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Eleanor C Sayre, PhD
Enabling Others to do Great Work | Intelligent System Design | Improving Learner Success
Collaborative executive leader skilled at facilitating project meetings and team activities for operational excellence. Proven track record managing multiple programs and projects, specializing in STEM education, international collaboration, and training and development. Strong believer in inclusive excellence, actively seeking diverse domain expertise, and articulating a compelling vision resonating across disciplines. Outstanding communication skills that enhance service delivery and efficiency. Action-oriented with exceptional leadership, and organizational skills; easily adaptive to change in work environment.
- Cross Functional Collaboration - Actively solicits diverse expertise across domains. Articulates a clear vision that resonates across disciplines. Cultivates an environment of varying perspectives and leveraging a comprehensive and well-rounded approach to problem-solving, innovation, and decision-making.
- Public Speaking -Dynamic, personable speaker to small and large audiences, short and long talks, workshops, and webinars. Invited to speak on 5 continents and 11 countries. Articulates difficult ideas with eloquence and clarity for memorable, lasting impact. Kind and focused moderator.
- Research and Data Driven Story Telling - 20 years expertise in qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods of research. Seamlessly fuses human-centered narratives with quantitative analyses. Distills complex information into digestible visualizations and relatable anecdotes. Data can’t speak for themselves; they need humans to contextualize numbers and build compelling narratives.
- Servant Leader or Team Leadership and Development - Transparent, collaborative, and an active listener. Ensures all employees have what they need to be successful and engaged in the organization. Leads by example and relies upon excellent communication skills. Develops leadership abilities in team members. Develops transparent and documented policies to promote cohesion, equity, and inclusion.
Professional Experience
National Science Foundation | Alexandria, VA
- PROGRAM DIRECTOR, Division of Undergraduate Education/ Directorate for STEM Education (2022 – Present)
As a Program Director, I manage proposals and awards across five NSF programs. I analyze proposals for intellectual merits and broader impacts, coordinate award recommendations, and engage with the STEM education community through outreach efforts. My portfolio centers building national capacity for high-quality evidence-based research and education through broadening participation in STEM. Award portfolio: $65M, 90+ awards, 35 states.
Kansas State University | Manhattan, KS
- PROFESSOR OF PHYSICS (2020 - 2022)
- ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF PHYSICS (2016-2020)
- ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF PHYSICS (2011-2016)
During my tenure as a Professor of Physics, I directed an internationally-recognized research lab in STEM education with $500k annual external funding. I conceptualized, designed, and oversaw interdisciplinary research projects: developed high-level vision, built partnerships, secured competitive external funding, managed budget and personnel, trained researchers, ensured on-time deliverables and high-quality scientific results. My lab is awesome. Our culture of inclusive excellence featured human-centered policies and action-oriented rapid development. We dramatically outperformed all departmental performance metrics: 7x as many papers; 2x as much grant funding; rapid tenure & promotion to full. My students are majority women, LBGTQ+, and people of color. I built collaborations with researchers in diverse STEM disciplines across North America, Europe, and Africa. I directly mentored junior faculty in research, leading to their successful tenure and promotion.
I increased the number of applications and matriculation rate for physics education research graduate students despite declining institutional enrollments. I lead cross-functional partnerships across campus to improve research mentor training, disciplinary writing skills, and student success. I taught core physics classes, introductory service classes, and graduate courses in physics education using evidence-based pedagogy and diverse student-centered teaching methods. My lab published extensively, contributing to the learning sciences, engineering, physics, computer science, and faculty development with ~100 peer-reviewed publications and hundreds of invited and contributed presentations.
PEER (Professional Development for Emerging Education Researchers) | Worldwide
- CO-DIRECTOR and FOUNDER (2014 – Present)
The PEER Institute runs intensive 1–2-week workshops to help STEM faculty and graduate students develop skills, community, and self-efficacy in discipline-based education research and the scholarship of teaching and learning.
I continuously refine the PEER model for workshops and professional development to best serve the needs of disciplinary faculty, including high-level vision as well as curriculum development. I lead business development efforts to identify new opportunities for growth and foster relationships with potential clients and partners. I direct the team for market research and knowledge generation. There have been 1000+ participants in PEER workshops worldwide, including workshops in US, Mexico, Canada, Rwanda, Germany, the UK, and virtually.
Physport | Seattle, WA
- RESEARCH DIRECTOR (2012 – 2023)
PhysPort is the leading resource for evidence-based pedagogy and assessment in Physics.
I supervised research on PhysPort’s impact, connecting high-level vision for PhysPort with data-driven stories about users to drive engagement. As part of the PhysPort leadership team, I articulated goals, planned projects, and secured funding to help transform PhysPort from a small website focusing on teaching methods into the leading resource for evidence-based pedagogy and assessment in physics. Under my leadership, our research teams conducted qualitative and quantitative research on faculty needs, leading to the creation of resources that support physicists in evidence-based teaching as well as peer-reviewed publications. I also established partnerships with external education researchers, empowering their research using PhysPort tools, which resulted in securing 5 additional grants; and I organized outreach events nationally and internationally, including over 30 workshops and invited talks. The usage of PhysPort has doubled every two years since 2011, and currently, 20% of US physics faculty are members, representing 50% of US colleges and universities. The platform boasts approximately 5000 regular users worldwide.
Additional Appointments
- Research Affiliate, Center for Advancing Scholarship to Transform Learning (CASTLE), Rochester Institute of Technology (2019 - Present)
- Fulbright Research Chair in STEM Education, University of Calgary (2017 - 2018)
- Visiting Assistant Professor & Lilly Teaching Fellow, Wabash College (2009 - 2011)
- Postdoctoral Researcher, The Ohio State University (2007 – 2009)
Education
- Doctor of Philosophy - Physics, University of Maine, Orono, ME (2007)
- Master of Science in Teaching - Physics, University of Maine, Orono, ME (2005)
- Bachelor of Arts - Physics, Grinnell College, Grinnell, IA (2002)