Who We Are



	The Reinvention Center at the University of Miami



Our Goals Who We Are Events Resources Spotlight Reinventions Boyer Report Brochure Networks Studies Home


	Who we are at the Reinvention Center


	Staff Patricia A. Turner, PhD, Director Sabrina Mendoza Rembold, Assistant Director Devika Milner, Assistant Director Francisco J. De Caso y Basalo, Graduate Fellow Executive Board Executive Board Members Reinvention Center Charter Members

	Patricia A. Turner received her Ph. D. from the University of California-Berkeley in 1985. From 1985-1990, she taught at the University of Massachusetts-Boston. In 1990 she joined the faculty at University of California-Davis, receiving tenure in 1993 and was advanced to full professor in 1997. Vice Provost Turner served as director of the American Studies program from 1997-1998 and as director of African and African-American Studies from 1998-2000. In 1999 she was appointed Vice Provost-Undergraduate Studies at UC Davis. She served on the Reinvention Center’s Executive Board from 2007-2010 before assuming the role of Director. From 2004-2006 she served as interim dean of Humanities, Arts, and Cultural Studies (HArCS). She returned to the position of Vice Provost-Undergraduate Studies in spring of 2007. Vice Provost Turner serves on the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges (NASULGC)'s Commission on Access, Diversity and Excellence and on the executive board of the American Folklore Society. Vice Provost Turner recently completed her fourth book, Crafted Lives: Stories and Studies of African-American Quilters (University of Mississippi Press, 2009). Her earlier books include Whispers on the Color Line: Rumor and Race in America (with Gary Alan Fine) University of California Press, 2001, Ceramic Uncles and Celluloid Mammies: Black Images and Their Influence on Culture (originally published by Anchor Books 1994, reissued by University of Virginia Press, 2002), and I Heard It Through the Grapevine: Rumor in African-American Culture (University of California Press, 1993). Turner has served as a consulting scholar on several documentary film projects. She conducted research for and appeared on camera in Marlon Riggs' Ethnic Notions which received a national Emmy award in 1989 for best research in a documentary. She also conducted research for and appeared on camera in his 1992 Peabody-award winning film Color Adjustment. Most recently, she was interviewed for a film on quilt artist Riché Richardson entitled "Portrait of the Artist: Riché Richardson." Turner's commentary on issues related to folklore and popular culture is frequently sought by print, radio and television journalists. She has been interviewed for stories in the New York Times, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, LA Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, and many other prominent publications. She has completed dozens of radio interviews including features on Fresh Air, Talk of the Nation, and All Things Considered. She has appeared on the NBC Nightly News, the CBS Evening News, the O'Reilly Factor and her book I Heard It Through the Grapevine inspired a story on ABC's 20/20. Executive Board The members of the Advisory Board work closely with the Reinvention Center Director to establish Center priorities and plan and implement Center initiatives. J. Milton Adams Vice Provost for Academic Programs Professor, Biomedical Engineering and Electrical and Computer Engineering University of Virginia Patricia Beeson Vice Provost and Professor of Economics University of Pittsburgh Gene (Nelson Eugene) Bickers Vice Provost for Undergraduate Programs Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy University of Southern California William Scott Green Senior Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education, University of Miami Dr. Green also teaches courses in religion and in entrepreneurship at the University of Miami. Until July 1, 2006, he was Professor of Religion and Dean of the College at the University of Rochester, where he founded the popular Department of Religion and Classics in 1983, led in developing Rochester's undergraduate curriculum, and was Director of Rochester's university-wide Center for Entrepreneurship. Dr. Green writes on religion, ancient Judaism, and higher education, and has served on the board of the Association of American Colleges, the chief academic organization for promoting liberal education. He is currently collaborating with David Sloan Wilson on a research project on religion and social evolution. Donna Hamilton Associate Provost for Academic Affairs and Dean of Undergraduate Studies University of Maryland, College Park Donna Hamilton is Associate Provost for Academic Affairs, Dean for Undergraduate Studies and Professor of English at the University of Maryland at College Park. From 1990 to 1996, she held the position of Associate Dean in the College of Arts and Humanities where she had major responsibility for undergraduate education and for international affairs initiatives, including serving as chair of the University’s International Affairs Committee and promoting the establishment of a program in Asian American studies. From 1998 to 2003, she was Director of English Undergraduate Studies, overseeing curricular issues and advising services for 700 English majors. During 2003-2004, she served as Interim Associate Provost for Academic Affairs and Dean for Undergraduate Studies. In July 2004, she was named Associate Provost and Dean. Her responsibilities include oversight of University Honors, College Park Scholar, Letters and Sciences and other programs for freshmen and sophomores; Asian