Lisa Helmin Foss, Ph.D., MBA

Download the original file of Dr. Foss' CV (PDF)

Professional Profile

I am an experienced higher education leader, innovator, scholar, and facilitator who has served as a senior advisor to multiple university presidents and chancellors and has engaged institutions and boards in the challenging work of innovation, strategic redesign, strategic planning, change management, accreditation, and student success.

Education

Ph.D. in Educational Policy & Administration – Higher Education, University of Minnesota. Dissertation: Implementing Data Analytics as an Organizational Innovation in Colleges and Universities

Master of Business Administration, St. Cloud State University

Bachelor of Science, Mass Communications – Public Relations, St. Cloud State University

Professional Experience

Current Positions

Senior Director for United States Practice, University Design Institute, Arizona State University (2024 to present)

As Senior Director for U.S. Practice at the University Design Institute (UDI) at Arizona State University, I am responsible for developing and leading a multi-year strategy for services, programs, and thought leadership to establish UDI as the premier design partner for university transformation in the United States, utilizing the methods and approaches to design and innovation developed by Arizona State University.

My current responsibilities include:

  • Partnering with colleges, universities, and higher education systems across the United States to reimagine, redesign, and rebuild their institutions for greater social and economic impact, with a focus on engaging employer, civic, government and funder partners in codesigning pathways for future success.
  • Designing and leading UDI’s Design Accelerator, an 8-month, facilitated process to design, pilot, and implement strategic transformation initiatives within public higher education systems. This includes leading the Accelerator with existing system partners, scaling the Accelerator in the U.S., and managing existing grant funds and acquiring new funders to support additional Accelerators in systems across the country.
  • Redesigning and leading the ASU-Georgetown Academy for Innovative Higher Education Leadership (AIHEL), the country’s premier training ground for developing the next generation of innovators and change agents in U.S. higher education. This includes developing a strategic plan for the Academy’s growth and sustainability, building new programs and market segments to increase enrollment, redesigning the curriculum and learner experiences to improve impact, leading the team of faculty and staff in delivering a high-quality program, and developing revenue streams and philanthropic funds to support the Academy’s growth and success.
  • Creating thought leadership for The Co-Lab @ UDI, UDI’s design hub for higher education transformation, including content and channels to engage the U.S. higher education sector, designing and implementing convenings on topics of importance to U.S. higher education, and identifying and recruiting potential funding partners to advance the work of The Co-Lab.

Executive Director, Council on Higher Education as a Strategic Asset (2023-2025)

The Council on Higher Education as a Strategic Asset (HESA) was a national commission hosted by the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB). HESA was composed of a diverse group of leaders from business, government, higher education, military, and non-profit sectors working to develop a national strategy to leverage the strength of higher education to drive the global competitiveness of the United States. As Executive Director, I led and directed all aspects of HESA to ensure project outcomes were achieved, including:

  • Leading and designing four HESA convenings, during which the national commission explored strategic questions and developed and debated potential recommendations for inclusion in the national report.
  • Meeting individually with HESA commissioners to refine and build consensus around final recommendations.
  • Writing and finalizing HESA’s report, “America’s Talent Moonshot: How the United States Can Win the Global Competition for Prosperity and Security” which was released in March 2025.
  • Developing grant proposals and securing funding to support HESA’s goals and outcomes.
  • Presenting on HESA at national conferences and meetings to build support for HESA’s goals and recommendations.

Previous Positions and Roles:

Senior Consultant, Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (2021-present) As a Senior Consultant, I guided presidents and boards in areas of strategic planning, governance, and student success for institutional and system members of AGB.

Ambassador, Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges’ Council on Student Success (2021-2024) As the Ambassador, I designed and led quarterly meetings of AGB’s Council on Student Success and crafted advisory content related to board governance and student success for AGB members.

