University of Toledo
IDEAL Change Leader Team Year Two
2010-2011
Penny Poplin Gosetti
IDEAL Co-Director
Penny Poplin Gosetti currently serves as Vice Provost for Academic Innovation at
the University of Toledo. While maintaining her active role as a tenured faculty
member in the Higher Education Program at the University, she has also served as
Interim Vice President for Student Life and Executive Assistant to the President. As
Executive Assistant to two presidents, she was actively involved in coordinating
merger activities between the University of Toledo and the former Medical
University of Ohio. Previously, Poplin Gosetti held a variety of administrative
positions at institutions including the University of Oregon, Pacific University, and
South Dakota State University. Her long standing areas for research and teaching
include women in higher education and campus culture. Poplin Gosetti received her
bachelor’s degree in psychology from UCLA, her master’s in counseling from California State University,
Long Beach, and her Ph.D. in instructional leadership from the University of Oregon. Dr. Poplin Gosetti is the
Co-Director for the IDEAL program at the University of Toledo.
Maria R. Coleman
Maria R. Coleman, Professor of Chemical and Environmental Engineering and CoDirector of the Institute for Sustainable Engineering Materials (ISEM), received her B.S.
in Chemical Engineering from Louisiana Tech University in 1987. She received her
Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and joined the
faculty of the University of Arkansas in 1992. She was named a National Science
Foundation Presidential Faculty Fellow in 1995 to support her work in analysis of
impact of polymer structure and post formation modification on resulting physical and
transport properties. She joined the faculty at the University of Toledo in 1998.
Dr. Coleman’s research interest focus primarily in two areas associated with developing novel polymers for
targeted applications: (i) design, synthesis and processing of functional nanofiber network composites and (ii)
sustainable development of bio-derived polymers. These are highly collaborative projects that have led to the
recent formation of ISEM. She has been involved with mentoring both students and young faculty over the
past several years. This includes acting as an official mentor to untenured faculty within the College of
Engineering and participating in outreach programs to encourage students to pursue STEM fields. Dr.
Coleman is a member of the University of Toledo IDEAL team for 2010-2011.
University of Toledo Change Leaders
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Isabel Escobar
Dr. Isabel Escobar is a professor in the Department of Chemical and Environmental
Engineering at the University of Toledo, Ohio. She received her PhD in Environmental
Engineering from the University of Central Florida in 2000. As lead investigator she has
received over $1million in research funding from federal and state sources and currently
holds one patent. In 2009 she became the Associate Editor of Environmental Progress and
Sustainable Energy Journal, a quarterly publication of the American Institute of Chemical
Engineers, and she edited, with Andrea Schaefer, the book Sustainable Water for the
Future—Water Recycling versus Desalination. Elsevier Science, The Netherlands: 2009.
In July 2010, she was appointed to be the first College of Engineering Interim Assistant Dean for Research
Development and Outreach. This new position, created for her as a result of her consistent efforts in both
areas, charges Dr Escobar with organizing and coordinating multi-investigator and interdisciplinary grant
proposals, working with funding agencies to identify opportunities, and the development of young faculty.
Her charge will also include enhancing geographical and ethnical diversity within the College of Engineering
by developing a broad impact plan for outreach and engagement.
In August 2010, she also became the Acting Director of the UT Catharine S. Eberly Center for Women. The
Center’s most recent efforts have included Women In STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math and
Medicine) Excelling (WISE) mentor program which is aimed at increasing the number of undergraduate
women majoring in STEMM, and Forward to Professor Grant in support of increasing the diversity of women
faculty in STEMM. Dr. Escobar is a member of the UT IDEAL team for 2010-2011.
Cyndee L. Gruden
Cyndee L. Gruden, Associate Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at the
University of Toledo, received her B.S. in Civil Engineering (Environmental Option) in
1991 and her M.S. in Civil Engineering in 1993, both from the University of New
Hampshire. Subsequently, she spent 3 years working as a Project Engineer for Stearns
& Wheler, LLC, an environmental consultant, and acquired her professional
engineering (PE) license. In 1996, she returned to graduate school to pursue her Ph.D.
in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering at the
University of Colorado at Boulder, which she completed in 2000. She was a
postdoctoral researcher from 2001-2003 in Environmental Water Resources
Engineering at the University of Michigan before joining the faculty at the University of Toledo in 2003.