American Studies; LGBT Studies, the Center for Teaching Excellence; Army and Air Force ROTC, and all of the TRIO programs on campus. She has responsibility for enrollment management, learning outcomes assessment, transfer student initiatives, academic advising policy, limited enrollment program policy. She recently led a project.that resulted in innovative new science and technology courses for non-science majors, known as Marquee Courses in Science and Technology. A specialist in sixteenth-century English literature, Dr. Hamilton has published articles and chapters in books on sixteenth and seventeenth century literature and is also the author of Virgil and The Tempest: The Politics of Imitation (1990); Shakespeare and the Politics of Protestant England (1992); and Anthony Munday and the Catholics, 1560-1633 (2005). She has taught undergraduate and graduate courses throughout her career. Professor Hamilton is a member of the Reinvention Center’s Executive Board. Daniel E. Hastings Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Engineering Systems and Dean for Undergraduate Education at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Professor Hastings received his B.A. in Mathematics from Oxford University and his S.M. and Ph.D. in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT. Professor Hastings has taught courses and seminars in plasma physics, rocket propulsion, advanced space power and propulsion systems, aerospace policy, technology and policy, and space systems engineering. Recently, his research has focused on issues related to space systems and space policy. He has published many papers in the field of spacecraft-environment interactions and with Henry Garrett wrote Spacecraft-Environment Interactions (Cambridge University Press, 1996). He has also written on space propulsion and space systems. From 1997-1999, he was chief scientist of the US Air Force. In that role, he served as chief scientific adviser to the Chief of Staff and the Secretary and provided assessments on a wide range of scientific and technical issues affecting the Air Force mission. Professor Hastings is a fellow of the AIAA and INCOSE, and an elected member of the International Academy of Astronautics, and is a member of the National Science Board, the Applied Physics Lab Science and Technology Advisory Panel, the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board, the MIT Lincoln Laboratory Advisory Committee, and the Board of Trustees of the Aerospace Corporation. Dennis C. Jacobs Vice President and Associate Provost for Undergraduate Studies, Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry University of Notre Dame Claudia Neuhauser Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Distinguished McKnight University Professor, University of Minnesota Rochester Dr. Neuhauser holds a Ph.D. from Cornell University. She is Director of the Center for Learning Innovation at the University of Minnesota Rochester and is responsible for the development of an innovative new undergraduate degree in the Health Sciences. An applied mathematician, Dr. Neuhauser's research interests are in two areas of biology: ecology and population genetics. In ecology, she studies the role of space in community dynamics, and in population genetics, she is investigating how selection affects geneaologies. She is the author of numerous articles and a textbook, Calculus for Biology and Medicine (Prentice Hall 2004), which is based on her teaching of an undergraduate calculus course for biology majors. Bobbi Owen Senior Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education, and Michael R. McVaugh Distinguished Professor of Dramatic Art University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill As a faculty member at UNC since 1974, Professor Owen has held a number of administrative positions connected to undergraduate education. In 2004 she was appointed to her current position as Senior Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education in the College of Arts and Sciences. In this position she oversees a range of academic programs, scholarships, and services for undergraduate students, including the Academic Advising Program, Academic Services, the Honors Program and the Johnston Center for Undergraduate Excellence, First Year Seminars, Student Academic Counseling, Undergraduate Curriculum, and Undergraduate Research. She provided leadership in UNC’s revision of its general education curriculum, which took effect in the Fall, 2005, and is actively involved in its implementation. With colleagues, she is also playing a key role in UNC’s orientation for new students, retention efforts, and Making Critical Connections, the Quality Enhancement Plan that was developed as part of UNC-Chapel Hill’s recent reaffirmation of accreditation process. Professor Owen is the author of hundreds of articles and six books about major American theatrical designers including The Designs of Willa Kim (2005) and the exhibition catalog for the United States entry in the 2007 Prague Quadrennial Design USA. Her many credits as a costume designer, include productions at PlayMakers Repertory Company, Indiana Repertory Company, Houston Shakespeare Festival, Alcazar Theatre in San Francisco, Charleston Stage Company, and the American Place and RiverWest Theaters in New York City. David Ward Past-President, American Council on Education, and Chancellor-Emeritus, University of Wisconsin at Madison. Paul Woodruff Dean of the School of Undergraduate Studies and Professor of Philosophy University of Texas at Austin Former Board Members Don Bialstosky, Professor of English, Penn State University Denice Denton, Professor and