Senior Advisor for Brand-Strategy Integration, Birdsvall, Voss & Associates (BVK) (2021-2024) As Senior Advisor, I served as a consultant to BVK’s higher education clients focused on integrating their branding into all aspects of institutional strategies, operations, and culture and ensuring the institution’s brand promise is experienced consistently by students and stakeholders at every touchpoint.

Vice President for Planning & Engagement and Chief Strategy Officer, St. Cloud State University (2017-2021) As the Vice President for Planning & Engagement and Chief Strategy Officer, I was responsible for ensuring the development and successful implementation of SCSU’s strategic agenda and initiatives through the following functional responsibilities:

  • Strategic Planning: I developed and directed SCSU’s strategy development and implementation processes, including strategic planning, annual work planning and reporting, and strategic initiative implementation, and I identified and responded to emerging issues and led the implementation of strategic initiatives on behalf of four Presidents. Select examples include the design and implementation of Huskies Advance, SCSU’s signature student learning experience; the creation of SCSU’s Honors College; a major academic reorganization; multi-million budget realignments; the design and creation of four new academic units; and the campus-wide design and adoption of Our Husky Compact, SCSU’s institutional learning outcomes. I directed planning for colleges and units within SCSU and ensured planning and reporting met the policies and expectations of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system’s Annual Work Planning and Reporting requirements.
  • Center for Continuing Studies/School of Professional and Continuing Education: I led the transformation of the Center for Continuing Studies into a School for Professional and Continuing Education, with the goal of increasing non-credit customized training, workshops, and conferences and credit-bearing certificates and alternative delivery degrees. I supervised staff responsible for those functions.
  • Institutional Research and Data Analytics: I developed and directed SCSU’s Universitywide data analytics program to expand data-driven decision making, including institutional research, data analytics, and data governance. I ensured data integrity and security protocols were implemented and supervised staff responsible for those functions.
  • Assessment & Accreditation: I led and directed accreditation, assessment, program review, and continuous improvement programs and ensured policies and procedures met Minnesota State Board of Trustees and Higher Learning Commission policies and expectations. I served as the HLC Accreditation Liaison Officer and supervised staff responsible for those functions.

Adjunct Faculty (2017-2020, 2025) Department of Educational Leadership and Higher Education. St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, MN.

Chancellor’s Fellow for Reimagining Minnesota State, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System Board of Trustees (July 2018 – June 2019) As the Chancellor’s Fellow, I was responsible for all aspects of the year-long effort to identify the long-range strategy for the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system through the engagement of internal and external stakeholders and the Board of Trustees. My responsibilities included:

  •  Leading and designing the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System Board of Trustees Reimagining Minnesota State initiative and advising the system Chancellor and Board Chair on its implementation.
  • Leading the 9-person external advisory group that supported the Minnesota State Board through its discussions, analysis, and strategy development.
  • Leading and designing five Reimagining system-wide educational sessions, including topic development, speaker recruitment, logistics management, and the development of a research-based session pre-read that supported session discussion.
  • Authoring session summaries and the final strategy report for Reimagining Minnesota State.

Positions with Progressive Responsibility at St. Cloud State University

  • Associate Vice President & Associate Provost for Strategy, Planning & Effectiveness (2011- 2017)
  • Assistant Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness - (2005-2011)
  • Assistant Vice President for Marketing and Communications - (2003-2005)
  • Director of Marketing and Communications (2001-2003)
  • Communications and Marketing Manager (1998-2001)
  • Publications Editor (1997-1998)

Fellowships

American Council on Education Fellow (2015-16) Host Institution: LaGuardia Community College President’s Office and The City University of New York (CUNY) Office of Academic Affairs.

Certifications

Oxford Executive Strategy Programme. University of Oxford Saïd Business School. Online: 2024.

Quality Matters: Improving Your Online Course. St. Cloud State University: 2019.

Performance Measurement in Higher Education. Harvard University Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, MA.

Institute for Management and Leadership in Higher Education (MLE). Harvard University Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, MA.

Balanced Scorecard Practitioner. George Washington University College of Professional Studies, Washington, D.C.

