Jennifer Dill and Mark Woods began new interim leadership roles at Portland State on August 1. Dill now serves as Interim Vice President for Research, while Woods serves as Interim Dean of the Graduate School.
Woods will report to Provost Robert Williams. PSU President Ann Cudd will evaluate the organizational structure and operations of the Research and Graduate Studies (RGS) division. The review will help guide the university toward a thoughtful, sustainable structure that builds on RGS’s strengths and supports the faculty, staff and students who engage in research and graduate education.
“I am grateful to Jennifer and Mark for their willingness to step into these interim roles and am confident they will provide steady leadership during this transition for our RGS team and the greater PSU community,” Cudd said.
Dill, a professor of Urban Studies and Planning, has built a long career at PSU as a faculty member and leader focused on public-impact research and engaged teaching. Since 2009, she has directed the Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC), one of PSU’s most productive research centers.
She received PSU’s Presidential Career Research Award in 2021 and previously served as Interim Vice President for Research in 2017–18. As TREC director and a principal investigator on more than $32 million in external grants and contracts, Dill has built collaborative, multidisciplinary teams and developed partnerships with universities, public agencies and organizations in the private and nonprofit sectors. Her research has directly informed federal, state and local practices.
Woods joined PSU in 2008 as an assistant professor of chemistry after completing his training in the chemical sciences in the United Kingdom, Italy, France and Texas. A native of the United Kingdom, he has been deeply involved in graduate education throughout his time at PSU.
His leadership experience includes serving as program director for the Ph.D. in chemistry, chair of the Graduate Council, fellow to the Graduate Dean and, most recently, Associate Dean of the Graduate School.