Dr. Gruden’s research interests are in the field of applied environmental microbiology with an emphasis on
complex environmental matrices such as sediments. In addition to numerous service commitments to her
university, her community, and her profession, she serves as the undergraduate program director for her
department. She was elected the chair of the membership committee for the Association for Environmental
Engineering and Science Professors (AEESP) in 2005. Dr. Gruden has a keen interest in community outreach
and currently serves as the lead co-investigator of an NSF GK-12 grant focused on establishing an
environmental science learning community in Northwest Ohio comprised of UT faculty, researchers, and
graduate students, Toledo area high school teachers and students, community members, and local
government. Dr. Gruden is a member of the UT IDEAL team for 2010-2011.
University of Toledo Change Leaders
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Brian W. Randolph
Brian W. Randolph, Professor of Civil Engineering, has served as Associate Dean for
Undergraduate Studies and Director of the Engineering Honors Program since 2002.
He received a B.S. and M.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Cincinnati in
1982 and 1983, respectively. He performed research on hazardous waste containment
for the USEPA and on failure of earthen structures for the Ohio Department of
Transportation before completing his Ph.D. at The Ohio State University in 1989. Dr.
Randolph joined the University of Toledo faculty in 1987, founding the
Environmental Geotechnology Laboratory and ultimately serving five years as
department chair. In his current position, he oversees 2,700 engineering students in
eleven degree programs, including 340 in the University Honors Program. His office
is responsible for college-based recruiting, retention, student progress, scholarships
and academic elements of the mandatory co-operative education program.
Dr. Randolph has been actively engaged in the promotion of STEMM fields to underrepresented students. He
was instrumental in the creation of an Introduction to Engineering course offered for college credit to young
women from St. Ursula Academy since 2006 and has consulted with Notre Dame Academy and Whitmer
High School regarding their pre-engineering offerings. His current research is supported by the National
Science Foundation to promote the success of entering engineering students in mathematics and he is coinvestigator on two Choose Ohio First Scholarship Programs from the Ohio Board of Regents that award over
150 half-tuition scholarships to STEMM students annually at multiple institutions. As a result, he has
received recognition from the Center for Capacity Building in the Construction Industry, the UT President’s
Commission on Student-Centeredness and the Division of Enrollment Services. Dr. Randolph is a member of
the UT IDEAL team for 2010-2011.
University of Toledo Change Leaders
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University of Toledo
IDEAL Change Leader Team Year One
2009-2010
Karen S. Bjorkman
Karen S. Bjorkman, Distinguished University Professor of Astronomy and Chair of the
Department of Physics & Astronomy at the University of Toledo, received her B.S. in
Physics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1979. She then spent
several years working as a Systems Engineer with Martin Marietta Aerospace
Corporation before starting her graduate studies. She received her M.S. in Astrophysics
in 1984 and her Ph.D. in Astrophysics in 1989, both from the University of Colorado in
Boulder. Following that, she worked as a staff scientist at the Space Astronomy
Laboratory of the University of Wisconsin-Madison for a number of years, during which
she was a Co-Investigator for the Wisconsin Ultraviolet Photo-Polarimeter Experiment (WUPPE), one of
three ultraviolet telescopes flown as part of the Astro Observatory platform on two NASA space shuttle
missions, STS-35 in 1990 and STS-67 in 1995. In 1996, she joined the faculty at the University of Toledo
(UT).
Dr. Bjorkman’s research interests are in understanding the nature of circumstellar disks, which may be
precursors of planetary system formation, and she uses observational data from both space-based telescopes
and ground-based telescopes around the world to study these objects. In addition to numerous service
activities for both the university and her profession, she is a co-founder of the Northwest Ohio chapter of the
Association for Women in Science (AWIS) at UT. She was elected to a term as Councilor of the American
Astronomical Society (AAS), and also has served on the Publications Board of the AAS. In 2008, she
became the first female chair of her department, and in 2009 she was named a Distinguished University
Professor. Dr. Bjorkman is a member of the University of Toledo IDEAL team for 2009-10.
