Janice DeCosmo is currently serving as Interim Director of the Robinson Center for Young Scholars. She is an associate dean of undergraduate academic affairs, associate vice provost for undergraduate research, and an affiliate faculty member in the Department of Earth and Space Sciences at the University of Washington. DeCosmo developed the UW undergraduate research program which she directed from 1999-2014, during which time undergraduate participation in research grew more than tenfold at the UW. She currently directs the Mary Gates Endowment for Students and is involved in higher education policy in the state of Washington, focused on undergraduate studies and new academic programs (through the Council of Presidents), and transfer articulation from two-year to four-year institutions. Dr. DeCosmo is the 2020-21 immediate past-president of the Council on Undergraduate Research. DeCosmo earned a BS and MS in physics and a PhD in atmospheric sciences, specializing in atmosphere-ocean interaction. She oversees the UW’s Center for Experiential Learning and Diversity, which includes undergraduate research, service learning, leadership, and scholarship programs. During her career she has published research in atmosphere-ocean interaction and higher education practice, and has taught science at nearly all educational levels, from kindergarten through graduate school. She has a deep-rooted passion for learning that spans all fields of study and is excited to be working with the students, staff, and families in the Robinson Center this year.