Biography for Ruth Archer, PhD

Ruth Archer is the Director of Continuous Improvement at Michigan Technological University, where she manages the continuous improvement activities for the university. At Michigan Tech, Ruth is responsible for training people on Lean thinking and integrating continuous improvement into the day-to-day activities of students, faculty, and staff. In addition, she teaches courses on Lean principles, teamwork, and communication. Ruth is also the president of the Superior Leadership Institute, where she coaches others for leadership excellence and creates and delivers training on Lean and continuous improvement, leadership development, and managerial skills. Ruth has a BS in Electrical Engineering, an MBA, and a Ph.D. in business administration with a specialization in organizational psychology. Before working at Michigan Tech, she served in the United States Air Force. She held multiple positions, including aircraft mechanic, test equipment designer, aircraft electromagnetic signature collector, radar modeler, and current and future radar engineer. Ruth is on the steering committee for the Americas Division of Lean Higher Education Global and an examiner for Michigan Performance Excellence (MIPEx).