Kiernan Mathews is Executive Director of the Faculty Advancement Network
Dr. Kiernan R. Mathews, Executive Director
mathews@uchicago.edu
After a rigorous search process, Kiernan R. Mathews, Ed.D., was invited to be the inaugural Executive Director of the Faculty Advancement Network (FAN) beginning in April 2021. According to Aly Kassam-Remtulla, FAN Steering Committee Co-Chair, the members of the consortium were drawn to Kiernan for his extensive experience working on issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion; his strong track record of successfully partnering with provosts, deans, and chairs to identify and improve outcomes for their faculty members; his demonstrated success as a creative and entrepreneurial thinker; and his expertise building and sustaining consortia.
For over 15 years, Kiernan has advised university leaders and policymakers on multi-institutional strategies to recruit, retain and advance a more diverse faculty. His research and writing have explored the faculty experience and leadership of the academic enterprise, with particular emphasis on equity, inclusion, data, and the effective engagement of all faculty in organizational change.
Previously, Kiernan was the Executive Director and Principal Investigator of the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE) at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) and founding Educational Chair of the Seminars on Leadership of the Faculty at the Harvard Institutes for Higher Education. While at Harvard, he won two Menges Awards for Outstanding Research in Educational Development from the Professional and Organizational Development (POD) Network in Higher Education. Kiernan is currently a board member at the Association for Collaboration Leadership (ACL), regularly serves on advisory boards and conference panels, and provides executive consultation to college presidents and provosts. Prior to his work in the academy, he launched digital projects in education at Routledge and LEGO.
Kiernan holds a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania, a master’s from Harvard, and a bachelor of arts from the University of Houston.
Ashley Wallace is Assistant Director for FAN Leadership Programs at the Faculty Advancement Network.
Dr. Ashley Wallace, Assistant Director of Leadership Programs
wallacea@uchicago.edu
Reporting to the Executive Director, Ashley Wallace, Ph.D. supports the FAN Institute for Ivy+ Provost Leadership Fellows as well as the Ivy+ Mellon Leadership Fellows program. Concurrently, Ashley continues her role as Associate Director of Student Access & Engagement in the Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter (LRSM) at the University of Pennsylvania.
Ashley received her bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Southern University and A&M College, and her Ph.D. from the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at the Ohio State University.
Dustin Liu is Special Advisor for Leadership Programs at the Faculty Advancement Network
Dustin Liu, Special Advisor for Leadership Programs
dustinliu@uchicago.edu
Dustin Liu joined FAN in 2024 as Assistant Director of Leadership Programs, then transitioned into a special advisory role in January 2025. He is currently the Senior Associate Director @ NYU Stern's Initiative on Purpose and Flourishing. Previously, Dustin was a Lecturer at Stanford University teaching at the Stanford Life Design Lab and the d.school.
Dustin received an Ed.M. in Higher Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a B.S. in Industrial & Labor Relations from Cornell University’s ILR School.