Chris Mullin

Strategy Director

Christopher (Chris) Mullin, Ph.D., is strategy director of data and measurement for Lumina Foundation, an independent, private foundation in Indianapolis that is committed to making opportunities for learning beyond high school available to all.

Previously, he served as director of Strong Start to Finish at Education Commission of the States, executive vice chancellor of the Florida College System, the assistant vice chancellor for policy and research at the State University System of Florida, Board of Governors, the program director for policy analysis of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), and a postdoctoral fellow at the Illinois Education Research Council. Over the years he has also attended many Lumina convenings, both as a presenter and a participant.

He earned his bachelor’s and doctoral degree from the University of Florida and a master of education degree from Teachers College of Columbia University.

I dug deep into the history of this country’s credentialling frenzy and resurfaced with six ways we can reduce the chaos

Believe it or not, there were more than 144 local time zones in the United States before 1883. This made it difficult for railroads to schedule and coordinate routes, resulting in train collisions. So, the country adopted standard time zones to end the confusion.

• March 26, 2024

I was nearly a college dropout. Here’s how you can help students like me.

Perhaps, like you, I doubted if college was worth it. In my first semester at the University of Florida, I spent a day weighing my options to drop out or stay enrolled. Why? Because I couldn’t sit through one more long, tedious class lecture. I had enough of being talked at.

• Dec. 13, 2023

What does the future of learning look like? Faculty and students weigh in on new tech tools.

My whole life I’ve been curious about exoskeletons. As a child, I dreamed about building one for humans. Well, while Sarcos beat me to the punch with its wearable robotics, it hasn’t quashed my fascination with how humans and technology form a symbiotic relationship.

• Aug. 21, 2023

It’s time to align college and training data to help all learners

Built along interstates to increase access, nestled within office buildings for convenience or in a field to connect with nature’s laboratory, it’s all too easy to pass by classrooms for the mechanical and agricultural arts without realizing the opportunities they offer.

• July 24, 2023

How federal workforce programs can leave some students without credentials

Federal law merely suggests that training providers confer a credential, but they are not required to do so, denying some participants an economic edge.

• July 10, 2023

Time to weigh in: IPEDS could restrict the race and ethnicity reporting of undocumented students

Freedom gives us, as Americans, the power to choose. It makes our form of government unique in several practical ways. One is the opportunity to create and own our own identity, a practice praised by rugged individualists and inclusivity activists alike.

• April 21, 2022