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Education

• Ph.D. English, University of Virginia, 2002
• B.A. English and Women’s Studies, Departmental and College Honors, Earlham College, 1990

Professional Experience

PROVOST AND PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH

Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, OH                                                              July 2020–July 2026

Top 100 liberal arts college serving over 1600 students with 70 majors located ex-urban to Columbus, OH. OWU is one of 45 colleges in Colleges That Change Lives, and is a member of the Great Lakes College Association, Ohio 5, and Annapolis Group of Liberal Arts Colleges.

Led the Academic Affairs division of over 200 full-time faculty and academic staff and oversaw a $20M operating budget. Direct reports included Office of Institutional Effectiveness; Center for Teaching, Learning, and Innovation; Library; Honors Program; Academic Support; Information Services; Registrar; Holistic Advising; and The OWU Connection—the umbrella for distinctive centers like the Woltemade Center for Economics, Business, & Entrepreneurship, Arneson Institute for Practical Politics & Public Affairs, Early Childhood Center, and Ross Art Museum. Administered required, endowed signature experiences including undergraduate research, study abroad, service, and careers.

Key Leadership and Transformational Strategy

• University Identity: Led campus-wide “market position” initiative building to strategic plan
• Universal transformative student requirement: Oversaw integration of $20M endowed high-impact experience now required to graduate
• Campus planning for academic vision: Overseeing integration of fine and performing arts and state-of-the art library into nationally distinctive Library Complex and Arts Arena
• Comprehensive civil discourse initiative: Led groundbreaking constructive dialogue initiative defining OWU as a national leader
• AI-Ready: Initiated campus-wide AI strategy for cabinet, faculty, and staff

Educational Innovation for Distinctive Experience

• Oversaw first general education transformation in 50 years including: first-year “wicked problems” seminar; skills-based model translating to careers; required signature experience
• Finalized academic program prioritization in 2020 from 90 to 70 majors, combining single-person departments; launched pipeline for new programs including Public Health, Entrepreneurship, Nursing pathway, and ABET-accredited Engineering
• Developed first micro-credential with civil discourse partner as precursor to offering industry-ready micro-credentials supplementing liberal arts degrees
• Instituted first external review process to support academic department excellence and growth
• Expanded summer undergraduate research to include the Humanities and Social Sciences
• Founded Teaching, Learning, Innovation Center and hired inaugural Director for faculty support

Enrollment Growth

• Co-led transfer agreement with Columbus State Community College leading to 250% growth in transfer population from 10-20 students annually to 70
• Worked with Vice President for Enrollment to revise academic admissions strategy including events, communication, tours leading to increased response rates in admissions days, email open rates, prospective parent and new family communication & website searches
• Created academic enrollment group doubling student participation in areas especially Marching Band and fellowship programs including Global and Business/Economics fellows
• Supervised new articulation agreements creating BA Nursing, MA Business Analytics & Intelligence, MA Supply Chain Management, and MA Data Analytics pathways with Case Western, Miami of Ohio, and Mt. Carmel School of Nursing

Philanthropy, Partnerships, and Revenue Growth

• Secured largest gift from youngest alumni donor $1M for Westwood Real Estate and  Community Development Program to provide real estate/development skills in Columbus, OH
• Co-planned nationally defining library and arts complex leading to $50M gifts in 90 days
• Cultivated and helped close $10M donor/gift for Smith Center for Faculty Excellence
• Helped secure lead 8-figure gift culminating in $17M for first named Engineering School
• Advanced major gifts including $3M research laboratory, funding for humanities, data analytics, first-gen success, and constructive dialogue
• Partnered with businesses in Columbus region on entrepreneurship, engineering, hotel, and micro-credentials initiatives
• Collaborated with Alumni Relations on speaking, programming, and faculty participation in reunion weekend, virtual programming, Women of Ohio Wesleyan events, donor receptions
• Grew mission-aligned revenue streams including Bishop Access fee-based program for students with intellectual challenges from 20-60 students, new Community Research Fellows consulting program, Summer Band Camp, and Summer Session

Student Success and Retention

• Co-led campus-wide “Move the Needle” student success retention initiative resulting in largest first-second year retention from 77% to 88.6%; Fall-spring: 94%; first-gen up 10%; Pell up 7%
• Administered curricular reform including DFW rate decreases in key introductory courses
• Oversaw revision of dismissal policies and creation of academic support course for retentionOverseeing academic support plan addressing post-COVID reading, writing, math challenges
• Developed inaugural Director of Holistic Advising to remodel advising to optimize retention