Certificate: Strategic Marketing Program. University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management Executive Development Center, Minneapolis, MN.

Presentations

Foss, L.H. (2025). Leading for Transformation: Future Trends and Strategic Challenges Impacting Institutional Strategy. Humphreys University Board Retreat: Sept. 18, 2025.

Foss, L.H. and Papazian, M. (2024). Council on Higher Education as a Strategic Asset. Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges National Conference on Trusteeship: April 2, 2024.

Atkins, K. and Foss, L.H. (2024). Board Frameworks for Transformational Student Success. Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges National Conference on Trusteeship: April 2, 2024.

Foss, L.H. and Papazian, M. (2024). Council on Higher Education as a Strategic Asset. 69th State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO) Annual Meeting: July 18, 2024.

Foss, L.H. (2023). The Future Student & The Impact on Institutional Strategy. Lewis & Clark College Board Retreat, Feb. 16, 2023.

Foss, L.H. (2023). The Future Student & The Impact on Institutional Strategy. St. Bonaventure College Board Retreat, Dec. 2, 2022.

Foss, L.H. (2021). Today’s Technology Opportunities for Women Leaders. Cybersecurity Workshop hosted by St. Cloud State University: April 22, 2021 (invited keynote presentation).

Foss, L.H. (2020). Leading through Disruption: Lessons from a year reimagining higher education. Luoma Leadership Academy Annual Meeting 2020. St. Paul, MN: Feb. 7, 2020 (invited keynote presentation).

Foss, L.H. (2019). Reimagining Minnesota State as a Model for Innovation and Collaboration. South Africa Regional Academic Collaboration Seminar. Central University of Technology (CUT), Free State, South Africa: July 23, 2019. (invited keynote presentation).

Foss, L.H. and Malhotra, D.M. (2019). Reimagining Minnesota State: Designing the Future of State Higher Education. State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) Policy Conference: Aug. 6-9, 2019.

Foss, L.H. (2018) Strategic Internationalization as a Dimension of Stewardship of Place. Nelson Mandela University International Colloquium, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth: Aug. 16, 2018. (invited presentation)

Foss, L.H. (2017). From Data to Inform Strategy to Data as Strategy. Keynote Address for the Association of Institutional Research Upper Midwest Annual Conference: Nov. 2, 2017. (invited keynote presentation)

Rhodes, T. McConnell, K., Carnahan, J. and Foss, L. (2017). The Multi-state Collaborative: Results and Refinement. Association of American Colleges & Universities Annual Meeting: Jan. 26, 2017.

Eggers. J., Foss, L.H. & Twombly, K. (2016) Adding Flame to Kindling: Transforming Campus Culture. Higher Learning Commission Annual Meeting: April 17, 2016.

Carnahan, J., Foss, L.H. & McConnell, K.D. (2016). Better Together: Campus and State Direct Assessment of Student Learning. Higher Learning Commission Annual Meeting: April 17, 2016.

Carnahan, J., Foss, L.H., Orcutt, B. & Rhodes, T. (2016). Better Together: The VALUE/Multi-State Collaborative for Learning Outcomes Assessment. Association of American Colleges & Universities Annual Meeting: Jan. 22, 2016.

Foss, L.H. & Martinez-Saenz, M. (2014). Disruptive Analytics: Using Data to Catalyze Institutional Change. At American Association of State Colleges and Universities Academic Affairs Winter Meeting: Feb. 7, 2014.

Foss, L.H., Robinson, D. and Cogdill, S. (2013). Naturalizing Analytics: Beginning to Engage the Entire Institution in Enrollment and Retention Analytics. At Consortium for Student Record Exchange 9th Annual National Symposium on Student Retention: Nov. 4, 2013.

Foss, L.H., Robinson, D. and Martinez-Saenz, M. (2013). Improving Retention and Intervention Strategies through Data Analytics. At Consortium for Student Record Exchange 8th Annual National Symposium on Student Retention: Oct. 31, 2012.

Foss, L.H. and Malhotra, D. M. (2012). The Devil is in the Details: Implementing and sustaining a planned change effort. At Higher Learning Commission Annual Meeting: April 3, 2012.

Foss, L.H. and Malhotra, D. M. (2012). Using Strategic Priorities to Guide Your Institution in Good Time and in Bad. At Higher Learning Commission Annual Meeting: April 10, 2011.

Foss, L.H. and Malhotra, D. M. (2012). Using Strategic Priorities to Guide Your Institution in Good Time and in Bad. At American Association of State Colleges & Universities Winter Meeting: Feb. 11, 2011.

Brown, C. & Foss, L.H. (2008). Developing Business Intelligence at St. Cloud State University. At Minnesota State Colleges & Universities CAO/Deans Conference: May 29, 2008.

Research Reports

America’s Talent Moonshot: How the United States Can Win the Global Competition for Prosperity and Security. Council on Higher Education as a Strategic Asset/Association of Governing Boards. March 2025.

Reimagining Minnesota State - Minnesota State Colleges & Universities Board of Trustees, December 2018-June 2019. Forum on Reimagining Minnesota State Briefing Papers:

  • The Forces Impacting U.S. Higher Education: Dec. 2018
  • The Digital Age: The impact and future possibilities offered by data and technology: Jan. 2019
  • The Nature of Work: Changing careers, competencies, and credentials in the future: Feb. 2019
  • The Student: Emerging populations and changing needs and expectations: March 2019
  • Innovative Models: Improving quality, increasing access, and reducing costs through system-wide innovation: April 2019
  • Minnesota State’s 2030 Futures Framework: An Emerging Vision of Minnesota State: March 2020

Workshops

Strategy Summit: Taking Strategy to the Next Level. With P. Friga and D. Rowe. Association of Governing Board of Universities and Colleges National Conference on Trusteeship. April 2, 2023.

Building Your Data Strategy to Improve Student Success. With L. Baer and A. Baldasare. Academic Impressions. Denver, Co. March 18-20, 2019.

Leadership Academy for Department Chairs. With R. Helldobler, D.E. Pehrsson and S. Carey- Butler. American Council on Education. At University of Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN. May 30-31, 2018.

Building Your Data Strategy to Improve Student Success Programs and Interventions. With L. Baer, A. Baldasare, and D. Norris. Academic Impressions. Orange County, CA. March 27-29, 2018.

Optimizing Student Success Should Be Your Institution’s #1 Strategy. With L. Baer. WCET 28th Annual Meeting: Oct. 12-14, 2016.

Baer, L., Foss, L.H. & Norris, D. (2016). Optimizing Student Success Should Be Your Institution’s #1 Strategy. Society for College & University Planning’s Annual International Conference: July 9-13, 2016.

Building Organizational Capacity in Analytics – Part 1. WCET Boot Camp: Building Institutional Readiness for Data Analytics: June 17, 2014.

Panel Discussions

Anderson, R., Foss, L.H., Fox, K. and Papazian, M. (2025). Higher Education as a Strategic Asset: Strengthening America’s Global Competitive Economy. At 2025 GlobalMinded Conference: June 17, 2025.

Foss, L.H., Howdyshell, L. and Stanley, J. (2015). Analytics for Action! At Western Alliance of Community College Academic Leaders Annual Meeting: April 9, 2015.

Bischel, J., Foss, L.H., Howdyshell, L. and Powell, K. (2014). Promoting a Culture of Inquiry and Analytics for the Future. At WCET Boot Camp: Building Institutional Readiness for Data Analytics: June 17, 2014.

Baer, L., Foss, L.H., Smith, V. and Wagner, E. (2014). Data Analytics: Developing a Template for Action. At WCET Boot Camp: Building Institutional Readiness for Data Analytics: June 17, 2014.

