Richard d. Fisher
Bio
Richard D. Fisher is the director of Strategic Partnerships &
Initiatives at the Mary Lou Fulton Institute and Graduate School of
Education, Arizona State University. In this role, working through
the Mary Lou Fulton Institute, he works to identify and develop
internal and external relationships to expand the networking and
program efficacy that improves K20 science, technology, engineering
and mathematics (STEM) education throughout the state. His primary
duties focus on developing stronger coordination among university
researchers and outreach efforts and expanding collaboration among K20
and community partners to improve STEM education pipelines and student
opportunities in Arizona. Fisher was originally recruited to ASU as
the first director of educational outreach for the Biodesign
Institute, a world-class, state-of-the-art, interdisciplinary research
institute. In that role he established a department and managed the
implementation of comprehensive local, state, and national outreach
designed to increase scientific awareness and literacy and encourage
more students to pursue studies and careers in science, technology and engineering.
Prior to his appointment at ASU, Fisher served as the vice president
of educational programs at the Orlando Science Center. From 1998 to
2004 he directed the education outreach efforts of Florida State
University and Florida A&M University's joint College of
Engineering as the founding director of an aerospace-themed regional
science center. In this position, working closely with NASA and other
organizations, he directed the design, implementation and operation
of facilities and programs that included a Challenger Center space
mission simulator, IMAX theater and one of the first full-dome,
high-definition, digital video planetariums in the United States.
Fisher also directed an aerospace themed science center at the
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and was the founding director
of two residential environmental education centers in the southern
Appalachian region.
In addition to his university administration and science center
management experience, Fisher has worked as a consultant for the
University of South Florida's Coalition for Science Literacy. He has
been actively involved in numerous local, state and national science
education organizations and serves on numerous boards. Fisher also has
worked as a university lecturer and adjunct professor at Northern
Arizona University, Coconino Community College and Florida
Metropolitan University teaching in the areas of geography, earth and
environmental sciences. He started his career as an infantry officer
and rotary-wing aviator (UH-1H) in the U.S. Army.
Fisher earned a BS in geography at Northern Arizona University and
went on to complete a master's degree in earth sciences and a second
master's degree in education.
