UNM Rainforest Innovations is pleased to announce that Dr. Donna Riley, the Jim and Ellen King Dean of Engineering and Computing at the University of New Mexico (UNM) has been named Vice Chair of the UNM Rainforest Innovations Board of Directors. She succeeds Dr. James Holloway, who was recently appointed President of the University of Toledo.
Dr. Riley has served as a member of the Board of Directors since 2023 and joined the University of New Mexico that same year. Before joining UNM, Dr. Riley held the Kamyar Haghighi Head and Professor position in the School of Engineering Education at Purdue University where she also served as Director of Workforce Development for the NSF-funded ASPIRE Engineering Research Center, focusing on advancing electric vehicle infrastructure. She was previously a founding faculty member of the Picker Engineering Program at Smith College, the first engineering program at a U.S. women’s college, where she spent 13 years. From 2013-2015, she served as Program Director for Engineering Education at the National Science Foundation. Dr. Riley currently serves as Vice President of Scholarship for the American Society for Engineering Education and is a member of the NSF Engineering Directorate’s Advisory Committee.
We extend our deep gratitude to Dr. James Holloway for his exceptional leadership and service to the Board, and we wish him continued success in his new role as President of the University of Toledo.