Erin Sanders O’Leary

Erin Sanders O’Leary, Ph.D. serves as the inaugural vice provost for teaching and learning where she guides UCLA’s educational innovation efforts. Her appointment as vice provost for teaching and learning in 2023 marked her return to UCLA after having served as the founding executive director of the Center for the Advancement of Teaching Excellence at the University of Illinois Chicago (2020-2023). Prior to this appointment, Erin served as the founding director of UCLA’s Center for Education Innovation and Learning in the Sciences (CEILS; 2014-2020).  In these leadership positions, Erin has supported faculty across the disciplines in adopting evidence-based and inclusive teaching practices aimed at promoting the success of all students in postsecondary education.  Erin has been teaching courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels since earning her Ph.D. in biological chemistry in 2005.  Throughout her time as a practitioner, she led several curriculum development initiatives, primarily in Life Sciences, and engaged in discipline-based education research (DBER) studying the impact of pedagogical interventions on students with a focus on those who have been historically marginalized and underrepresented in STEM disciplines. Her work also examines how programs supporting faculty engagement with inclusive pedagogies and evidence-based teaching practice transform instructor knowledge, skills, and attitudes and ultimately influence their behavior in the classroom. Erin has been awarded millions of dollars in extramural grants from NSF, NIH, and several private foundations to support this research.  Current research is focused on projects in the learning sciences, studying the effects of technology-enhanced learning spaces and educational technology (e.g., AI) and action research, gathering evidence to help instructors and departments inform improvements to instruction as well as change practice and policy in teaching-related matters within the institution.  Research in educational development also continues with explorations of longitudinal outcomes of faculty engagement in teaching development activities.  Among the awards and honors she has received are a 2018 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award from the UCLA Academic Senate and the 2014 Excellence in Education Innovation Award from the UCLA College Division of Life Sciences; in addition, the Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education included a paper by O’Leary in its 2016 spotlight issue for outstanding science education research.