The Mary Lou Fulton Institute is designed to be a center for advanced study of education, positioned as a hub of activity organizing research groups both at ASU and around the nation addressing critical problems of education. Participants in the Institute will be the leading scholars in the world, as well as leading innovators in the public and private sectors. Institute faculty will lead research programs that engage the broader intellectual community, garner resources to design and test educational innovations, and disseminate knowledge broadly and deeply.

The Institute brings together faculty across Arizona State University in addition to faculty within the Mary Lou Fulton Institute and Graduate School of Education. The Dean of the Mary Lou Fulton Institute and Graduate School of Education serves as the Institute Director and is responsible for managing the Institute’s resources, supervising all staff, administering faculty support programs, and facilitating faculty and research center initiatives.

All tenure and tenure track faculty in the Mary Lou Fulton Graduate School of Education are inaugural members of the Mary Lou Fulton Institute. Respecting the relationship between the Mary Lou Fulton Institute and Graduate School of Education, all faculty of the Mary Lou Fulton Graduate School of Education are inaugural members of the Institute and are expected to participate in the activities of the Institute and its affiliated centers, activities, and/or projects. These activities include participating in sponsored research, grant, and contract writing, journal editing, conferences, scholarship and research, professional development, and/or other duties that advance the overall mission of the Mary Lou Fulton Institute of Education. During the inaugural year, all Institute members will be expected to pursue external funding in support of their research and scholarship. Thereafter, Institute membership will require being actively funded by a grant or contract administered through the Institute. These externally funded faculty will be honored as Fellows of the Mary Lou Fulton Institute.

Since the Institute is viewed as spanning all united within the University and extending outside the University, all those individuals who are involved in sponsored research run through the Institute are also considered Fellows. Fellows of the Institute are expected to serve in various roles within the Institute. These roles might include mentoring other faculty doctoral students, reviewing proposals prior to external submission, and presenting their research at Institute-sponsored seminars.

A subset of senior Fellows will comprise the Research Advisory Board to serve as a resource for the Director and Institute. The Research Advisory Board’s responsibilities include meeting regularly with the Director to consider Institute priorities, policies, and procedures.