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Robert J. Jones

President of the University of Washington

Robert J. Jones became the 34th president of the University of Washington in August 2025 and holds a faculty position in the Department of Biology. A distinguished crop physiology and seasoned university leader, Jones previously served as chancellor of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign for nine years, and before that, as president of The University at Albany (SUNY Albany). Prior to his administrative leadership roles, he spent over 34 years as a member of the faculty and senior administrator at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities.

At Illinois, Jones launched the world’s first engineering-based medical school and expanded access to a college degree through scholarships like the Illinois Commitment and led a $2.7 billion fundraising campaign. Under his leadership, enrollment grew by 25 percent. Jones also launched radical research partnerships and initiatives in quantum computing, bioprocessing and precision fermentation and the inflammatory states that underly many human diseases.

Jones has served as a leader in numerous national academic organizations, including as chair of the boards of the Association of American Universities (AAU), the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), and the Big Ten Council of Presidents and Chancellors. A Georgia native and first-generation college student, he holds degrees in agronomy and crop physiology from Fort Valley State, the University of Georgia, and the University of Missouri.

Rafael L. Bras

Former Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, Georgia Institute of Technology 

Prior to becoming provost, Dr. Bras was Distinguished Professor and Dean of the Henry Samueli School of Engineering of the University of California, Irvine. For 32 years prior to joining UCI, he was a professor in the departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences at MIT. He is past Chair of the MIT Faculty, former head of the Civil and Environmental Engineering department and Director of the Ralph M Parsons Laboratory at MIT. He has served as advisor to many government and private institutions. Some of the most significant ones include: Advisory Board, Engineering Directorate, NSF; Board of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, National Research Council; Chairman, Earth Systems Sciences and Applications Committee of NASA and the NASA Advisory Committee; National Academy of Sciences Committee on New Orleans Regional Hurricane Protection Projects; Advisory to departments at Cornell university, Princeton university, Johns Hopkins, Technion, RPI, University of Puerto Rico; University of California-Irvine; Fundacion Chile; Instituto Veneto; Stockholm Water Foundation and Prize; Clarke prize. He is a director of the American Geophysical Union and a former member of the UCI Foundation. Dr. Bras has been very active in several professional organizations..

He is past president of the Hydrology section of AGU and is presently a member of its Board of Directors. Dr. Bras has received many honors and awards. These include: honorary degree for the University of Perugia, Italy, Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Award Hall of Fame member, NASA Public Service Medal, the Macelwane Medal of AGU, John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, the Athalie Richardson Irvine Clarke Prize, Simon W. Freese Environmental Engineering Award, Honorary Diplomate of Water Resources Engineering of the American Academy of Water Resources Engineers, Horton Medal of AGU, AGU Hydrology Days Award, and Drexel University’s 2010 Anthony J. Drexel Exceptional Achievement. He is an elected member of the US National Academy of Engineering, the Academy of Arts and Sciences of Puerto Rico, and corresponding member of the Mexican National Academy of Engineering. He is also an elected Fellow of AGU, ASCE, AMS and AAAS.

Dr. Bras maintains an active international consulting practice. Presently he chairs a panel of experts that supervises the design and construction of a multibillion-dollar project to protect the City of Venice from floods. Dr. Bras has published two textbooks, over 180 refereed journal publications, and several hundred other publications and presentations.

Timothy L. Killeen

President, University of Illinois System

Timothy L. Killeen is the 20th president of the University of Illinois System, which includes universities in Urbana-Champaign, Chicago and Springfield. He took office in May 2015.

Since taking office, Killeen has helped lead a surge of growth across the state’s flagship university system. Enrollment is at record highs, including increases among in-state and underrepresented students.

A leading researcher in geophysics and space sciences, Killeen champions efforts to expand research discovery that drives progress and job creation. That includes helping lead the creation of the Discovery Partners Institute, a world-class research, technology talent development and business-building center in downtown Chicago, and Illinois Innovation Network, a system of satellite hubs that combine research, public-private partnerships, entrepreneurship and workforce training to spur inclusive economic development across the state.

Killeen was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2007, and is a member and past president of the American Geophysical Union.

A native of Wales and a U.S. citizen, Killeen received his bachelor’s degree in physics and astronomy at University College London, where he also earned his doctoral degree in atomic and molecular physics.

Shirley Malcom

Senior Advisor and Director of SEA Change, American Association for the Advancement of Science

Shirley Malcom is senior advisor and director of SEA Change at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). In more than 45 years at AAAS she has worked to improve the quality and increase access to education and careers in STEMM for all.

