Longtime OMA&D staff members Therese Mar and Robin Neal were recently appointed to serve as directors of the Instructional Center (IC) and Educational Opportunity Program (EOP), respectively.
An IC instructor for the last 11 years, Mar started her new role on July 1. Neal, who first worked for OMA&D in 1996 and most recently served as an assistant director with EOP, took on her duties as of July 16.
“We are thrilled and delighted to announce these new appointments,” Associate Vice president Gabriel Gallardo said. “Therese has a passion and commitment to serving students from diverse backgrounds and is eager to work with our leadership team to make the IC a national model. Robin steps into her new leadership role with a wealth of experience, commitment and enthusiasm for the EOP mission.”
Mar, ’88, ’91, ’98, started working at the UW in 2002 as a research scientist in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences investigating the effects of air pollution on susceptible populations. She also guest lectured for courses in toxicology and air pollution epidemiology. Mar later held joint appointments with the UW Robinson Center and the IC, teaching both math and statistics. She has published more than 10 articles in peer-reviewed journals that focus on toxicology and epidemiology, and received all three of her degrees from the UW (Ph.D. in environmental and occupational health science, M.S. in applied mathematics and B.S. in mathematics with honors).
“I am deeply honored to work with the IC staff to bring the center to the next level,” Mar said. “This team is committed to maximizing the academic performance of our students, guiding them on their educational journey and supporting them in their professional formation. In addition to my teaching, I plan on developing supplemental courses on study skills and learning strategies, and improving student access to our services. I would also like to work on program evaluations and expand our collaborations with other OMA&D units and campus partners.”
Neal began her OMA&D career as a staff assistant to former Vice President for Minority Affairs, Myron Apilado. In this role, she coordinated events including Celebration and the EOP Golf Tournament. From 2001-04, she worked as a diversity specialist in human resources for Casey Family Programs. A position as an academic advisor in the Foster School of Business brought her back to the UW in 2005. Then in 2012, Neal rejoined OMA&D as the assistant director of EOP where she handled the day-to-day management of advising staff and office operations. She received her M.A. in educational leadership and B.A. in speech communications from Washington State University.
“I joined the OMA&D family more than 15 years ago so it is truly an honor to now lead the EOP academic advising team, a group whose purpose and work I have deeply valued and supported for a long time,” Neal said. “I look forward to expanding our team’s outstanding work by exploring how to incorporate new innovations in academic advising for underrepresented, low-income and first-generation college students, and collaborating with campus partners who share our goals.”