. His previous community engagement includes roles with Habitat for Humanity and Junior Achievement of Northwest Florida, and currently serves as Board member of Suncoast Housing Connections.

Michelle Mattson

Provost, Carleton College

Michelle Mattson is presently the Provost at Carleton College. Prior to joining Carleton, she served as Provost at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio. Before that, she had filled a variety of administrative appointments at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. She received her doctorate in German Studies and Humanities from Stanford University. After that she held faculty positions at Princeton, Columbia University, Iowa State, and Rhodes College. Dr. Mattson gradually increased her administrative responsibilities beginning at Iowa State and continuing at Rhodes College before moving finally into Academic Affairs.

As a scholar, Dr. Mattson’s research has covered such diverse topics as contemporary German drama, political representation in German television, questions of immigration and diversity in Germany today, issues of political subjectivity, and post-war women’s literature. In the summer of 2022, she stepped into her current role as Provost at Carleton College in Northfield, MN.

Brian Peterson

Provost and Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs, Briar Cliff University

Brian Peterson is Provost and Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs and Professor of Economics at Briar Cliff University in Sioux City, Iowa. He has a BBA in economics from University of Dayton, and an MA and Ph.D. in economics from Indiana University-Bloomington. Prior to his time at Briar Cliff, he spent 4 years as VPAA at LaGrange College in Georgia and 18 years as professor of economics and academic administrator at Central College in Pella, Iowa.

In his current role, Brian guides the implementation of Briar Cliff’s strategic plan in academics and student life, including the library, registrar, honors program, student success, student housing, student activities, health services and counseling, and mission and Catholic integration. He has published articles on economics education, advising, and faculty governance. He is currently a guest editor for the Journal of College Teaching. As a faculty member, Brian taught courses in economic research and quantitative methods, principles- and intermediate-level microeconomics, public finance, and environmental economics.

He has been a member of ACAD since 2017 and a member of the Board of Directors since 2022.

Jim Sloat

Senior Associate Provost, Colby college

Jim Sloat is Senior Associate Provost at Colby College in Waterville, Maine where he has served since 2012. While at Colby, he created the Colby Liberal Arts Symposium (CLAS), a celebration of undergraduate research with over 600 student presenters (making it the largest undergraduate research symposium at a liberal arts college).

He previously served at Washington & Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania as Associate Dean for Assessment and New Initiatives. Jim came to W&J in 2001 to serve as the founding director of the Center for Learning & Teaching. He began his career as a faculty member in political science at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where he subsequently founded the Center for Public Speaking. His faculty research focused on Christian political philosophy (particularly Pauline conceptions of justice) and U.S. welfare policy. Jim did his undergraduate work at Washington and Lee University and his graduate work in political philosophy at Duke University.

Jim has been an active member of ACAD since 2007. He has facilitated over 20 workshops, roundtables, and panels at both the annual meeting and Deans’ Institute. He has focused his work on supporting assistant/associate deans. He initiated and continues to lead the New England Small College Associate Deans (NESCAD). More recently, he has created (along with two colleagues) the Associate Dean Leadership Accelerator (ADLA), an immersive orientation to the work of associate deaning. Working in partnership with ACAD, ADLA launched its initial cohort in 2025 and welcomed a new cohort in 2026. ADLA’s 41 alumni represent a diverse set of institutions across the country.

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