Erin Sanders O’Leary, Ph.D. serves as the inaugural vice provost for teaching and learning where she guides UCLA’s educational innovation efforts. In addition to overseeing the institution’s Teaching and Learning Center, she leads several campus wide initiatives including activities associated with the Dialogue across Difference teaching prong, serving as co-lead for Strategic Plan Goal 4, chairing the Subcommittee on Academic and Learning Spaces, and representing UCLA as a member of the Bay View Alliance (BVA), which is an international network of research universities leading collaborative approaches to further educational discovery, improve instruction, and transform the teaching culture. Erin heads the Financial Alignment with Inclusive Teaching Effectiveness (FAITE) working group in the BVA, which brings together teaching and learning change agents, skilled practitioners of student learning analytics, and campus business officers to explore ways by which institutions can make better, more informed financial decisions to support educational practices that support student success.
Previously, Erin served as the executive director of the Center for the Advancement of Teaching Excellence at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). She also held an appointment as an associate professor of biological sciences in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and an associate adjunct professor in microbiology and immunology in the College of Medicine.
Her appointment as vice provost for teaching and learning in 2023 marked her return to UCLA where she also earned her Ph.D. in biological chemistry. In 2005, she started as a lecturer and faculty advisor for training teaching assistants in the department of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics; later joining the department’s faculty as an associate adjunct professor. In 2014, Erin became the founding director of UCLA’s Center for Education Innovation and Learning in the Sciences (CEILS) and taught classes through Life Sciences Core Education.
Erin earned her undergraduate degree at DePaul University in Chicago, IL. She enjoys spending time with her family, which includes her highly energetic toddler, musically talented husband, and cuddly fur babies; visiting family in the midwest; and cheering on the LA Rams.