Candidate Information and Open Forums
We are pleased to announce the final candidates for the Associate Vice President for Research. The campus community is invited to attend the forums. Forums last one hour and include a Q&A.
Candidate information will be public 24 hours in advance of each candidate’s arrival.
Dr. Kristian O'Connor
Open Forum: Monday, February 16 at 1:00 p.m., Circus Room
Kristian O’Connor serves as the Associate Vice Provost for Research and Professor of Biomechanics in the Joseph J. Zilber College of Public Health at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. An APLU Research Leaders Fellow, Dr. O’Connor has a demonstrated record of strategic leadership, including roles as department chair, shared governance leader, institutional strategic planning leader, and most recently, Interim Vice Provost for Research and Graduate School Dean. His primary research centers on the biomechanics of musculoskeletal injury, and he has extensive experience as a principal investigator on federally funded research projects, as well as in technology transfer, commercialization, and industry partnerships.
Evaluation form will close on Wednesday, February 18 at 4:30 p.m.
Dr. Leslie Rissler
Open Forum: Wednesday, February 18 at 1:00 p.m., Prairie Room
Dr. Leslie J. Rissler is a senior academic leader and integrative biologist who currently serves in executive leadership roles at the National Science Foundation, including Section Head for Living Systems and former Acting Division Director for the Division of Environmental Biology. A Full Professor at the University of Alabama prior to joining NSF, Dr. Rissler brings experience as both a funded principal investigator and a federal research administrator. She has helped create national funding opportunities such as the cross-disciplinary Mid-Career Advancement initiative and Building Research Capacity in Biology program, supporting faculty and institutions across the research spectrum. Her leadership centers on fostering collaborations, strengthening research infrastructure and integrity, and advancing research impact in ways that strengthen institutions and the communities they serve. Dr. Rissler earned her BSc from Indiana State University, MSc from Utah State University, and PhD from the University of Virginia, and she completed an NSF postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, Berkeley.
Evaluation form will close at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, February 20.
Dr. Rick Bevins
Open Forum: Tuesday, February 24 at 1:00 p.m., Circus Room
Rick Bevins has extensive leadership experience working with diverse teams in complex organizations. He has increased the creative impacts of individuals and interdisciplinary groups as principal investigator of a federally funded lab, psychology chair, founding director of the minority health disparities initiative, and associate vice chancellor for research. He directs the NIH-funded Rural Drug Addiction Research Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, focusing on early-career scholars and connecting preclinical, biosocial, educational, community, and translational research. His approach deepens the organization’s culture of scientific inquiry, creative scholarship, and entrepreneurship through shared governance, collaborative co-creation, intellectual risk-taking, and inclusive strategic planning.
Evaluation form will close at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, February 26 at 4:30 p.m.
Dr. Besi Muhonja
Open Forum: Thursday, February 26 at 1:00 p.m., Circus Room
Dr. Besi Brillian Muhonja is a Full Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies and Associate Vice President for Research and Scholarship in the Division of Research, Economic Development, and Innovation (REDI) at James Madison University (JMU). She oversees all research administration and compliance offices at JMU. She also serves as the university’s research data steward and JMU’s representative to the APLU’s Commission on International Initiatives (CII).
She is a full professor with five books and edited volumes to her name with a sixth under contract with Ohio University Press. She is series founder and co-editor of the acclaimed interdisciplinary book series, Gender and Sexuality in Africa and the Diaspora, with Lexington Books, a respected academic press. She has edited three peer-reviewed academic journal issues and published twenty-seven peer-reviewed academic articles and book chapters. Her research has been shared through over seventy speaking engagements and conference presentations including over twenty invited keynote speeches. She has been a peer reviewer for various journals, presses, and grant/fellowship organizations. She has played critical roles on major committees within leading academic associations and on several advisory and editorial boards. During her career, she has secured as PI or co-PI big awards, and several fellowships including two Carnegie fellowships.
Evaluation closes Sunday, March 1 at 4:30 p.m.