Tasha R. Inniss, PhD, is the Vice Provost for Research at Spelman College, a Historically Black liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia, for women of African descent. She leads the Office of Research, Innovation, and Collaboration and holds a tenured faculty appointment in the mathematics department. Inniss was appointed Associate Provost for Research in 2018 after returning from serving as the inaugural director of education and industry outreach at INFORMS, the world’s largest society for professionals in the fields of operations research, management science, and analytics. She has also held positions at the National Science Foundation in the Directorate of Education and Human Resources (now the Directorate for STEM Education), the Division of Human Resource Development (now the Division of Equity for Excellence in STEM), and the Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation Program.

Originally from New Orleans, Inniss graduated summa cum laude from Xavier University of Louisiana with a bachelor’s in mathematics. She earned a master’s degree in applied mathematics from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a doctorate in applied mathematics from the University of Maryland, College Park. As an applied mathematician, her research interests lie in operations research, applied statistics, and data science/data mining. Inniss also has a passion for encouraging undergraduate students to pursue degrees in STEM disciplines and received a Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching as a junior faculty member at Spelman for her innovative teaching techniques and dedication to helping students to see real-world applications of mathematics. She is a member of the Executive Committee for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine’s Roundtable on Systemic Change in Undergraduate STEM Education and of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., an international organization committed to service and social action.