Aurora Kamimura, PhD (she/her/ella) is the Interim Learning & Development Lead for Bearprints for Success, in the Division of Student Success. She is also a lecturer in the Department of Education at WashU. For over 25 years, she has dedicated her career as an educator to broadening access and creating more equitable learning environments. Dr. Kamimura most recently served as the Assistant Provost for Inclusive Excellence at WashU, where she was the expert advisor to the provost and vice provosts on faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, and leadership impacting equity and belonging.
Dr. Kamimura has been a champion of student success throughout her career in areas including outreach, service learning, access and equity, academic support services, and student support services for first-gen, limited income students. She has held leadership positions at UC Irvine, Michigan, Santa Ana College, and WashU. Furthermore, Dr. Kamimura has taught in numerous disciplines including higher education, organizational behavior, sociology, and psychology, at R1 campuses nationally. Dr. Kamimura’s expansive background influences how she thinks about teaching and learning, pedagogy, and leadership.
As a mixed methods researcher, Dr. Kamimura’s agenda focuses on broadening access, equity, and belonging in the P-20/professoriate pathway. She has held academic appointments in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Louisville, Simmons School of Education and Human Development at Southern Methodist University, College of Education at Texas Christian University, Bayh College of Education at Indiana State University, College of Education at the University of North Texas. She has also held instructional support appointments at the University of Michigan and the University of California Irvine. Dr. Kamimura has been a contributor to several books and academic articles on topics of access and equity in higher education, leadership, and organizational change. She has served in national leadership roles including recently on the Board of Directors for the American Association of Hispanics for Higher Education (AAHHE).
Dr. Kamimura received her BA from the University of California, Irvine; Ed.M. from Harvard University; M.A. from the University of Michigan; and PhD from the University of Michigan.