Dean, College of Engineering, University of Washington Susan Forman, Professor, Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology and Vice President for Undergraduate Education, Rutgers University Bernadette Gray-Little, Professor of Psychology and Executive Associate Provost at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. William Scott Green, Professor of Religion, Philip S. Bernstein Professor of Judaic Studies, and Dean of the College at the University of Rochester. Stanley N. Katz, Professor in the Woodrow Wilson School and Director of the Center for Arts and Cultural Policy Studies at Princeton University, and President Emeritus of the American Council of Learned Societies. Ralph W. Kuncl, Provost and Executive Vice President , University of Rochester; Professor of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, and Professor of Neurology Barbara Nolan, Robert C. Taylor Professor of English at the University of Virginia Andrew J. Policano, Professor of Business, University of Wisconsin. Matthew S. Santirocco, Professor of Classics, Angelo J. Ranieri Director of Ancient Studies, and Dean of the College of Arts and Science at New York University. Judith L. Smith, Professor of Physiological Science and Vice President for Undergraduate Education, College of Letters, University of California at Los Angeles Glenn Starkman, Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy and Associate Provost for the Undergraduate Initiative at Case Western Reserve University Dr. Patricia Turner, Vice Provost of Undergraduate Studies at the University of California at Davis and Professor of African and African American Studies Robert Weisbuch, President, The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. Lee Willard, Associate Dean of Trinity College of Arts and Sciences at Duke University. William B. Wood, Professor of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Ellen Woods, Senior Associate Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, Stanford University Robert J. Thompson Senior Consultant for Assessment and Co-Chair of the Assessment Network for the Reinvention Center. In his new role with the Center, he will provide guidance and leadership for a major initiative on assessment that the Center is undertaking. Robert J. Thompson Jr., Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University. He holds a B.A. from LaSalle College and a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of North Dakota. Dr. Thompson also holds appointments in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and the Department of Pediatrics at Duke University. Before joining the faculty at Duke, he held positions at Georgetown University Medical Center and Catholic University of America. His research interests address how biological and psychosocial processes act together in development. He has authored over 100 scientific publications, including the book Adaptation to Chronic Childhood Illness (with Kathryn Gustafson; American Psychology Association, 1996). Dr. Thompson served as President of the Association of Medical School Professors of Psychology and received the Association’s Distinguished Researcher Award in 1993. He also received the Distinguished Service Award of the Society of Pediatric Psychology in 1997. Dr. Thompson has been on the editorial board for several scientific journals, and served as associate editor for the Journal of Pediatric Psychology. He previously served as Dean of Trinity College of Arts & Sciences and Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education at Duke University.
	Click Here to view the Reinvention Center By-Laws. Reinvention Center Charter Members as of September 1 2009: Institutions American University Auburn University Boston University Brigham Young University Case Western Reserve University Clemson University Colorado State University Duke University Emory University George Washington University Georgia Institute of Technology Indiana University Johns Hopkins University Massachusetts Institute of Technology New York University North Carolina State University in Raleigh Northwestern Ohio State University Pennsylvania State University Rutgers University SUNY Stony Brook Syracuse University Texas A & M University Tufts University University of Alabama University of California, Berkeley University of California, Davis University of California, Irvine University of California, Los Angeles University of California, Santa Cruz University of Central Florida University of Colorado at Boulder University of Delaware University of Florida University of Georgia University of Houston University of Illinois at Chicago University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign University of Kentucky University of Maryland University of Massachusetts Amherst University of Miami University of Minnesota University of Nebraska-Lincoln University of New Hampshire University of New Mexico University of North Carolina Chapel Hill University of Notre Dame University of Oregon University of Pittsburgh University of Rochester University of South Carolina University of Southern California University of Texas at Austin University of Utah University of Virginia University of Washington, Seattle University of Wyoming Virginia Tech University Wake Forest University Washington University in St. Louis Wayne State University West Virginia University
	To contact us
	Mailing address: University of Miami 240 Ashe Building 1252 Memorial Drive Coral Gables, FL 33146 Telephone: 305-284-3998 E-mail: reinvention center On the Web: http://www.reinventioncenter.miami.edu/ RC Home \| Contact us \| Join our network \| University of Miami Back to top