Liesl Folks
For the period 2019-2023, she served the institution as Provost, leading strong growth in on-campus and online student enrollment, greatly expanded research activity, and increased diversity of faculty, staff, and students. She implemented salary equity reviews for faculty, introduced minimum stipends for graduate student researchers, and launched two new colleges. Dr. Folks has long been a mentor to women and under-represented groups in STEM and was a co-author of the ASEE's Deans Diversity Statement that was announced by President Obama in 2015 with more than 200 engineering deans as signatories. She was the first female President of the IEEE Magnetics Society, for 2013-2014, and has served on the Strategic Planning Committee for the IEEE Technical Activities Board. Within the academy, she has been a leader in expanding interdisciplinary research aimed at addressing major social and global challenges, and in growing hands-on and experiential learning opportunities for students. She chaired the 2020 congressionally-mandated National Academies’ Review of the National Nanotechnology Initiative, and the 2024 Panel on Global Microelectronics: Models for the Department of Defense in Semiconductor Public-Private Partnerships. Dr. Folks is a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors.