CASL Leadership Fellows Residency

Dr. Margaret Kanipes, CASL PI & Director of Education

Dr. Margaret I. Kanipes, a Professor of Chemistry, serves as the director for the University Honors Program at NC A&T State University (NC A&T).  Prior to joining the Honors Program, Dr. Kanipes, served as the director for the STEM Center of Excellence for Active Learning at NC A&T where she provided leadership for evidence-driven STEM education to mathematics and science course redesign and implementation, as well as to teaching, learning and student success innovations/interventions. Prior to her current position, she served as the interim chair of Chemistry at NC A&T. 

Dr. Kanipes has several publications in refereed journals, which also include her research efforts in biochemical food-borne pathogen detection and STEM education. Dr. Kanipes has secured an external portfolio of over 10 million dollars in grants from agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Burroughs Welcome, HHMI, and GlaxoSmithKline as PI or Co-PI.

Dr. Kanipes earned her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from North Carolina A&T State University (NCA&T), Greensboro, North Carolina and her Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She did postdoctoral training in the Department of Biochemistry at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.

Dr. Kanipes is the recipient of several recognitions and awards including, a Minority Access National Role Model Mentor Award; an American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education Fellow; and a NCA&T Young Investigator of the Year Award. 

Dr. Camille McKayle, CASL PI & Director of Research

Dr. McKayle is the Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs at the University of the Virgin Islands.  She has served as principal investigator and project director for various grant projects such as the University’s HBCU-Undergraduate Programs (HBCU-UP) grant project, STEM Teach VI, a Noyce Capacity Building Project, a Partnership for International Research and Education project partnered with the University of South Florida, an Alliance for Graduate Education to the Professoriate partnership with University of Florida, and the Collaborative for the Advancement of STEM Leadership (CASL), all funded by the National Science Foundation.  The overall goal of those efforts was increasing the number of students that became and remained interested in the Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) disciplines and ultimately choose to enter into the STEM workforce. 

From 2005 - 2008, Dr. McKayle was on loan to the National Science Foundation, where she was the Program Officer for the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program, a $30 million program in the Division of Human Resource Development, in the Directorate for Education and Human Resources. Other involvement at the national level include previous service on the Board of Directors for the Mathematical Association of America (MAA), Chair for the MAA Committee on Minority Participation in Mathematics, and member on the Human Resources Advisory Council for the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute, Berkeley.  She is also a mentor for young mathematics faculty through Project NExT (New Experiences in Teaching) funded by the MAA and Exxon.  She was a Project NExT fellow in 1993.

Dr. McKayle’s love of mathematics, and her commitment to the community, has led to her involvement in a variety of outreach activities aimed at increasing interest in science and mathematics for students in grades 3 through 12. These activities included GEMS (Girls Exploring Math Stuff) for 6th grade girls, MathLab for students in third through seventh grade, Science Awareness Saturday Academies and Summer Science Enrichments Academies. She also serves on the Board of Trustees for Virgin Islands Montessori School and International Academy and the St. Croix Montessori School.

Dr. Kelly Mack, CASL PI & Director of Knowledge, Transfer & Outreach

Dr. Kelly Mack is the Vice President for Undergraduate STEM Education and Executive Director of Project Kaleidoscope, a non-profit organization focusing on undergraduate STEM education reform, at the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U).  Prior to joining AAC&U, Dr. Mack was the Senior Program Director for the National Science Foundation (NSF) ADVANCE Program while on loan from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) where, as a Professor of Biology, she taught courses in Physiology and Endocrinology for 17 years. 

Dr. Mack has been a champion for inclusive excellence in STEM higher education for several decades. She is responsible for leading externally funded initiatives related to this topic, securing over $20 million, from federal agencies and private foundations that include the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Helmsley Charitable Trust, and the Luce Foundation. During her tenure at NSF, Dr. Mack managed an annual budget of approximately $17 million, facilitated the inclusion of issues targeting women of color into the national discourse on gender equity in the STEM disciplines, and significantly increased the participation of predominantly undergraduate institutions, community colleges and minority serving institutions in the ADVANCE portfolio. 

At UMES, Dr. Mack served in many capacities including Biology Program Director where she was responsible for providing leadership and strategic vision for the intellectual, educational, and professional development of biology majors and for the coordination of faculty in providing quality instruction, research, and development activities.  She also served as Principal Investigator, Director or Co-Director for externally funded projects that totaled over $12 million dollars, including the UMES ADVANCE, MARC, and MBRS Programs, which focused on issues related to the recruitment, persistence and advancement of African Americans, especially women, in the STEM disciplines. 

Dr. Mack earned the BS degree in Biology from UMES and, later, the PhD degree from Howard University in Physiology.  She has had extensive training and experience in the area of cancer research with her research efforts focusing primarily on the use of novel antitumor agents in breast tumor cells.  Most recently, her research focus has involved the use of bioflavonoids in the regulation of estrogen receptor positive (ER+) and estrogen receptor negative (ER-) breast tumor cell proliferation.

She has been noted as one of the top 25 women in higher education by Diverse Issues. She serves on numerous advisory committees and councils, contributing to the successful implementation of projects, programs, and initiatives aimed at broadening the participation of underrepresented groups in STEM and advancing the careers of diverse faculty in those disciplines. She has also served as a member of the Board of Governors for the National Council on Undergraduate Research and the National Institutes of Health Review Subcommittee for Training, Workforce Development and Diversity; and is the former Executive Secretary for the NSF Committee on Equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering, which is the Congressionally mandated advisory body that focuses on efforts to broaden the participation of underrepresented groups in the STEM disciplines. Currently, she is a member of the Board of Trustees of Shimer College and a Fellow of Fielding Graduate Universities. Dr. Mack is also Chair of the Inclusive Excellence Commission, a strategic partnership between AAC&U and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Dr. Orlando Taylor, CASL PI & Executive Director

Dr. Orlando L. Taylor is the Distinguished Senior Advisor to the President at Fielding Graduate University, Santa Barbara California and Director of its Marie Fielder Center for Democracy, Leadership and Education/. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU) and a Professor in Fielding’s School of Leadership Studies. Headquartered in Fielding’s Washington, DC office, Dr. Taylor was the Founding President of the Washington, DC Campus of The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Prior to these appointments, he was a Graduate Professor at Howard University in Washington, DC where he also served in several senior leadership positions, including Dean of the School of Communications, Dean of the Graduate School and Vice Provost for Research.

Dr. Taylor has been a national leader for many years on issues pertaining to diversity and inclusion in higher education. He has been a particularly vigorous advocate and spokesperson on topics and issues relating to access and equity in higher education and to preparing the next generation of researchers, as well as faculty members, for the nation’s colleges and universities. In addition, he has raised significant funds from federal agencies, foundations and philanthropists to support research, education and special initiatives that advance diversity in fields that impact directly upon the education, health and related needs of diverse individuals, organizations and communities.

He has served as Principal Investigator for more than $35 million in federally and privately sponsored research, graduate training and program development grants from such agencies, organizations and individuals as the National Science Foundation, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Education, Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, The Pew Charitable Trusts, Freedom Forum, Time Warner, Walter Annenberg and the Global (Sasakawa) Foundation.

Currently, Dr. Taylor is the Principal Investigator for a $2.2 Million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) designed to advance women in the STEM fields into leadership positions at the nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities and at Tribal Colleges. He is the author of approximately 75 publications in journals, books and monographs within his discipline and in higher education, and is recognized by many as a national leader in graduate education.

Dr. Taylor is a Past President of the Consortium of Social Science Association, the National Communication Association and the Northeastern Association of Graduate Schools. In addition, he has served as a member of numerous national boards in higher education, including Chair of the Board of Directors of the Council of Graduate Schools. He is a former member of the Advisory Council for the Geosciences Directorate at NSF and the Board of Directors of the Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) and the University Consortium for Atmospheric Research (UCAR). He is a current member of the Board of Trustees of Huston-Tillotson University and a member of the Research Council of the Research Foundation for the State University of New York. 

Dr. Taylor received a Ph.D. degree from the University of Michigan and has been a recipient of that university’s distinguished alumni award. He is a Fellow and recipient of Honors from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. He received his undergraduate degree from Hampton University and a master’s degree from Indiana University. He has been awarded honorary doctorate degrees from Purdue University, Indiana University, The Ohio State University, Hope College, DePauw University, Denison University and Southern Connecticut State University.