Jessica Bennett, Ph.D.

Jessica Bennett, Ph.D., is Assistant Vice President of STEM Education at APLU. She serves as Co-Lead of the Aspire Alliance’s IChange Network initiative, a National Science Foundation-funded program focused on enhancing institutional capacity to recruit, retain, and develop a more diverse and inclusive STEM faculty, and as PI on several projects related to creating more inclusive environments for minoritized STEM faculty.

Prior to APLU, Dr. Bennett worked in a variety of campus roles managing programs aimed at preventing campus sexual harassment and assault, enhancing the graduate student academic and research experience, and facilitating vibrant living-learning communities through faculty-in-residence programs. Most recently, she worked at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services helping senior executives engage in data-driven decision-making and organizational change.

Dr. Bennett has published peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on the experiences of underrepresented and minoritized faculty and graduate students, as well as the concept of “fit” in higher education workspaces. She also serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Diversity in Higher Education. She received her doctorate in Higher Education at the University of Maryland, College Park. Dr. Bennett also completed an M.A. in Higher Education and Student Affairs at The Ohio State University and a B.A. in Cognitive Science at the University of Virginia.