Michelle Marks is Chancellor Emerita and Professor of Management at the University of Colorado Denver. As a longstanding leader in higher education, she is nationally recognized for her innovation, impact, and education-workforce partnerships. She possesses more than fifteen years of experience in CEO roles and C-level higher education leadership, with a focus on public-private partnerships. 

Marks’ leadership has been dedicated to fostering student success, strategic growth, digital/AI transformation, and business and government partnerships with higher education. Before her tenure at CU Denver, Marks served as Vice President for Academic Innovation and New Ventures at George Mason University, Virginia’s largest public research university. In this role, she spearheaded strategic partnerships aimed at delivering online programming at scale and created an innovative transfer pathway program, now considered a national model. 

Currently, Marks holds the position of Professor of Management in CU Denver’s Business School. Her areas of expertise include organizational leadership and teamwork, and she is a public speaker on leadership topics. She has mentored and coached many professionals in higher education and business, with a focus on women’s leadership development. 

Marks earned her BS in psychology from James Madison University and her MA and PhD in industrial/organizational psychology from George Mason University.