Sources and Experts

Alma Clayton-Pedersen

Alma R. Clayton-Pedersen

National leader on issues of institutional change, particularly sustainability, diversity and excellence, and collaborative leadership. Consulting expertise on diversity, success of underrepresented students, policy, organizational learning, and program development and evaluation. Director of AAC&U’s Network for Academic Renewal, Greater Expectations Institute, and several projects linking academic excellence and diversity. Fifteen years campus-based experience, including directing a significant number of studies on student engagement and campus services.

Education

• Ph.D., Education and Human Development, 1992, Vanderbilt University
• M.Ed., Human Development Counseling, 1983, Vanderbilt University
• B.S., Education, 1977, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Current Position

National Association Programmatic Work
· Vice President for Education and Institutional Renewal, AAC&U, 2001-present. Director, Network for Academic Renewal and Greater Expectations Institute: Campus Leadership for Student Engagement, Inclusion, and Achievement. Co-director, James Irvine Foundation Campus Diversity Initiative Evaluation Project. Director, BellSouth Foundation Closing the Divide for College Going Minorities Evaluation.

Administrative Experience

Vice President for Education and Institutional Renewal, AAC&U, 2001-present. Provide leadership for AAC&U’s strategic priorities to mobilize collaborative leadership for educational and institutional effectiveness and to build faculty capacity in the context of institutional renewal. Secure financial resources to support initiatives that advance the Association’s strategic priorities. Direct numerous grant-funded projects linking academic excellence and diversity. Direct the Greater Expectations Institute, a 5-day institute for teams of administrators and faculty designed to help campuses enact learning-centered change.

Senior Policy Director and Special Assistant to the President, AAC&U, 2000-01. Provided leadership support for the implementation of AAC&U’s diversity initiatives and the Greater Expectations initiative. Worked with member institutions to implement AAC&U’s major funded initiatives and ongoing programs. Advised the president on teacher preparation and student readiness for college issues and developed position statements on them.

Assistant to the Provost and Director of Academic Affairs in Athletics, Vanderbilt University, 1999. Oversaw the Stratton Foster Academic Center, which provides academic support for more than 300 NCAA Division I-A student-athletes in thirteen sports. Supervised day-to-day activities of the Center’s four full-time academic counselors, an administrative assistant, and more than 100 subject tutors. Gathered and presented information to the University’s Board of Trustees Athletic Affairs Committee about the progress of student-athletes, including graduation and GPA.

Associate Dean for Undergraduate Academic Affairs, Peabody College of Vanderbilt University, 1994-98. Managed academic affairs of the College’s undergraduate programs in education and human development. Oversaw all aspects of the undergraduate enterprise from student recruitment to graduation. Helped develop accreditation document for the College. Supervised staff and students.

Research Assistant Professor of Public Policy, Department of Human Resources, Peabody College of Vanderbilt University, 1992-94. Conducted research on public policy issues and taught undergraduate courses in the Department of Human Resources. Coordinated activities for the college’s Learning Communities Project on behalf of the Dean (1993-95).
· Assistant Director (through 7/94)/Research Associate, Center for Education & Human Development Policy, Vanderbilt Institute for Public Policy Studies, Vanderbilt University, 1990-99. Coordinated administration of the Center, including research, funding, and programmatic initiatives. Coordinated education workshops. Developed and implemented an undergraduate interdisciplinary course on race relations in the US with a senior faculty member. Supervised staff.

Assistant to the Dean of Students, and Director of Office of Program Development and Evaluation, Vanderbilt University, 1984-90. Coordinated program and service evaluation for the Student Affairs Division. Managed programs, grant proposals, funded projects, and staff. Developed telephone survey system. Collected, analyzed, and reported survey data. Served on university committees. Helped develop accreditation document for Student Affairs, including a five-year plan for the office.

Community Services Director, Edgehill Center, 1979-1984. Directed academic development and job training programs for youth and young adults, and community development programs. Supervised staff.

