April E. Belback is the co-chair of the Steering Committee, a group of experts that provides overall direction and oversight of the AACoP.

As the Vice Provost for Student Success, Dr. Belback develops and implements strategies for enhancing Pitt’s ability to realize the tenets of the Cultivate Student Success pillar within the Plan for Pitt. In this role, she advocates and creates opportunities for students by providing a system of academic support to boost retention, persistence, and graduation. Through collaboration with colleges, schools, and campus partners, Belback and team intentionally coordinate purposeful programming and holistic advising interventions and work closely with academic and student affairs leaders to continuously improve our support for students. Importantly, the Vice Provost not only focuses on undergraduate students on the Pittsburgh campus but intentionally considers the impact of their work on regional campus students as well as master’s and professional students within Pitt’s graduate ranks.

Dr. Belback developed Pitt's first student success framework and leads the central Office of the Provost Student Success Team (a growing portfolio of 17 full-time staff as well as faculty mentors and student workers), dedicated to supporting student success across the Pitt community.  

She spearheads the implementation of the Advising Coordination Project, as Pitt moves from a decentralized to a shared advising model to streamline the student experience and boost student success measures for over 21,000 undergraduate students. Through this model, 13 undergraduate college and school directors (and associated academic advising units with over 120 full-time staff) report to Belback, who coordinates shared intervention strategies, expectations, assessment, and goals.

Belback also coordinates student success across Pitt’s regional campuses (Bradford, Johnstown, and Greensburg) through the implementation of the PRSSIM (Pitt Partners for Rural Student Success Impact and Mobility) Project, impacting an additional 4,000 students with initiatives such as advising, mentoring, coaching, tutoring, career exploration, and student success technology.

Through a transformational leadership lens, Belback (a certified LUMA human-centered design practitioner) prioritizes providing the campus community with professional development and training opportunities the goal of building connection, raising motivation, and driving organizational change. These include strategic leadership retreats, planning sessions, large-scale collaborative forums, and consultations. 

As a member of the Steering Committee, Lisa Dysleski is an expert that provides overall direction and oversight of the AACoP.

Dr. Lisa Dysleski serves as the Assistant Vice Provost for Academic Success and Advising at Colorado State University. She leads universitywide academic advising initiatives and the implementation of programs for undergraduate students that positively impact their academic success, retention, and graduation.

Lisa has spent a career at CSU dedicated to improving the academic experience for students, as a faculty member and academic advisor in the Department of Chemistry (2006-2013), as Director of the College of Natural Sciences Learning Community (2013-2014), and as Associate Dean in the College of Natural Sciences (2015-2024).

Lisa earned a B.S. with a double major in Chemistry and Performing Arts from Mary Washington College and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Colorado State University.

As co-chair of the Steering Committee, Claire Robinson is an expert that provides overall direction and oversight of the AACoP.

Dr. Robinson serves as Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Advisement and Director of the University Advising Center at the University of South Carolina. In her role, Dr. Robinson oversees campus-wide first-year advising, transfer advising, exploratory advising, academic coaching, four-year curriculum mapping, advising technology, and advisor training and certification. In addition, several special initiatives fall within the purview of the Advising Center including Faculty/Student mentorship, the University Advisors Network, and academic recovery initiatives. Dr. Robinson has authored several publications evaluating academic advising and coaching and co-authored a book on Appreciative College Instruction. Claire has trained and consulted dozens colleges and universities and served as the Lead SACS Quality Enhancement Plan Evaluator for multiple institutions seeking to enhance their advising practices.