The Impact Studio Advisory Committee prioritizes initiatives for the Provost’s review that create the largest positive impacts on Oregon State's mission.
As initiatives and programs are being developed and launched, we appreciate and rely heavily on the Advisory Committee's deep knowledge, equitable practices, and diverse perspectives.
Impact Studio Advisory Committee Charge:
Sherm Bloomer, Chair
Sherm Bloomer is the Associate Vice President of Budget and Resource Planning for the Office of Budget and Fiscal Planning, and Professor of Geology and Geophysics. Reporting both to the Vice President for Finance and Administration and the Provost, Sherm oversees development of the university’s Education and General Funds (E&G) budget, provision of University-wide fiscal planning support, development of tuition rate projections and recommendations for University senior leadership, and budget management and reporting. Prior to his current role he served as dean for the College of Science. A respected geologist with 22 years of teaching undergraduate and graduate students, Sherm holds a BS in Geology from Rice University and a Ph.D. in Earth Sciences from the University of California at San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Belinda Battten
Belinda Batten is senior advisor for special initiatives and professor of mechanical engineering. She provides research, planning, and evaluation support for university strategic initiatives and major projects in both the academic and administrative domains. She has served as director of the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center (now the Pacific Marine); head of the School of Mechanical, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering; and executive associate dean in the College of Engineering. Internationally renowned for research in modeling and control of distributed parameter systems and the development of computational algorithms for reduced order controllers, Belinda holds a PhD from Clemson University, an MS from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and a BS from the University of Maryland.
Steph Bernell
Steph Bernell is the Associate Dean of the Graduate School and Associate Professor of Health Policy. Prior to her appointment in the Graduate School, Steph served as Program Director of the Health Management and Policy Program from 2004 to 2016. In her current position, Steph collaborates with the deans and other leaders to increase the university’s national reputation in graduate education, diversity of the graduate student population, graduate student retention and success, and efficient and effective administration of graduate programs. Steph has taught over 80 courses at Oregon State, primarily in the areas of health policy and health economics. Her scholarly work combines a deep interest in health policy and politics with a desire to use economic tools to address an array of pressing public health problems. Her publications span the gamut of public health issues, including health reform, chronic disease, obesity, and hunger. Steph holds bachelors in Economic Theory and masters in Economics from American University and a PhD in Health Economics from Johns Hopkins University.
Prem Mathew
Prem Mathew is the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Student Development in the College of Business. In this capacity, he oversees undergraduate curriculum; recruiting, student engagement, and scholarship processes; and career and student advising at the college. Prem has particular passion around undergraduate educational access and student support; and professional/personal development of students. To this end, he established, and is the director of, the OSU’s Center for Advancing Financial Education (CAFÉ), and spearheaded the college’s efforts in building an award-winning education-to-career curriculum model (Blueprint) integrated with the business/design core curriculum and required of all the college’s students. Prem leads multiple K12 partnerships that target communities that are historically underrepresented in higher education, and has established robust college-level retention and emergency-based scholarship processes. Prem has held numerous service-related leadership roles at the university, including chair of the University Faculty Senate Curriculum Council, and has served on the Undergraduate Student Success Initiative (USSI) steering committee since its inception in 2018. Prem holds bachelors degrees in Economics and Systems Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania; an MBA in Finance from the University at Buffalo; and a PhD from the University of Missouri. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charter holder.
Lisa Templeton
As Associate Provost for Ecampus, Lisa Templeton leads a team dedicated to making OSU's online programs among the very best in the country. Ecampus encompasses the University's top-ranked degree programs delivered online in partnership with OSU’s colleges. Partnering with more than 800 Oregon State faculty members and offering award-winning instructional design and multimedia support, the unit provides online students with access to vital resources like academic success counseling, OSU Libraries, exam proctoring and free tutoring. Ecampus also provides marketing and enrollment services for colleges, researches new online technologies and pedagogies, and advances the development of open educational resources. Lisa received her bachelor's degree from the Ohio State University, an Ed.M in Adult Education from Oregon State University, and a certificate from the Institute for Leadership in Online Education from the Online Learning Consortium and Penn State University.
Rich Duncombe, Ex Officio
Rich Duncombe is the Director of the Impact Studio. Impact Studio is a place for teams of faculty, administrators and staff to develop, incubate and launch bold ideas that will make a significant impact, and advance the University’s strategic goals such as net revenue growth and diversification. Rich has built organizations within Fortune 50 technology companies and universities that expand the portfolio of those organizations. He is passionate about catalyzing initiatives that make a positive impact. Rich builds innovation systems that advance an organization’s mission, deliver growth, change the culture, and motivate employees. His leadership includes company founder, business unit VP and university director. Rich has a MS in Electrical Engineering from the University of California Berkeley and a BSEE from Oregon State University. Rich was inducted into the OSU Academy of Distinguished Engineers in 2005.