Elizabeth D. "Betty" Phillips (née Capaldi; c. 1945 – September 23, 2017) was the Director of University of Florida Online. She resigned abruptly after serving only three months in that position, without explanation. She previously served as provost and executive vice president of

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

(2006-2013) and provost of the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

(1996-1999), among other administrative positions.

Education

Phillips received her bachelor's degree from the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...

in 1965 and her Ph.D. degree in experimental psychology from the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

in 1969.

Career

Phillips was a professor of psychology at

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

and served as head of Purdue's Department of Psychological Sciences and assistant dean of Purdue's Graduate School. At the

, Phillips served as provost and professor of psychology. She played a key role in improving sponsored research and technology transfer, and was instrumental in a new student advising system produced seven percent gain in the graduation rate. Phillips served as provost and professor of psychology at the

University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo (commonly referred to as UB, University at Buffalo, and sometimes SUNY Buffalo) is a public university, public research university in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo and Amherst, New York, United States. ...

, SUNY. As provost she stabilized the university's budget, which allowed increased faculty hiring and scholarship support that improved the quality and diversity of the student body. She oversaw a substantial increase in sponsored research at UB, and supported technology transfer and economic development for Buffalo. From December 2003 to July 2006, Phillips was the vice chancellor and chief of staff of The State University of New York, where her responsibilities included strategic planning, coordinating the activities of the vice chancellors to build quality across the SUNY system, and serving as the main liaison between system administration and the campuses. Phillips served as the university provost and executive vice president at

from 2006 to 2013. She was ASU's chief academic officer, overseeing 23 colleges. At ASU, Phillips led a university-wide effort to increase student retention. Under her direction, ASU instituted a new model for academic advising that transferred procedural functions such as course planning to an online tool. eAdvisor is based on the system that Capaldi developed during her brief, 3-month tenure at the University of Florida. Phillips also lead an ASU partnership with the Council for Aid to Education to conduct research on student learning in areas such as critical thinking and reasoning. Phillips' research focused on learning and motivation with particular emphasis on the psychology of eating. She contributed over 65 chapters and articles to the scientific literature, co-authored three editions of an introductory psychology textbook, and edited two books on the psychology of eating. Phillips co-directed The

Center for Measuring University Performance The Center for Measuring University Performance is a research center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. ''The Center'' is best known for an annual report it produces, The Top American Research Universities, that ranks American univer ...

with Dr. John Lombardi, president of the

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

system. The Center publishes analysis and publicly reported data that provide an alternative to traditional research university rankings.

Service and awards

Phillips is past president of the

Association for Psychological Science The Association for Psychological Science (APS), previously the American Psychological Society, is an international non-profit organization whose mission is to promote, protect, and advance the interests of scientifically oriented psychology in r ...

(2000–2001) and of the Midwestern Psychological Association (1991). She was elected to fellow status in the

American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychologists in the United States, and the largest psychological association in the world. It has over 170,000 members, including scientists, educators, clin ...

, the American Psychological Society (now the

), and the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

. Her other honors and awards include election to the Friends of Students Hall of Fame at the University of Florida in 2000, and the Citizen of the Year award from the New York State Society of Professional Engineers in 2003.

Death

Phillips died September 23, 2017, at her home after battling brain cancer for a year. She was 72.Elizabeth Capaldi Phillips
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Elizabeth D. 1940s births Year of birth missing 2017 deaths Educators from New York City Arizona State University faculty University of Florida people University at Buffalo faculty American women academics 21st-century American women