The University Innovation Alliance (UIA) is a consortium of public research universities dedicated to improving educational outcomes and degree completion for all students, particularly low-income students, first-generation students, and students of color. At Oregon State University, we work with our colleagues in the UIA to identify innovative practices that will help more students graduate, adapt those practices to serve a broader range of students and then share what we learned with the higher education community. Insights from our collaboration with the UIA are informing the Undergraduate Student Success Initiative and numerous projects across campus to benefit students.
University Innovation Alliance Partners
The UIA institutions share a common commitment to supporting and enhancing success for all students, particularly those from first-generation, low-income and other traditionally underrepresented backgrounds.
- Arizona State University
- Georgia State University
- Iowa State University
- Michigan State University
- North Carolina A&T University
- Oregon State University
- Purdue University
- University at Buffalo
- University of California Riverside
- University of Central Florida
- University of Colorado Denver
- University of Illinois Chicago
- University of Maryland, Baltimore County
- University of New Mexico
- University of Utah
- Virginia Commonwealth University
OSU Contacts
Alix Gitelman
Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs
University Innovation Alliance
Email Alix
Clare Creighton
Director, Academic Success Center
University Innovation Alliance Co-liaison
Email Clare
Dan Larson
Vice President for Student Affairs
University Innovation Alliance
Email Dan
Steve Wuhs
Associate Vice Provost of Undergraduate Education,
University Innovation Alliance Co-liaison
Email Steve
Meet Patrick Aldrich, OSU UIA Fellow!
Patrick Aldrich is the Academic Affairs Analyst and University Innovation Alliance (UIA) Fellow at Oregon State University, where he supports data-informed, equity-centered efforts to improve student success and degree completion. He brings 13 years of applied research and evaluation experience from The Research Institute (TRI) at Western Oregon University—first as an evaluator and lead statistician and, for the last four years, as Director of the Center on Research, Evaluation, and Analysis. Patrick has led and supported work across state education systems (Oregon’s Quality Rating and Improvement System and a full-day preschool pilot), university initiatives (College of Education accreditation and Title III and NSF S-STEM grant evaluation), and national projects (Protactile Language Interpreter Institute). Across these settings, he partnered with practitioners and leaders to strengthen measurement, interpret findings, and apply evidence to program and policy improvement. At OSU, he applies this evidence-to-practice approach through UIA by identifying strategies that improve persistence and completion, supporting campus teams as they adapt and scale effective practices, and sharing results to inform continuous improvement.
Before joining TRI, Patrick spent 13 years as a field ecologist in graduate school and as a field technician/researcher for various organizations. This experience strengthened his systems perspective and his ability to work with complex, real-world data—skills he now applies to support UIA efforts to reduce barriers and improve student outcomes. In his UIA role at OSU, he helps teams identify challenges in the student experience, track implementation and results, and refine strategies to produce sustained gains in persistence and graduation. Looking ahead, Patrick aims to help OSU scale effective practices so more students—particularly those historically underserved—earn a degree and access the opportunities it provides.