1. Uttam Gaulee, President, STAR Scholars Network, United States

Uttam Gaulee, Ph.D., is a scholar of international higher education. His research interests include the community college, diaspora studies, interdisciplinary perspectives on education policy, global citizenship, and cross-cultural issues in international development and geopolitics. A professor in the Community College Leadership Doctoral Program at Morgan State University, Dr. Gaulee is an advocate of community college as a vehicle for social progress and economic development in and beyond the U.S. He recently edited a volume on Global Adaptations of Community College Infrastructure. Dr. Gaulee has devoted two decades of his academic and professional life promoting solutions related to student success, workforce development, and institutional effectiveness. While serving in increasingly higher capacities of the Community College Futures Assembly and Bellwether College Consortium between 2013 and 2016, he collaborated with multiple national commissions and affiliated councils of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) to evaluate and promote best practices among community colleges and hosted national policy summits on workforce development, reverse transfer, and talent pipeline management. A recipient of the Fulbright (2010) and Cross Award (2016) from the Association of American Colleges and Universities, Dr. Gaulee is actively involved in promoting and developing Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector in various developing countries. Dr. Gaulee is the founder and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Underrepresented and Minority Progress. Dr. Gaulee serves as president of the Society of Transnational Academic Researchers (STAR), which advances global social mobility through innovative research and progressive advocacy efforts. Recently, STAR network is contributing to the quality enhancement initiatives at universities in the Global South.