Skip to main content
NatCon25 Main banner
Back

    Lisa Macaruso, Ed.D.

    Faculty
    University of Rhode Island
    Ashaway, Rhode Island

    Lisa Macaruso has pedagogical expertise spanning 20 years of teaching in classrooms from kindergarten all the way through college! As a part-time URI instructor she has taught UCS 160 – Success in Higher Education, EDC 203 – Mental Health First Aid, and URI 101 – Planning for Academic Success. She co-founded START URI, a full-year leadership and community-building transition enhancement program, designed to foster identity-focused community, promote academic achievement, professional readiness, and provide authentic, respectful, student-driven social experiences for autistic individuals.

    As an Associate Director with URI’s Office for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning, she led the Academic Testing Center through the National Collegiate Testing Association (NCTA) testing center certification process, becoming the first and only RI post-secondary institution with an NCTA certified Academic Testing Center. The NCTA awarded Lisa a mini- grant to develop comprehensive professional development for faculty focused on their wellness as they navigate disability, access, and inclusion in the classroom. She was also awarded the URI Diversity and Inclusive Excellence Award for Staff Excellence by the Multicultural Student Success Center. Lisa was a nominee for the Carnegie Project for Educational Doctorate (CPED) Dissertation in Practice of the Year Award for her study, "Underrepresented and Overexposed: BIPOC Experiences with Anti-Racist Efforts in Predominantly White Institution."

    Lisa entered higher education as a first-generation college student at a community college with a Pell Grant, bus pass, and a plan. She holds the work of our Mental Health First Aiders in the highest regards, and appreciates the opportunity to work at a university dedicated to providing faculty, staff, and students with an equitable, accessible, and just learning experience.

    She says, “Education is empowerment. I redefine success everyday – there is no one way to achieve your goals other than to persist. The rules change and the goal post moves. It may seem that everyone else has it all figured out. Seek the truth, use resources, ask for help, and treat yourself with the same compassion you would give to someone you love.”

    Presentation(s):