2024 President’s Award for Excellence in Leadership (Unclassified)

Erika Gilles, associate director of academic affairs in the College of Graduate Programs and Honors Studies

Erika Gilles, associate director of academic affairs in Wright State University’s College of Graduate Programs and Honors Studies, received a 2024 President’s Award for Excellence in Leadership.

The roots of Gilles earning that honor are in her being a 2024 graduate of the Wright Leader Academy, a university cohort-based certificate program, and in her on-the-job actions.

“She takes on leadership roles by training graduate program leaders and by continually developing and disseminating resources for them to better serve their students,” said Dean Subhashini Ganapathy, Ph.D., and Associate Dean Paula Bubulya, Ph.D., of the College of Graduate Programs and Honors Studies.

Gilles committed significant time to serving on several search committees this year, including for dean, associate dean and the coordinator for graduate contracts and assistantships.

“The success of our newly formed college can be attributed in large part to Erika, whose institutional knowledge has maintained graduate programs on a steady course over the past decade,” Ganapathy and Bubulya said.

For years, Gilles has led the graduate faculty nomination process in collaboration with the Faculty Senate.

She has held the major responsibility of completing the initial review for graduate faculty membership to ensure that thesis advisors and committee members demonstrate ongoing involvement in teaching, research scholarship, and service that meets the criteria established for rigorous academic experience for graduate students.

In the past year, Gilles helped develop a new electronic nominations process for streamlined graduate faculty status review that significantly improved overall efficiency in the unit and across colleges.

With students in mind, Gilles spearheaded the restructuring of the Graduate Student Excellence Award program and the development of the Distinguished Dissertation Award, ensuring that the College of Graduate Programs and Honors Studies recognizes and encourages student success.

Gilles collaborates with the graduate programs’ staff to grow student enrollment and supports Graduate Program Open Houses for graduate student recruitment.

In addition, her ongoing committee service is significant. She serves on most Faculty Senate standing committees related to graduate programs as an ex officio member.

“Erika interacts across campus to ensure that business progresses in a timely manner and according to existing policy and practice. She is well known as THE person to call about questions concerning progress toward graduate degree completion,” Ganapathy and Bubulya said. “She is a student advocate for addressing concerns regarding progress toward graduation and advising about graduate petitions.”

They concluded, “She is a constant source of wisdom about the graduate curriculum and the many graduate programs that Wright State has to offer.”