The Office of the Vice President for Research has selected Ellen Fisher as the assistant vice president for strategic initiatives. Her appointment begins Aug. 1.

Fisher will drive strategic initiatives associated with the new Research and Scholarly Success Initiative. She will play a key role in helping faculty, students and staff advance university research and scholarship.

Fisher’s other duties will include serving as the Research Integrity Officer (RIO) for the university, overseeing new programs in support of research facilities and instrumentation, federal relations, laboratory safety, and programs with undergraduate and graduate student research.

“Dr. Fisher was selected for this position after a rigorous national search with over 70 outstanding applications from industry, academia and government,” said Alan Rudolph, vice president for research. “Her selection speaks clearly about her outstanding qualifications, passion and commitment to the research enterprise at CSU.”

About Fisher

Fisher is currently a professor of analytical, physical, and materials chemistry and the founding director of a new cross-disciplinary initiative, the School of Advanced Materials Discovery (SAMD) at Colorado State University. She also serves as the senior faculty adviser to the vice president for research.

Fisher received a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and Mathematics from Texas Lutheran University in 1986 and a Ph.D. in physical-analytical chemistry from the University of Utah in 1991. She completed postdoctoral research at Sandia National Labs before joining the CSU faculty in 1993. Fisher has published over 150 original peer-reviewed articles across multiple disciplines and mentored 28 graduate students and nearly 50 undergraduate research students.

She was the recipient of an NSF CAREER award and was also named an Office of Naval Research Young Investigator and a Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar. Fisher was recognized as a Distinguished Alumnus by the Department of Chemistry at the University of Utah in 2017. She is also a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the American Chemical Society (ACS) and the American Vacuum Society (AVS).

She has received numerous awards from CSU, including the Jack E. Cermak Outstanding Graduate Advisor Award; the Natural Sciences Award for Mentoring Undergraduate Research; and the Hazaleus Award for Empowering Women. She is a College of Natural Sciences Professor Laureate (2009) and received CSU’s Scholarship Impact Award in 2010, the university’s highest award for research.