Dr. Malcom is a trustee of Caltech and regent of Morgan State University. She was a member of the National Science Board, policymaking body of the NSF, and served on President Clinton’s Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology. Malcom, a native of Birmingham, Alabama, holds a PhD in ecology from Penn State, and M.A. from UCLA and B.S with Distinction from the University of Washington, both in zoology. She is a fellow of the AAAS and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences where she serves as International Secretary. She has received 19 honorary degrees.

Malcom was co-chair of the Gender Advisory Board of the UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development and co-chair of Gender InSITE, an international collaboration to support application of a gender lens in policymaking in science, technology and innovation. She serves on the boards of the Heinz Endowments and Kavli Foundation. She chairs the board of the National Math-Science Initiative. In 2003, Malcom received the Public Welfare Medal of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the highest award given by the Academy.

Na’ilah Suad Nasir

President of the Spencer Foundation

Na’ilah Suad Nasir is the sixth President of the Spencer Foundation, which funds education research nationally. Prior to joining Spencer, she held a faculty appointment in Education and African American Studies at the University of California, Berkeley where she also served as the chair of African American Studies, then later as the Vice Chancellor for Equity and Inclusion. Her scholarship focuses on race, culture, and learning, and how what we know about learning has implications for how we design schools for equity. In her foundation work, she has worked to bring a deep equity lens to grantmaking and has spearheaded innovative funding opportunities rooted in the promise of research to support more equitable education systems.

She is a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and the National Academy of Education and is a Fellow of the American Educational Research Association. She is a Past President of the American Educational Research Association and serves on the board of Sage Publications, the National Equity Project, and the UC Berkeley Board of Visitors.

Juan Salgado

Chancellor of City Colleges of Chicago

Chancellor Juan Salgado has focused his career on improving education and economic opportunities for residents in low-income communities. As Chancellor of City Colleges of Chicago, he oversees Chicago's community college system, serving more than 73,000 students across seven colleges, more than three-quarters of whom are Black or Latine students.

Under his leadership, City Colleges of Chicago has achieved a post-pandemic enrollment recovery surpassing state and national averages, increased four-year student outcomes to the highest on record, launched an unprecedented systems-level partnership with the Chicago Public Schools, serves as a go to workforce partner across the region and state, has expanded relationships with four-year universities, seen exponential growth of a nationally-recognized engineering program, eliminated a legacy structural deficit, and re-energized fundraising contributing to historic investments in student supports, among other accomplishments.

From 2001 to 2017, he served as CEO of Instituto del Progreso Latino, where he worked to empower residents of Chicago’s Southwest Side through education, citizenship, and skill-building programs that led to sustainable employment and economic stability.

Chancellor Salgado is a community college graduate himself, earning an associate degree from Moraine Valley Community College, prior to earning a Bachelor’s degree from Illinois Wesleyan University, and a Master’s degree in Urban Planning from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, with honorary degrees from DePaul University and University of Illinois at Chicago. Chancellor Salgado has been nationally recognized for his work, including as a 2015 MacArthur Fellow. Among his civic commitments, he serves as board chair of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, a board member of the Obama Foundation and a Class C Director for the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

Barbara R. Snyder

President of the Association of American Universities

Barbara R Snyder is president of the Association of American Universities. Prior to that, she served as president of Case Western Reserve University from 2007 to 2020, where she encouraged interdisciplinary excellence, catalyzed institutional collaboration, and reinvigorated alumni engagement and fundraising.

Barbara began her academic career as an assistant professor at Case Western Reserve’s School of Law, then joined the faculty of Moritz College of Law at The Ohio State University. After serving in several leadership positions at Moritz and within the central university, Barbara became OSU’s interim executive vice president and provost in 2003 before securing that position on a permanent basis the following year. She graduated from the University of Chicago School of Law, where she served as executive editor of the law review. She earned her bachelor’s degree from OSU.

Barbara is a director of KeyCorp and Progressive Corporation. She is an elected member of the American Law Institute. Previously, she has served as chair of the board of directors of the American Council on Education, chair of the board of directors at the Business-Higher Education Forum, vice chair of the board of trustees of Internet2, a member of the board of directors of the Greater Cleveland Partnership, a member of the board of directors of Jobs Ohio, a trustee of University Circle Inc., and a member of the Ohio Business Roundtable.

Ruth V. Watkins

President of Postsecondary Education, Strada Education Foundation

Ruth V. Watkins is Strada’s president of postsecondary education, where she leads Strada Education Foundation’s collaboration with postsecondary education institutions and nonprofit organizations to help advance an ecosystem that provides more equitable pathways to prosperity for more people.

Before joining Strada in 2021, Watkins built a strong reputation for supporting student success as the 16th president of the University of Utah. In that role, she increased degree completion rates and research funding, established innovative student funding models, and built strong partnerships with community stakeholders. Uniting the campus as “One U,” Watkins and her team drove innovation in research, education, and operational efficiency, and addressed major societal challenges, including in mental health and interpersonal violence.