Baer, L., Foss, L.H., Fonseca, F., Gallo, S. and Fulkerson, G. (2013). Improving the Student Experience: How Big Data Can Influence Student Affairs to Spur Student Engagement. At SUNY Critical Issues in Higher Education Conference: Building a Smarter University-Big Data, Innovation and Ingenuity: Oct. 29, 2013.

Evans, G., Foss, L.H., Ries, T. and Schwicthenberg, D. (2012). Leading Change in Turbulent Times. Sponsored by the Jandris Center for Innovative Higher Education. University of Minnesota: April 30, 2012.

Crafton, M., Foss, L.H., Furlong, S., Peterson-Veatch, R., Roman-Lagunas, V., and Samek, L. (2012). Breaking the Immunity to Change and Making the Difficult Choices: An Appraisal of Robert Kegan’s Theory of Institutional Change as a Paradigm for Institutional Leaders. At American Association of Colleges & Universities Annual Meeting: Jan. 27, 2012.

Courses Developed and Taught

Organizational Theory in Higher Education Administration. St. Cloud State University. (Online: Spring 2025).

Planning & Change in Higher Education. St. Cloud State University. (Face-to-face: Summer 2017, Summer 2018; Online: Summer 2019).

Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education. St. Cloud State University (Online: Spring 2019, Fall 2019).

Webinars

Transforming Your Institution: Building Capacity for the Future. With R. Beyer, C. Brown, and D. Rowe. Webinar hosted by the Association of Governing Boards: Nov. 10, 2022.

From Response to Recovery: Restoring Institutional Momentum Post-COVID-19. With C. Brown and T. MacTaggert. Webinar hosted by the Association of Governing Boards: July 21, 2020.

Naturalizing Analytics: Beginning to Engage the Entire Institution in Enrollment and Retention Analytics. With S. Cogdill and D. Robinson. Webinar hosted by the Consortium for Student Retention Data Exchange: Jan. 14, 2015.

Book Chapters

Foss, L.H. (2014). Integrating Data Analytics in Higher Education Organizations: Improving Organizational and Student Success. In J.E. Lane (Ed.) Building a Smarter University: Big Data, Innovation, and Analytics. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

Articles

Foss, L.H. (2022). Today’s College Students: What Boards Need to Know. Trusteeship. Association of Governing Boards. Sept/Oct. 2022.

Foss, L.H. (2014). Enrollment Analytics as a Tool to Drive Student Success. AASCU Innovations Exchange.

Invited Convenings

Lumina Foundation Quality and Equity in the New Credentialing Landscape: Sept. 11-12, 2019.

Lumina Foundation Quality, Equity & Accountability: Oct. 11-12, 2017.

Higher Education Service

National Service National Steering Committee for the Multi-State Collaborative to Advance Quality Student Learning (MSC). SHEEO/AAC&U Initiative (2013-2018)

Minnesota State Colleges & Universities System Business Intelligence and Analytics Tiger Team (2015) MnSCU System Planning Advisory Group (2007 - 2014) Accountability Dashboard Task Force (2005-2007)

St. Cloud State University Accreditation Liaison Officer to Higher Learning Commission (2012-present) Strategic Planning Committee co-chair (2005 to present) International Advisory Council (2014 – present) Diversity Advisory Council co-chair (2014 to 2017) Technology Advisory Council (2014-2017) Provost Search Committee (2014) Chair, Chief Information Officer Search Committee (2013) HLC Assessment Academy Team (2007-2011) Community Anti-racist Education (CARE) Leadership Team (2005-2010)

Community Service and Outreach

Board Member, St. Cloud Hospital (2016-2020)
- Member, St. Cloud Hospital Safety and Quality Committee

Coordinating Committee, St. Cloud Community Pillars Project (2017-2019)

Board Member, St. Cloud Symphony Orchestra (2004-2007)

Strategic Planning Consultant to St. Cloud Symphony Orchestra (2010)

Strategic Marketing Advisory Committee to Central Minnesota Community Foundation (2004)

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Lisa Foss CV (PDF)