Nicholas R. Santilli, Ph.D. is the Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of San Diego (USD) and Professor of Psychological Sciences, Emeritus at John Carroll University. You may remember that he also served as the inaugural Senior Director for Learning Strategy for the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP). In this role, he oversaw the development of learning content for individual practitioners and institutions looking to build the professional competencies of their faculty and staff. He was also the lead for the SCUP Planning Institute, the premier professional development program to create institutional capacity for integrated planning in higher education.

Nick is a long-time member of SCUP. He co-chaired two SCUP annual conferences; served on the SCUP Board of Directors for three years, two years as chair; is an experienced Planning Institute facilitator; led the development of the Planning Institute curriculum; worked with the PI Facilitator Corps, and; had oversight of the development and implementation of the SCUP professional learning portfolio.

He was a member of the SCUP staff from June 2018 to March 2023. He re-entered higher education institutional work in August 2025 at the University of San Diego. He is the chief academic officer at USD. He joined USD after a 34-year career as a faculty member and administrator in higher education that included positions in assessment of student learning and development, institutional effectiveness, accreditation, integrated planning, vice president for academic and student affairs, and provost. In 2003-04, he served as a Fellow of the American Council on Education. This is the premier professional development fellowship for higher education leadership. He spent his fellowship year at the University of Toledo. Nick is also a member of the peer review corps for the Higher Learning Commission, the largest accrediting body of higher education institutions in the United States.

Nick is a native of Cleveland, Ohio. He is an avid supporter of all things Cleveland including the local arts scene, non-profit associations, and sports teams.