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Recognized in Education Week as one of the ten most influential college faculty members in the field of education, Shaun R. Harper is an expert on racial relations, campus climate, and student success in higher education. He is the Clifford and Betty Allen Professor in the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California and executive director of the USC Race and Equity Center. He also is currently president of the Association for the Study of Higher Education.

Harper has written more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and other academic publications, and Johns Hopkins University Press will publish his 13th book, Race Matters in College, in 2018. His research has been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Chronicle of Higher Education, and many other media outlets. Harper also is a frequent contributor on CNN, ESPN, and NPR.

Harper holds a bachelor’s degree in education from Albany State University and a PhD in higher education from Indiana University.

Chan joined Wake Forest University in 2009 and oversees the Office of Personal and Career Development for students and alumni, the Center for Innovation, Creativity, and Entrepreneurship, and the Mentoring Resource Center. He also coordinates university-wide innovation initiatives and projects. Chan serves as a member of the senior staff of the provost and is a member of the president’s cabinet. Previously, he led the MBA Career Management Center at Stanford University.

Chan is a leader in the transformation of traditional career services to become a mission-critical component of the college experience. His work has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, MSNBC, NPR, TEDx, USA Today, Inside Higher Ed, and the Chronicle of Higher Education. He has served as a presenter at CIC’s Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education conferences and currently serves on NetVUE’s Advisory Council.

Chan earned a BA in political science and an MBA from Stanford University.

Margaret Hazlett has served as dean of the college at Franklin & Marshall College since 2013. Her responsibilities include student life beyond the classroom, health and counseling services, athletics, Greek life, student leadership development and civic engagement, academic and pre-professional advising, student and multicultural programs, and the Office of Student and Post-Graduate Development, among others.

Hazlett previously was senior associate dean of student affairs at Bowdoin College. Before arriving at Bowdoin, she taught for two years at St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes School in Alexandria, Virginia. Earlier, Hazlett taught English in Thailand and Japan through Princeton University’s Princeton-in-Asia Program (PiA) before working in residential life at Princeton and ultimately serving as executive director of PiA.

Hazlett earned a BA in art history from Princeton University and an MEd from Harvard University.

Joel W. Martin has been provost and dean of the faculty at Franklin & Marshall College since 2014. He began his academic career at Franklin & Marshall in the religious studies department and chaired the department from 1996 to 2000. Martin then moved to the University of California-Riverside, where he served as Costo Endowed Chair in American Indian Affairs and professor of history and religious studies and spent two years as interim dean in the college of humanities, arts, and social sciences. He later became a distinguished professor and dean of the college of humanities and fine arts at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He was named vice provost for academic personnel and dean of the faculty there before returning to Franklin & Marshall.

Martin studies American race relations and reconciliation, with a focus on Native American creativity in the context of colonialism. Among other books and works, he wrote Sacred Revolt: The Muskogees’ Struggle for a New World (1991), which was recognized as an Outstanding Book on the Subject of Human Rights by the Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Human Rights.

Martin holds a BA from Birmingham-Southern College, a master’s degree in theological studies from Harvard University, and a PhD in the history of religions from Duke University. His postgraduate awards include fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and Princeton University.

Elizabeth F. Ortiz joined DePaul University in 2002 and currently serves as vice president for institutional diversity and equity. Previously, Ortiz was the director of affirmative action, diversity, and employee relations at Northern Illinois University. Her college and university experience spans more than 20 years in both the public and private sectors, including the Chicago community college system. She has worked on many diversity initiatives, including in recruitment, retention, training, programming, and climate issues for diverse students and faculty and staff members. Ortiz also has worked extensively on raising awareness for Latino students, educators, community representatives, and others who are committed to Latino representation and advancement in all aspects of higher education.

Ortiz is a consultant, lecturer, and workshop presenter on diversity issues and best practices. She currently serves on the boards of Diversifying Our Faculties in Illinois Program and the Illinois African American and Latino Higher Education Alliance, is treasurer of the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, and is the past-president of the Illinois Latino Council on Higher Education.

Ortiz holds a BS in business management from Calumet College of St. Joseph, an MS in leadership and educational policy, and an EdD in counseling from Northern Illinois University.

Eugene L. Zdziarski II became vice president for student affairs at DePaul University in 2014. Previously, he was vice president and dean of students at Roanoke College. Zdziarski also served in other administrative roles at the University of Florida, University of Tennessee, and Texas A&M University. While serving as associate director of student life at Texas A&M, he was heavily involved in the response to the 1999 bonfire collapse. At the University of Florida, Zdziarski chaired the Division of Student Affairs Crisis Response Team and was a member of the university’s Emergency Operations Team. At Roanoke College, Zdziarski led the college’s campus crisis management initiatives.

Zdziarski serves as the foundation chair for NASPA–Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education and is a member of the NASPA national board of directors. He is co-author of Campus Crisis Management: A Comprehensive Guide to Planning, Prevention, Response, and Recovery, with Norbert W. Dunkel and J. Michael Rollo (2007). Zdziarski co-edited Crisis Management: Responding from the Heart and In Search of Safer Campuses: Emerging Practices for Student Affairs in Addressing Campus Violence, published by NASPA.

Zdziarski received a BS in personnel management from Oklahoma State University, an MS in educational leadership from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, and a PhD from Texas A&M University in Higher Education Administration.

Kevin Kruger, president, NASPA–Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, is an accomplished speaker, leader, and educator. He joined NASPA as associate executive director in 1994 and became its president in 2012. In his capacity as a national advocate for students and the primary spokesperson for student affairs administrators and practitioners, Kruger draws on more than 30 years of experience in higher education. He has pursued a number of initiatives designed to enhance NASPA’s role in public policy, research, professional development, and student learning and assessment, with a particular interest in the use of technology in serving diverse student populations.

Prior to his service at NASPA, Kruger worked at the University of Maryland College Park and the University of Maryland Baltimore County in orientation, student activities, leadership development, admissions, and student affairs. He also has served as an adjunct faculty member in the student development in higher education program at Trinity Washington University.

Kruger has published and presented nationally on leadership development, the use of technology in student affairs administration, and international education. He is the editor of two Jossey-Bass publications: Technology Innovations in Student Services and Using Technology to Promote Student Learning. He also wrote chapters in The Handbook of Student Affairs Administration; Understanding the Role of Academic and Student Affairs Collaboration in Creating a Successful Learning Environment; Beyond Borders: How International Developments Are Changing Student Affairs Practice; and Involving Commuter Students in Learning.

Kruger holds a BA in history and political science from the University at Albany, SUNY, and a PhD in counseling and personnel services from the University of Maryland College Park.

Eboo Patel is the founder and executive director of Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC), a Chicago-based organization founded to build a global interfaith youth movement. For his influential work, President Obama named him to the Advisory Council of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Initiatives, where he was instrumental in national efforts to promote interfaith cooperation. Patel was selected to join the Young Global Leaders network of the World Economic Forum in 2010, and he was selected in 2008 by Harvard University’s Kennedy School Review as one of five future policy leaders to watch. Patel has spoken on more than 100 college campuses and has 15 honorary degrees. He is co-leader of the CIC-IFYC Teaching Interfaith Understanding seminar series.

Patel is the author of Interfaith Leadership: A Primer (2016); Sacred Ground: Pluralism, Prejudice, and the Promise of America (2013); and Acts of Faith: The Story of an American Muslim, the Struggle for the Soul of a Generation (2010). He contributes frequently to the Chronicle of Higher Education, Washington Post, and NPR.

Patel holds a BA in sociology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a DPhil in the sociology of religion from Oxford University, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar.