Mike Eastman joined RIT as a faculty member in 1996 and served as department chair of the Electrical, Computer, and Telecommunications Engineering Technology Department from 2005 – 2017.  He was named Associate Dean for Academic Programs and Continuous Improvement in the College of Engineering Technology in 2017, is responsible for the oversight of college continuous improvement and accreditation efforts, and is engaged in promoting student-centered teaching practices through a variety of faculty development initiatives including serving as an RIT KEEN Leader.  Dr. Eastman oversees the College of Engineering Exploration Program, which attracts more than 80 new first year students each year and the majority of his efforts focus on student success. Dr. Eastman earned a BS in Electrical Engineering Technology and MS in Computer Science from RIT.  He earned a PhD in Curriculum, Instruction, and the Science of Learning from University at Buffalo.  His research interests include the culture of engineering education, constructivism and inquiry-based learning, equity & inclusion in STEM, Discipline Based Education Research (DBER), and embedded systems design. He is currently serving as Co-Pi on the NSF-funded SD-CoMETS Scholarship program. His research has been published in the Journal of Engineering Education (JEE) and the Journal of Research in Science Teaching (JRST).