Academic Positions

Asst. Professor of the Practice, Education and Public Policy, Vanderbilt University, 1994-99. Taught courses on human development; small group behavior; and culture and organizations.

Adjunct Professor, Institute of Government, Tennessee State University, 1991. Developed graduate-level course on health and human services administration.

Selected Publications

Clayton-Pedersen, A.R. & W.D. Hawley (2000). The Diversity Opportunity Tool. In H.J. Ehrlich & R. Fidazzo (eds.), Teaching About Ethnoviolence and Hate Crimes: A Resource Guide. American Sociological Association.

Hurtado, S., J.F. Milem, A.R. Clayton-Pedersen, & W.R. Allen. 1999. Enacting diverse learning environments: Improving the climate for racial/ethnic diversity in higher education. Jossey-Bass.

Clayton-Pedersen, A.R., K.H. Dewey, M.O. Overton, & W.R. Saffold (eds.). 1995. Quality integrated education: Next generation alternatives and strategies for achieving racial integration and educational excellence in schools. Vanderbilt Institute for Public Policy Studies (VIPPS).

Clayton-Pedersen, A.R., J.M. Stephens, & G.M. Kean. 1994. Break away evaluation for the Ford Foundation. VIPPS.

Clayton-Pedersen, A.R. & W.R. Saffold (eds.). 1993. Realizing our nation’s diversity as an opportunity: Alternatives to sorting America’s children. VIPPS.

Clayton-Pedersen, A.R. & W.D. Hawley. 1992. CODA: An alliance to realize the nation’s common destiny. Journal of Intergroup Relations, 19.

Selected publications for Vanderbilt University: Student survey reports on diversity and integration; student services; the Vanderbilt Black Cultural Center; Career Services; freshman attrition; summer orientation; and academic and personal needs.

Selected Presentations

The Diversity Opportunity Tool. Presented to: American Council on Education Biennial Educating All of One Nation Conference, October 2001; AAC&U Diversity and Learning Conference, September 2000; The Faculty Colloquium on Excellence in Teaching, and others.

Involvement of Minorities as Investigators, Collaborators and Active Community Supporters of Research. J.F. Kennedy Center Series, Searching for Solutions: Occasional Conversations About Problems of Human Development, January 1997.

Interagency Collaboration, National Council of Private Agencies for the Blind and Visually Impaired Conference, August 1996.

One-day seminar on Interagency Collaboration, Center for Non-profit Mgmt., January 1995, 1996.

Why It’s Important to Productively Respond to Racial and Ethnic Discrimination, The Leadership Nashville Class for Diversity Day, January 1995.

Understanding the Subtleties of Discrimination. Community agencies and campus units, 1991-96.

Consultations

Diversity: University of California, Irvine (Humanities Research Institute); University of California, Irvine Extension; The Association of Junior Leagues International; Elon College; Illinois Benedictine College; Johnson State University; Administrative Division of Vanderbilt University; Marketing Division of Castner Knott; Human Resources Division, Saturn Corporation; Leadership Education Conference Fund (Advisory Board Member for the Project on Intergroup Relations; a project funded by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation).
· Other: Clinton Administration (on Reinventing Government and Interagency Collaboration, 1993-96); Dept. of Education OERI Proposal Reviewer 1998, and FIPSE Proposal Reviewer, 1996; BellSouth Foundation Proposal Reviewer, 2002; The George Lucas Foundation, 1993.

Recent Grant Awards (Director or Co-Principal Investigator)

Ford Foundation: Inclusive Excellence-Diversity, Equity and Institutional Renewal, 2003-04.

BellSouth Foundation: Closing the Gap for College Going Minorities, 2002-05.

James Irvine Foundation: Campus Diversity Initiative Evaluation Project, 2000-05.

James S. McDonnell Foundation: Building on Strengths: Accelerated, Integrated Curriculum and Its Effects on Children, Teachers, and Parents, 1995-97.

Contact

clayton-pedersen@aacu.org; 202-387-3760, ext. 800