Nancy Collins
Nancy H. Collins, Chair of the Women’s Programs Initiative (WPI) of the Health
Science Campus, is a member of the Department of Medical Microbiology and
Immunology of the College of Medicine of the UT Health Science Campus (UT HSC).
She received a BS cum laude from the University of Toledo Honors Program in 1969
and participated in the first joint graduate program between the Medical College of Ohio
(now the UT Health Science Campus) Department of Microbiology and UT, receiving
an MS in 1974. She received her PhD from the University of Rochester in 1977 in
microbiology and immunology, and was an NIH post-doctoral fellow at the University
of Pennsylvania. After becoming allergic to every lab animal she encountered, she
joined Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) to study immunodeficiency
in humans in 1980. Dr. Collins was Laboratory Director of the Cytotherapy Laboratory at MSKCC until
2007, performing translational research to produce stem cell grafts and other forms of cellular therapy for the
allogeneic and autologous hematopoietic stem cell clinical transplantation programs. Her major research
interest was in the translation of cellular therapies from the research laboratory into clinical application,
elimination of graft-vs- host disease, and prevention of relapse. Dr. Collins was co-founder of the
International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT) and the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular
Therapy (FACT) to promote the establishment of professional standards, education in the field of cellular
therapy, and accreditation of clinical programs. In her various leadership positions with ISCT, FACT, the
National Marrow Donor Program, and the United States Pharmacopeial Convention, Dr. Collins worked
closely with the transplantation community and with the FDA and NHLBI to establish quality practices in
regenerative medicine. She joined UT in 2007 to establish a cellular therapy laboratory to support orthopedic,
cardiac and vascular cellular therapy clinical trials.
University of Toledo Change Leaders
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Dr. Collins has a long standing interest in the promotion of women in science. In 1974 she helped found a
chapter of Graduate Women in Science and organized a seminar series highlighting women faculty. She
participated in the activities of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Office for Women Faculty. In
2007 she was named Chair of the WPI of UT HSC by Dr. Jeffrey Gold, provost of HSC and Dean of the
College of Medicine, to work with thought leaders at UTMC post the merger with UT main campus, to
establish women’s programming, catalyze discussion about the status of women faculty at UT HSC, and
establish links with existing women’s groups on the UT Main Campus. Dr. Collins is a member of the
Northwest Ohio chapter of AWIS, the UT Women’s Leadership Forum/Council, College of Arts and Science
Advisory Board, the UT NSF ADVANCE grant writing team, and is the UT HSC representative to the Ohio
network for the Office of Women in Higher Education for the American Council on Education. She is a
member of the UT IDEAL team for 2009-2010.
Timothy Fisher
Timothy Fisher, a Professor of Geology and past Associate Chair in the Department
of Environmental Sciences, received his B.Sc. (hons) from the University of Alberta
and majoring in Physical Geography. He received a M.Sc. degree from Queen’s
University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Calgary in 1993. He worked at
Indiana University NW for nine years and as department chair for two years, before
joining the University of Toledo in 2003.
Dr. Fisher’s current research interests include: 1) reconstructing the paleogeography
of past meltwater delivery to oceans at the end of the last ice age, and its effects on
global cooling; 2) determining what triggers mobility of coastal sand dunes along the
Great Lakes during the past 6000 years; and 3) reconstructing past high and low water levels in the Great
Lakes since deglaciation (past ~18,000 years). Dr. Fisher serves as an associate editor for the Canadian
Journal of Earth Sciences and the Journal of Maps. He is a member of the University of Toledo IDEAL team
for 2009–2010.
University of Toledo Change Leaders
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University of Toledo
IDEAL Change Leader Team Year Three
2011-2012
University of Toledo Change Leaders
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