Dr. Teri Balser is a Professor of Sustainability and former Provost and Vice President (Academic) at the University of Calgary. She has spent nearly 15 years in executive and senior leadership worldwide, with posts at Dalhousie University, Curtin University in Perth, Western Australia, and the University of Florida. Holding a Ph.D. from the University of California-Berkeley, Professor Balser is known globally for her work as an environmental scientist with honors such as Fellow of the Soil Science Society of America, and John Curtin Distinguished Professor. She is also widely known in higher education as a master teacher and leader in STEM and sustainability education. In 2010 she was recognized as U.S. Professor of the Year for Doctoral and Research Universities by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. In 2015 she was a Fulbright-Nehru Distinguished Chair to India, and in 2018 she was named a Principal Fellow of the U.K. Higher Education Academy. She is currently Convener and Coordinator of the Sustainability in Higher Education Across Canada (SHEAC) Network, having previously been a co-founder of the Society for Advancement of Biology Education Research (SABER), a National Vision and Change Fellow with the Partnership for Undergraduate Life Sciences Education (PULSE), and a Fulbright-Nehru Distinguished Chair to India. An active advocate, speaker, and facilitator in research, leadership and teaching, her recent work is focused on the role of university leadership in supporting grassroots innovation and education for sustainable development, as well as understanding the power dynamics underlying participatory and regenerative governance.