Innovation and Continuous Improvement

• Created new academic divisional structure for enrollment growth and curricular creativity with roughly 6 departments each under new leadership: Social Science, Humanities & Arts, STEM
• Led first comprehensive Faculty Handbook revision in 60 years
• Managed financial planning and transparent budgeting including first equity-based salary study
• Developed robust faculty onboarding and mentoring program; increased professional development opportunities for faculty and staff in division for morale and well-being

Inclusive Excellence

• Created divisional strategic plan for belonging: cultivation, classroom, curriculum, and culture
• Developed tenure track cohort hire with three foci: flexibility, interdisciplinarity, belonging
• Created “Faculty Fellows” program to foster inclusive pedagogy for retention
• Invited mentor, Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM) for junior administrators, 25-26

Thought Leadership

• Write, present, and speak on national stage about leadership and higher education through opinion editorials, podcasts, and multiple workshops for leading higher education organizations
• Co-organized, Chief Academic Officer Women’s Leadership development program at the Council of Independent College CAO Conference, 2021-2023
• Created “Humanities Toolkit” with College of Wooster to foster Humanities growth

INTERIM ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS (Jan-June 2020)

INTERIM ASSOCIATE ACADEMIC DEAN (July 2019-Dec 2019)

St. Norbert College, De Pere, WI

Top 100 liberal arts college serving 1800 students with 40 majors and three graduate programs including an MBA. Member Annapolis Group of Liberal Arts Colleges.

• Supervised units in six mission-critical areas: Library, Undergraduate Research, Honors Program, Academic Service Learning, Cassandra Voss Center, Faculty Development
• Oversaw student-centered retention approach with Registrar in systems and communication
• Unified undergraduate research initiatives for enhanced cohesive student research opportunities
• Created financial structure for faculty professional development for strategy and efficiency

FOUNDING DIRECTOR, CASSANDRA VOSS CENTER

St. Norbert College, De Pere, WI                                                                              2013-2019

New multi-million dollar endowed center for belonging with national standing

• Founded $3M center for belonging including new mission, vision, core values, strategic plan, and structures using entrepreneurial best practice
• Cultivated and stewarded primary donor for center and numerous donors and corporate partners leading to essential gifts and collaborations including Schreiber Foods, Green Bay Packers, Associated Bank, Green Bay Community Foundation, Greater Green Bay Women’s Fund, Goldieblox, WonderCrew, Green Bay Public Schools
• Secured $20,000 in funding, support, and underwriting from Humana Insurance for 4-year partnership including virtual equity programming for employees nationallySecured $30,000 multi-year partnership with Schneider Transport to develop women’s leadership in both trucking and senior executive pipelines teaching skills and networking
• Created communications, social media, and branding strategy; won NE Wisconsin American Advertising (Addy) Silver Award for best non-profit marketing collateral

Academic Leadership

• Faculty Personnel Committee, Chair, 2012-2013; member, 2011-2013
• Faculty Advisory Council (primary governance committee), Chair, 2007-08; member, 2006-08 Chair, English Department, 2006-08
• Founding Director, Women’s and Gender Studies, 2018-2020; 2005-2015
• Professor, St. Norbert College, U.S. Literature, Gender and Race and Ethnic Studies
  • Full Professor, 2014
  • Associate Professor, 2006-2013 (with tenure)
  • Assistant Professor, 2002-06

Teaching Interests and Selected Courses Taught

Nineteenth- and twentieth-century American literature and culture; Cultural Studies; Film; Race and Ethnic Studies; Religion and literature; Gender and Identity Studies

Introduction to Literature; 19th Century US Novel; African-American Novel; Religious Experience in American Literature; Introduction to African-American Literature; Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies; The Changing Face of Technology: Transforming Media & Women’s Lives; Multicultural US Literature; The Politics of Beauty; Sexuality & Literature; U.S. Literature Surveys to 1865 & 1865 to present; Women and Literature; Introduction to Academic Argument; The Future of College

Publications and Presentations

Books and Articles 

• Feminism’s New Age: Gender, Appropriation, and the Afterlife of Essentialism. State University of New York P, 2011
• “Branding,” Rethinking WGS II. Eds. Ann Braithwaite and Catherine Orr, Routledge P, 2023
• “Vision to Action: Inside Out Strategic Planning,” Eds. Brenda Bethman, Donna Bickford, Anitra Cottledge. Women’s and Gender Equity Centers. Routledge P, 2018
• “‘One Angel’ in Julia Ward Howe’s The Hermaphrodite.” Nineteenth Century American Women Write Religion. Ed. Mary Wearn, Ashgate P, 2014
• Co-author, “Feminist Frauds on the Fairies? Didacticism and Liberation in Recent Retellings: ‘Cinderella.’” Marvels & Tales: Journal of Fairy Tale Studies, 24.2, 2010
• “Pedagogical Intersections of Gender, Race, and Identity.” Getting Culture: Incorporating Diversity Across the Curriculum, Eds. R Gurung, L Prieto, Stylus P, 2009
• “New Age Feminism? Reading the Woman’s ‘New Age’ Non-fiction Bestseller.” Religion and the Culture of Print in Modern America, Eds. Charles Cohen, Paul S. Boyer, U Wisconsin P, 2008 

