Holly Unruh is the Executive Director of the Arts Research Institute at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC). Prior to joining UCSC, Unruh served as the Associate Director of the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Center (UROC) at CSU Monterey Bay, where she managed a multi-million dollar interdisciplinary grant portfolio, and served as Faculty Fellow for Undergraduate Research, Student Engagement, and Academic Initiatives through the CSU Office of the Chancellor. From 2006-2014 she was Associate Director of the University of California Institute for Research in the Arts, a statewide program dedicated to supporting and promoting arts practice and research across the University of California system, a position she held concurrently with her appointment as the Associate Director of the UC Santa Barbara Interdisciplinary Humanities Center (2004-2009). Dr. Unruh holds a Ph.D. in the History of Art and Architecture from UC Santa Barbara, and has taught Art History and Cultural Studies at CSU Channel Islands, Santa Barbara City College, and Westmont College. She has served as a member of the Santa Barbara County Arts Commission (2004-2014; chair, 2005-2007); and on the boards of the Santa Barbara Cultural Development Foundation and the Isla Vista Arts Initiative. Her book, Funding Your Research in the Humanities and Social Sciences, with co-author Barbara Walker, was published in 2018, and her most recent volume, Designing and Implementing a Successful Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity Program was published in 2024 by Routledge.