Derrick L. Tillman-Kelly, PhD, is chief of staff, serving as principal advisor to Dean Ayanna Howard. An experienced higher education researcher, administrator, and project manager, he most recently served as director of the Fellows Program and Network Engagement for the University Innovation Alliance (UIA). In this role, he worked with member universities to support institutional transformation with the goal of eliminating race/ethnicity, first-generation status, and socioeconomic status as predictors of student success and completion. Ohio State is one of 11 UIA member institutions, and President Kristina M. Johnson serves on its board.
Prior to being named director of the UIA Fellows Program, Tillman-Kelly served in multiple roles at Ohio State, including as the inaugural UIA Fellow and special assistant to the director of the Center for Higher Education Enterprise. He also is co-principal investigator and research lead of the Louis Stokes Midwest Regional Center of Excellence for Broadening Participation in STEM, which is funded by the National Science Foundation.
Tillman-Kelly earned his PhD in educational policy and leadership with a specialization in higher education and student affairs from Ohio State. He also earned a master’s degree in higher education and student affairs from Indiana University and a bachelor’s degree from Illinois Wesleyan University.
From The Chronicle of Higher Education:
