Newswise — Washington, DC- The Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR), an international not-for-profit focused on increasing undergraduate research opportunities, today announced the appointment of Elizabeth Ambos as executive officer. Currently the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research Initiatives and Partnerships for the California State University (CSU) Chancellor’s Office, Ambos brings with her more than 20 years experience in the undergraduate research community and higher education programs and policies. Prior to her system-wide appointment, she served as Graduate Dean, Associate Dean in the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, and professor of geosciences at CSU-Long Beach. She is author or co-author of more than 30 peer-reviewed publications, has helped win and/or managed more than $60 million in grants, and served as rotating program officer at the National Science Foundation.

“Dr. Ambos was selected from a particularly strong pool of candidates who applied for the position. The combination of her experience in higher education and her vision for undergraduate research and CUR placed her ahead of many very qualified candidates,” stated Julio Rivera, chair of the Search and Screen Committee.

A CUR member for the last 14 years, Ambos was pivotal in initiating a full system membership for the 23 (CSU) institutions and acquiring support for several multi-campus development workshops. In this new role Ambos plans to utilize the strategic leadership experience she has gained while part of the CSU system office -building new programs, increasing and diversifying participation in undergraduate research, and partaking in the national dialogue on competitiveness, innovation, and economic development. Ambos will join the National Office staff full-time in May 2012.

“We welcome Beth to her new executive role,” said Bill Campbell, CUR President. “Her extraordinary combination of scholarship, leadership, and management experience will serve CUR well as we help faculty develop research, scholarship, and creative opportunities for their undergraduate students; help colleges and universities expand and improve their undergraduate research programs; and help students present their research.”

###Council on Undergraduate Research: The Council on Undergraduate Research (www.cur.org) supports and facilitates high-quality undergraduate student-faculty collaborative research and scholarship. Over 600 institutions and 7000 individuals belong to CUR. CUR believes that the best way to capture student interest and create enthusiasm for a discipline is through research in close collaboration with faculty members.

Elizabeth L. Ambos is the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research Initiatives and Partnerships in the California State University system office. The California State University is the largest baccalaureate degree-granting higher education institution in the United States, enrolling more than 420,000 students annually on 23 campuses. In her system-wide role, she has catalyzed and fostered California State University (CSU) system research and sponsored programs efforts, expanding external and internal support for CSU multi-campus research and education initiatives and partnerships, including marshalling significant grant and contract support from federal and state government and private foundations. She also has served as Academic Affairs' leader in areas of research and sponsored programs compliance, government relations, and University advancement, working with the sponsored programs administration and advancement.

Prior to inaugurating the Assistant Vice Chancellor position in 2006, Elizabeth Ambos served from 2003-2006 as Associate Vice President for Research and External Support at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB). She has also held positions as Graduate Dean for CSULB (2002-2003) and Associate Dean in the College of Natural Sciences in Mathematics (1998-2003) at CSULB.

She has held a professorship in the Department of Geological Sciences at CSULB, and is the main author or co-author on more than 30 peer-reviewed journal or book chapter publications, and more than 80 presentations at professional conferences. She has helped obtain and/or manage more than $60M in grant and contract funds over the past two decades. Elizabeth Ambos received her A.B. in Geology from Smith College (magna cum laude), and her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in marine geology and geophysics. After completing her Ph.D. degree in 1984, she was a National Research Council Post-Doctoral Fellow at the United States Geological Survey in Menlo Park, California, and then held a post-doctoral appointment at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Since coming to the CSU in 1989, she has helped lead research and technology transfer development and strategic planning, undergraduate research program expansion, Professional Science Master’s program support, general education, teacher preparation, faculty professional development, and high school to college transition reform initiatives. She also served as Associate Program Director at the National Science Foundation from 1992-1993, in the Division of Ocean Sciences; a Director-at-Large for six years for Sigma Xi (1995-2001), the Science Research Honor Society; and Chair of the Steering Committee for the National Science Foundation’s Digital Library for Earth System Science (DLESE) from 2001-2003. She is currently a member of the Board of Directors for the Southern California Conferences for Undergraduate Research (SCCUR), and chaired the Board from 2008-2010. She is also a member of the Board of the National Professional Science Master’s Association (NPSMA).