Katie Conboy Selected for New National Leadership Program
April 28, 2010
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Katie Conboy was one of only 25 chief academic officers nationwide selected to participate in a seminar on "Leadership for the 21st Century for Chief Academic Officers" that will be held July 12-16 in Annapolis, Maryland. In addition, Conboy was named to the Board of Directors of the American Conference of Academic Deans (ACAD).
The highly competitive leadership development program is intended to foster the perspectives and skills of college and university chief academic officers that can lead to success in unpredictable times. The program is offered by the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC), a national association of more than 600 independent, liberal arts colleges and universities, and the American Academic Leadership Institute (AALI), which provides leadership identification and development programs across all sectors of public and private higher education.
The five-day seminar will focus on the topic of Administrative Wisdom for Chief Academic Officers: Classic and Contemporary Readings on Leadership and Responsibility and will be led by John Churchill, secretary of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. Educated at Rhodes College, the University of Oxford, and Yale University, Churchill brings to the seminar years in the small college classroom, decades of senior academic administration, and eight years at the helm of the nation's oldest academic honorary society.
He said of the seminar, "I relish the prospect of engaging these texts and these issues with academic leaders who are committed to wringing practical leadership value from the process."
Selected from among 60 applications from private colleges and universities nationwide, participants will have the opportunity to read, reflect on, and discuss key issues of leadership and responsibility with colleagues.
In announcing the program, CIC President Richard Ekman noted that "the high level of interest indicates this is a valuable approach toward developing the capacities of leadership in the nation's colleges and universities. We were pleased with the exceptionally high quality of the applications and intend to offer similar programs to meet the need for leadership development.
AALI President Ann Die Hasselmo described the seminar as a rare opportunity for CAOs to engage with colleagues nationwide in a rich and substantive exploration of the issues facing academic leaders in today's challenging times. She said, "We can get so immersed in the dilemmas of the day that we neglect to remember that serious leadership issues and challenges have always surrounded the leader-regardless of the place, situation, decade, or century. This seminar offers the opportunity to read and reflect on the writings of current and historical leaders and scholars and to bring those leadership lessons into the present to provide guidance and counsel."
The mission of ACAD is to provide academic leaders who share a commitment to student learning and to the ideals of liberal education with networking and professional development opportunities and to support them in their work as educational leaders.
As Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Stonehill, Conboy is responsible for the College's academic vision and for ensuring that the curriculum meets its academic objectives. She also oversees strategic planning, degree programs and academic support.
A faculty member since 1987, Conboy has served as chair of the English Department and as interim academic vice president.
A published scholar, she specializes in British fiction, Irish literature and feminist theory. She holds a B.A. in English from the University of Kansas and a Ph.D. in English literature from the University of Notre Dame.
For more information about the Leadership for the 21st Century program, visit www.cic.edu/projects_services/academic_leadership_21st_century.asp.
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