MEET OUR SPEAKERS.
RISA DICKSON
Vice President for Academic Affairs
University of Hawai‘i System
As Vice President for Academic Affairs, Risa E. Dickson serves as the chief academic officer for the UH System with overall responsibility for leadership, planning and intercampus coordination of academic affairs, student affairs, policy and planning, institutional research and analysis, international and strategic initiatives and Hawai‘i P–20 Partnerships for Education.
Dickson served at California State University, San Bernardino for 24 years as associate provost for academic affairs, executive assistant to the president for planning and special programs, associate dean of the College of Arts and Letters, and chair of the department of Communication Studies. She is an American Council on Education Fellow and is a member of the ACE Council of Fellows Professional Development Committee.
An attachment theorist by training, Dickson has studied attachment patterns across the life span, and has most recently focused on biological foundations of communication behavior. Dickson earned a bachelor’s degree in communication theory from California State University, Northridge and a master’s degree in communication and a doctorate in interpersonal and organizational communication from the University of Southern California.
KAREN LEE
Associate Vice President and
Executive Director, Hawai‘i P-20
University of Hawai‘i System
As Executive Director, Karen Lee is responsible for overseeing all Hawai‘i P-20 programs and supporting the Hawai‘i P-20 Council. Hawai‘i P-20’s major programs include the W.K. Kellogg Foundation-funded Hawai‘i P-3 Initiative, which promotes partnerships within the early learning community to strengthen the continuum of early learning experiences for children, and college access initiatives such as GEAR UP, the College Application and Exploration Season, the MyFutureHawaii college/career portal, and Step Up, all designed to increase student readiness for post-high school success. She also guides the inter-agency team, the Hawai‘i Data eXchange Partnership (Hawai‘i DXP), responsible for the statewide longitudinal data system to inform policy- and decision-making for the improvement of educational outcomes in Hawai‘i.
Lee served as the Associate Vice President for Student Affairs at the University of Hawai‘i System from 2006 to 2011. In that role, she was responsible for UH system-wide student affairs policies and student-related initiatives, such as financial aid policies, the Regents and Presidential Scholarship program, system-wide scholarships, student residency status related to tuition, and registration policies. She collaborated closely with the chief student affairs officers on each UH campus, and served as the advisor to the UH Student Caucus, an advisory body of students from each of the UH campuses.
Lee has served in the Office of the UH President and the UH Mānoa Shidler College of Business, as well as the Office of the Dean of Students and Office of Undergraduate Admissions at Columbia University (NY).
Lee holds a doctorate in education from the University of Southern California, and a master’s degree in higher education administration and bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Columbia University. She was an Omidyar Fellow in the inaugural class of fellows in 2012-13.
GARY RODWELL
Director for Advanced Academic Technology
University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
PEARL IMADA IBOSHI
Director for Institutional Analysis & Research
University of Hawai‘i System
Pearl Imada Iboshi is the Director of the Institutional Research and Analysis Office for the University of Hawai‘i system. In this capacity, she oversees the University’s effort to promote consistent data collection across all ten campuses of the system, is an active member of the Hawai‘i Graduation Initiative to improve graduation rates at all campuses, and is part of the effort to promote data driven decision making. She previously served as the Acting Director for the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations and the State Economist in the Department of Business Economic Development and Tourism for the State of Hawai‘i.
Originally from Hilo, Hawaii, Dr. Imada Iboshi received her undergraduate degree in economics from Grinnell College in Iowa. She then obtained her masters degree in the same field from Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo, and her doctorate in economics from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.
RUSS LITTLE
Chief Innovation Officer
PAR Framework
Russ Little is the Chief Innovation Officer for the PAR Framework, leading PAR’s efforts to link predictions to action. Russ is a recognized subject matter expert in the use of technology to address student success, retention and completion challenges, and most specifically on Integrated Planning and Advising Services (IPAS) and Learner Analytics. He is a frequent speaker and presenter on the topics at national conferences and events including Educause, Complete College America, and the League for Innovation. An experienced Higher Education leader with a Masters in Information Systems, and Project Management Certification.
Specialties: IPAS, Learner Analytics, Innovation, Strategic Planning, Software Development, Project Direction, Operations Management, Student Success, Retention, Student Completion, Curriculum Management, Process Improvement, Product Development, Technology
Russ holds a Masters Degree in Information Systems from Wright State University and a Bachelors Degree in Management from Antioch University McGregor. He is a certified project manager with more than 20 years experience as a HE IT professional. He frequently presents on technical and higher education topics including IPAS, Analytics, Student Success, Retention, and Curriculum Development.
Throughout his career, Russ has managed the development of numerous key projects that have been honored with national accolades and awards including the Student Success Plan and Curriculum Management Tool developed at Sinclair Community College. As an additional testament to the quality of his projects, Russ has been recognized three times as a key member for the “Innovation of the Year” award and he has received the Student Services Award of Excellence. Several software projects under his lead have been adopted by other colleges including the now Open Source, Student Success Plan.
Employed at Mānoa for 13 years, Rodwell took the campus Banner student information system and put a face on it, which is known today as STAR. With his foresight, expertise and can-do attitude, Rodwell continues to develop new access to information, including the development of Giving Tree, which keeps students current on timely scholarship information via the online process, and Data Matrix screens, which give faculty and administrators timely access to course availability, enrollment information and student demand during registration.
Rodwell’s work has fundamentally changed the way that students engage with the campus, and so empowered them with information that they now view themselves as participants in their academic journeys.