Meet the Senior VP for Academic Initiatives
Amy Burkert, Ph.D.
Senior Vice Provost for Academic Initiatives
Amy Burkert was name senior vice provost for academic initiatives in 2024, leveraging her deep expertise and broad-ranging experience in advancing important academic initiatives to act as a strategic advisor for key institutional programs and educational partnerships.
Her portfolio of responsibilities has spanned pre-college, undergraduate and graduate education across a range of programs and services. A member of the faculty in the Department of Biological Sciences and former associate department head and assistant dean, Dr. Burkert has been a leader in curricular development and reform to broaden access to educational opportunities and to advance student learning and success. She taught gateway STEM courses in introductory biology and human physiology for many years. She has also collaborated in developing innovative educational offerings at the course, program and cross-institutional levels, including experiential and online learning modalities and tools. She was involved in the establishment of Carnegie Mellon’s Simon Initiative and currently serves on their leadership team.
Dr. Burkert has a personal passion for engaging with and addressing the potential in all students. As a first-generation scholar from a limited resource background, she brings a personal perspective on the barriers that can limit access and opportunity. Throughout her career she has been engaged in outreach programs and summer institutes such as the Summer Academy for Math and Science and the Pennsylvania Governor’s School for the Sciences as an instructor, project director and senior administrator for more than 25 years. She has also engaged in collaborative STEM education initiatives sponsored by AAU, HHMI, NSF, and AAAS.
As senior vice provost for academic initiatives, Dr. Burkert has been instrumental in the creation, implementation and growth of the 麻豆村 Rales Fellows Program and has partnered in the establishment of Learnvia, a national learning collaborative blending innovative courseware, effective teaching and evidence-based iterative refinement. Both programs leverage her expertise, experience and passion to broaden the impact of the transformative power of education.
Dr. Burkert has been recognized for her work as an advisor, educator, and innovator through several education awards and has been elected to leadership roles in regional and national educational organizations, including the Association of Undergraduate Education at Research Universities and Association of American Universities.
Dr. Burkert received her B.A. from Washington and Jefferson College and her Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon.