Opening Speaker and Moderators
Kathryn Boor, Dean and Vice Provost for Graduate Education
Opening Remarks
Kathryn J. Boor is the Dean of the Graduate School and Vice Provost for Graduate Education at Cornell University. Dr. Boor is responsible for oversight of all Cornell University Graduate School administrative offices, serves as the institutional advocate for all graduate students, and oversees all research M.S. and Ph.D. programs across Cornell University as well as program assessment of graduate fields of study. Previously, Dr. Boor served as the Ronald P. Lynch Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at Cornell University (July 1, 2010 – September 30, 2020).
Dr. Boor’s research focuses on identifying biological factors that affect transmission of bacteria in food systems, from farm to table. She established the Food Safety Laboratory at Cornell University; her group has published more than 175 peer-reviewed manuscripts. Among other discoveries, her team identified seminal evidence linking bacterial environmental stress response with virulence gene expression in the foodborne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes. Dr. Boor has served as major advisor for 27 graduate students and as minor advisor for an additional 22. She is a member of the graduate fields of food science and microbiology.
Dr. Boor earned a B.S. in food science from Cornell University, a M.S. in food science from the University of Wisconsin, and a Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of California, Davis. She joined the Cornell food science department as assistant professor in 1994, became its first tenured female faculty member in 2000, and led as department chair from 2007-2010. Dr. Boor serves on the Board of Directors for Seneca Foods Corporation, the United States-Israel Binational Agricultural Research and Development (BARD) Fund, and the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR). She serves on the Science Board for the US Food and Drug Administration and on the New York State Southern Tier Regional Economic Development Council, and the New York State Council on Hunger and Food Policy.
Dr. Boor is a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, the International Academy of Food Science and Technology, the Institute of Food Technologists, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Dairy Science Association. She received an honorary doctorate from Harper Adams University in the United Kingdom in 2016 and was named a 2018 Woman of Distinction by the New York State Senate.
Twitter: @CornellGradDean
Sara Xayarath Hernández, Graduate School Associate Dean for Inclusion & Student Engagement
Welcome and Land Acknowledgement, Panel Moderator, Introduction of Keynote Speaker
Sara Xayarath Hernández serves as the Associate Dean for Inclusion & Student Engagement for the Graduate School at Cornell University, where she is part of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education's core leadership team, providing vision and strategic management for Graduate School initiatives and policies related to diversity, inclusion, access, and equity. She also serves as a member of the Cornell University Academic Diversity Council led by the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs. Hernández is the PI for an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation-funded grant focused on improving admissions and mentoring practices for graduate students within the Sloan University Centers for Exemplary Mentoring (UCEM) and Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership communities. She is a co-PI for the Cornell Sloan UCEM Program, and serves on the Sloan UCEM Community Advisory Committee. Hernández is a co-PI for Cornell’s NSF-funded Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) Program, and has served as a Co-PI for NSF-funded LSAMP, PAESMEM, and STEP “Graduate 10K+” awards. Hernández is also the chair of the Diversity and Inclusiveness Advisory Committee for the Council of Graduate Schools and a member of the NSF AGEP Advisory Committee for the Southern Regional Education Board, External Advisory Board for the NSF AGEP Research Universities Alliance, and NSF ADVANCE Advisory Committee for the Social Science Research Council. Hernández is a first-generation college student holding a Bachelor of Arts in Zoology from Ohio Wesleyan University and a Master of Regional Planning from Cornell University. Navigating life in partnership with her husband and keeping up with their young daughter bring her great joy and keep her grounded.
Ms. Xayarath Hernandez's Website
Facebook: http://facebook.com/cornell.oise
Twitter: @CornellOISE
Colleen McLinn, Executive Director for Future Faculty and Academic Careers
Panel Moderator
Colleen McLinn directs Future Faculty and Academic Careers programs, a Cornell University Graduate School initiative involving collaboration with the Center for Teaching Innovation and other units serving graduate students and postdocs. As Executive Director for Future Faculty and Academic Careers programs at Cornell, she prepares graduate students and postdocs for successful academic careers through development of teaching, research mentorship and other key skills. She coordinates Cornell’s participation in the CIRTL CIRTL Network, a group of 40 research universities collaboratively offering workshops and courses on academic career preparation topics and three important themes for higher education: teaching as research, learning communities, and learning through diversity. Colleen’s interests include helping graduate students and postdocs gain experience with strategies for innovative and evidence-based teaching and mentoring, and contributing to projects that diversify the professoriate. She teaches classes and workshops for the CIRTL Network and Cornell University audiences, including ALS 6014: Theater Techniques for Advancing Teaching and Public Speaking. She is also a co-principal investigator on a National Science Foundation Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate grant project (Award No. 1647094). Until mid-2020, she served on and chaired the CIRTL Cross-Network Operations Group, which is responsible for all Network programming aimed at graduate students and postdocs. Dr. McLinn received a Ph.D. in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior from University of Minnesota and previously served as an extension associate at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, where she developed online and print curriculum materials and played a leadership role in grant-funded science education efforts.
Twitter: @CUFutureFaculty