Dr. Judith A. Ramaley is President Emerita and Distinguished Professor of Public Service at Portland State University in the Mark O. Hatfield School, of Government and President Emerita of Winona State University.  Dr. Ramaley holds an appointment as a Senior Scholar with the Association of American Colleges and Universities. She is also a member of the board of Second Nature, an organization committed is to create a healthy, just, and sustainable society through the transformation of higher education.

Prior to returning to Portland State University, Dr. Ramaley served as President of Winona State University (WSU) in Minnesota from July 2005 to May 2012. She served as a Visiting Senior Scientist at the National Academy of Sciences in the spring of 2005. From 2001-2004, she was Assistant Director, Education and Human Resources Directorate (EHR) at The National Science Foundation (NSF).  While serving at NSF, Dr. Ramaley also held a presidential professorship in biomedical sciences at the University of Maine and was a Fellow of the Margaret Chase Smith Center for Public Policy. Dr. Ramaley was President of The University of Vermont (UVM) and Professor of Biology from 1997 to 2001. She was President and Professor of Biology at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon for seven years from 1990-1997.

Dr. Ramaley has a special interest in higher-education reform and institutional change and has played a significant role in designing regional alliances to promote educational cooperation. She also has contributed to a national exploration of the changing nature of work and has written extensively on civic responsibility and partnerships between higher education and community organizations as well as articles on science, technology, engineering and mathematics education.