Who We Are

Individually, each SAGE Group consultant brings years of experience, knowledge, and skills to education reform work. Collectively, the Group offers familiarity with a range of institutional types, cultures, and geographic locations. A campus can select a consultant whose expertise corresponds to its own needs and interests. Below is the contact information and consultation areas for each consultant. More detailed information is available in the SAGE brochure. [Note: Contact information below may be more current than in the brochure, printed in 2003.]

Click on the links below to view consultants' resumes.

Pearl W. Bartelt, senior fellow, AAC&U.
Ph.D., sociology, The Ohio State University.
Contact: pbartelt@comcast.net, 856.589.0630
Brief resume (pdf)

Consultation areas:

• strategic planning
• faculty development
• diversity
• outcomes assessment

J. Herman Blake, director of African American studies, professor of sociology, Iowa State University.
Ph.D., sociology, University of California, Berkeley.
Contact: jhblake@iastate.edu, 515.294.4392
Brief resume (pdf)

Consultation areas:

• diversity and civic engagement
• experiential education
• faculty development
• retention and first-year experiences

David F. Brakke, dean of the College of Science and Mathematics, James Madison University.
Ph.D., zoology, Indiana University.
Contact: brakkedf@jmu.edu, 540.568.3508
Brief resume (pdf)

Consultation areas:

• faculty development
• curricular transformation
• capstone experiences, particularly undergraduate research
• assessment of learning outcomes

Alma R. Clayton-Pedersen, vice president for education and institutional renewal, AAC&U.
Ph.D., education and human development, Vanderbilt University.
Contact: clayton-pedersen@aacu.org, 202.387.3760, ext. 800
Brief resume (pdf)

Consultation areas:

• policy development
• program development and evaluation
• organizational learning
• readiness, recruitment, retention, and success of students of color

Grant H. Cornwell, vice president of the university, dean of academic affairs, professor of philosophy, St. Lawrence University.
Ph.D., philosophy, University of Chicago.
Contact: grantcornwell@stlawu.edu, 315.229.5914
Brief resume (pdf)

Consultation areas:

• global education and diversity
• faculty development
• experiential education
• first-year and capstone experiences

Scott Evenbeck, dean of University College, Indiana University--Purdue University, Indianapolis (IUPUI).
Ph.D., social psychology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Contact: evenbeck@iupui.edu, 317.274.5032
Brief resume (pdf)

• Consultation areas:
• best practices for academic achievement of entering students
• faculty involvement in educational initiatives and reform
• institutional structures that support student learning
• program assessment

Ann S. Ferren, senior fellow, AAC&U; provost, American University of Bulgaria.
Ed.D., curriculum and instruction, Boston University School of Education.
Contact: aferren@radford.edu, 540.633.6662
Brief resume (pdf)

Consultation areas:

• financial analysis of the curriculum
• strategic resource allocation
• academic program review
• general education reform

Jerry Gaff, senior scholar, AAC&U; senior consultant, AAHE.
Ph.D., psychology, Syracuse University.
Contact: gaff@aacu.org, 202.387.3760
Brief resume (pdf)

Consultation areas:

• general education and curricular change
• strategies for institutional change
• faculty development for innovative education
• academic leadership

Paul L. Gaston, provost, Kent State University.
Ph.D., English, The University of Virginia.
Contact: pgaston@kent.edu, 330.672.2220
Brief resume (pdf)

Consultation areas:

• general education and curricular reform
• implementing change initiatives
• mission refinement and articulation

Tori Haring-Smith, vice president, educational affairs, Willamette University.
Ph.D., theatre, University of Illinois.
Contact: tharings@willamette.edu, 503-370-6838
Brief resume (pdf)

Consultation areas:

• strategies for institutional change
• pedagogy and technology
• cross-curricular programs
• curricular and cocurricular alignment

Barbara Hill, senior fellow, AAC&U; education consultant.
Ph.D., English, University of Washington.
Contact: hill@aacu.org, 202.387.3760, ext. 801
Brief resume (pdf)

Consultation areas:

• strategic planning
• politics and strategies of change
• general education and curricular reform
• global education

Anthony Knerr, managing director, Anthony Knerr & Associates.
Ph.D., English literature, New York University.
Contact: aknerr@aknerr.com, 212.302.9600
Brief resume (pdf)

Consultation areas:

• strategic planning
• politics and strategies for change
• program design
• finance

Andrea Leskes, vice president for education and quality initiatives, AAC&U.
Ph.D., life sciences, The Rockefeller University.
Contact: leskes@aacu.org, 202.387.3760, ext. 807
Brief resume (pdf)

Consultation areas:

• general education and curricular reform
• politics and strategies for change
• strategic planning
• aligning institutional practices for better learning

Irena S.M. Makarushka, senior fellow, AAC&U; associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts, Towson University; education consultant.
Ph.D., philosophy of religion, Boston University.
Contact: makarushka@aacu.org, 410.821.5780
Brief resume (pdf)

Consultation areas:

• general education and curricular reform
• first-year initiatives and capstone seminars
• faculty development
• curricular and cocurricular alignment

Lester P. Monts, senior vice provost for academic affairs; senior counselor to the president for the arts, diversity, and undergraduate affairs; professor of music, University of Michigan.
Ph.D., musicology, University of Minnesota.
Contact: lmonts@umich.edu, 734.764.3982
Brief resume (pdf)

Consultation areas:

• the arts in education
• global diversity and diversity strategic planning
• undergraduate honors and research
• institutional transformation

Richard L. Morrill, chancellor and distinguished university professor of ethics and democratic values, University of Richmond.
Ph.D., religious thought and ethics, Duke University.
Contact: rmorrill@richmond.edu, 804.289.8448
Brief resume (pdf)

Consultation areas:

• strategic planning
• institutional identity, goals, and leadership
• values in the curriculum
• the trustee role in academic affairs

Caryn McTighe Musil, vice president for diversity, equity, and global initiatives, AAC&U.
Ph.D., English, Northwestern University.
Contact: musil@aacu.org, 202.387.3760, ext. 426

Consultation areas:

• curricular and faculty development
• diversity and civic engagement
• institutional transformation
• student-centered pedagogies

William M. Plater, dean of the faculties, executive vice chancellor, professor of English, Indiana University--Purdue University, Indianapolis (IUPUI).
Ph.D., English, University of Illinois at Urbana--Champaign.
Contact: wplater@iupui.edu, 317.274.4500
Brief resume (pdf)

Consultation areas:

• faculty work, roles, and rewards
• civic engagement
• uses of technology in teaching and learning
• institutional leadership and change

Karen M. Schilling, professor and chair, department of psychology, Miami University.
Ph.D., clinical psychology, University of Florida.
Contact: schillk@muohio.edu, 513.529.3304

Consultation areas:

• program assessment
• student development and the goals of general education
• curricular reform
• intentionality in curricular design

Robert Shoenberg, senior fellow, AAC&U; education consultant.
Ph.D., English language and literature, University of Michigan.
Contact: rshoenberg@cs.com, 301.946.3279
Brief resume (pdf)

Consultation areas:

• general education
• structure of the major and curricular reform
• states' roles in general education
• undergraduate program administration

Vera Zdravkovich, vice president for instruction, Prince George's Community College.
Ph.D., organic chemistry, George Washington University.
Contact: vzdravkovich@pgcc.edu, 301.322.0406
Brief resume (pdf)

Consultation areas:

• assessment
• faculty development
• general education and curricular reform
• grantsmanship

The SAGE Group is an initiative within AAC&U's Office of Education and Quality Initiatives. For more information, please call Gretchen Sauvey at 202-884-7413 or sauvey@aacu.org.