About Us
We founded Academic Advance Partners because we believe research-active institutions make higher education better for students, communities, and the broader society.
When institutions grow their research enterprise, students gain access to faculty who are active contributors to their fields. Communities benefit from institutions that are generating knowledge to address local, regional, and national priorities. And higher education as a whole becomes stronger when research capacity grows across a broader range of institutions, reflecting the full diversity of students and communities that higher education serve.
As founding partners of AAP, we bring decades of combined experience in higher education administration, research enterprise development, and institutional strategy across diverse institutional contexts. We know what it means to carry a deep commitment to students while trying to build a research enterprise in systems that are not always designed to support both. We also know what it takes to build deliberately and sustainably toward research ambitions and this is why we developed a suite of proprietary tools designed specifically for the RCU to R2 journey.
The Partners
Dr. Cheryl Neale McFall is a higher education leader, faculty member, and research strategist with more than 20 years of experience across academic affairs, graduate education, curriculum development, and institutional research growth. As a cofounder of Academic Advance Partners (AAP), she works with colleges and universities to strengthen research ecosystems, expand doctoral education, increase external funding capacity, and strategically position institutions for Carnegie R2 advancement.
Dr. Neale McFall currently serves in senior research leadership as an Associate Provost within an Office of Research, where she has led initiatives focused on faculty research development, graduate education strategy, institutional research growth, and cross-campus collaboration. Her expertise includes doctoral program development, research infrastructure planning, HERD and IPEDS strategy, faculty capacity building, and aligning institutional mission with community and workforce needs.
Dr. Naomie Nyanungo is a founding partner of Academic Advance Partners. She holds a doctorate in Adult Education and brings decades of experience in higher education that includes teaching, educational development, academic administration, and organizational change. Her approach to this work is informed by her roots in community organizing, bringing people together around a shared vision to develop and implement the institution-wide strategies that institutional change requires.
As a senior academic administrator, she has designed and led faculty development and curriculum planning initiatives, and worked across institutional levels to create conditions that support inclusive excellence in teaching and learning. Dr. Nyanungo is committed to this work because she believes research growth has the potential to expand meaningful opportunities institutions offer their students and faculty, drive innovation, strengthen community contributions, and promote a more just and informed society.