Selected Opinion Editorials and Media

Inside Higher Education 

• “A Wish List for New Faculty,” Aug 2023 
• “Administrative Joy,” Nov 2022 
• “Teaching Into Conflict: Tips for Managing Hard Classroom Conversations,” Mar 2022 
• “The Paradoxical Provost: New Leadership Norms from the Pandemic,” June 2021 
• “Why Networking Matters More for Women in Higher Ed,” Mar 2021 

Additional Media and OP-EDS 

• Edup Podcast w Nicole Poff: Constructive Dialogue and Student Success, April 2026
• Higher Ed Leaders Podcast: Innovating Higher Ed w Suzan Brinker, April 2025
• Transformed Podcast w Joe Gottlieb: AI Strategy in Higher Ed with President, Catholic U of America and CIO, Babson College, March 2025
• Transformed Podcast w Joe Gottlieb: Adaptive Leadership: How to Win Trust and Accomplish Change, March 2025
• Civility 101? Ohio Colleges Aim to Teach Students How to Get Along, Ohio NPR, Oct 7, 2024
• “A Tribute to bell hooks,” George Yancy, Gloria Steinem, others, LA Review of Books, Jan 2022
• Co-author, “Rethinking Public Scholarship.” Diverse Issues in Higher Ed, Sep 2016
• “New Head Space in Hard Times” Psychology Today blog, Apr 2017
• “Bad Work Meetings? Do This One Thing: Walk the Walk.” Psychology Today blog, Nov 20166 

Selected Papers and Presentations

Administrative Leadership in Higher Education 

• Presenter with OWU team, “OWU as Retention Success Case Study for Liberal Arts Colleges,” Great Lakes College Association Student Success Summit, Feb 2026
• Presenter, “Retention Revolution: No More Silos!,” Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) Chief Academic Officers (CAO) Institute, Nov 2025
• Presenter, “Presidents & Provosts on Innovation,” Annapolis Grp Liberal Arts Colleges, June 25
• Presenter, “Faculty Compensation/Well-being,” Annapolis Grp Liberal Arts Colleges, June 25
• Presenter, “Finding Your Footing in Joy: A Starting Point for Belonging in 2025” Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) Belong Community Webinar, February 2025
• Presenter, “Academic Reorg: How Strategy Drives Structure,” Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) Chief Academic Officers (CAO) Institute, Nov 2024
• Presenter, “What is Academic Affairs?” with Denison Provost, Kim Coplin, for Great Lakes College Association Leadership Institute, Apr 23, Nov 2024
• Presenter, “Realigning Academic Divisions,” Educational Advisory Board (EAB), Aug 2024
• Presenter, “Shared Governance Strategy,” Annapolis Group of Liberal Arts Colleges, June 2024
• Presenter, “A Model Approach to Full-Scale Handbook Revision,” CIC CAO Institute, Nov 2023
• Presenter, “Change Leadership,” Annapolis Group of Liberal Arts Colleges, June 2023
• Presenter, “Administrative Joy,” Association of American Colleges & Universities (AACU) President’s Trust National Webinar, Mar 2023
• Presenter, “The New Provost,” Annapolis Group of Liberal Arts Colleges, June 2022
• Presenter, “Strategic Academic Review and Realignment,” CIC CAO Institute, Nov 2021
• Presenter, “Belonging: Social Justice Campus Spaces and Physical Environments,” AACU 2019

Selected Conferences and Invited Talks

• Presenter, “Rethinking WGS II Book,” National Women’s Studies Assoc (NWSA), Oct 2021
• Presenter, “Strategizing Business/Entrepreneurial Relationships for Centers,” NWSA, Nov 2019
• Presenter, Modern Language Association (MLA) Status of Women Committee 50th Anniversary Roundtable, Francoise Lionnet (Harvard), Jan Radway (Northwestern), Heather K. Love (UPenn), and Gina Dent (UC Santa Cruz), Jan 2019
• Panelist with bell hooks and colleagues, bell hooks Institute, Berea College, Mar 2018
• Presenter, “Branding: Intersectional Public Relations and Marketing as Story Making,” U Wisconsin WGS Conference, Apr 2017
• Presenter, “Strategizing Masculinities,” NWSA, Nov 2016
• Presenter, “Deep Stealth Swedenborgianism in Julia Ward Howe’s The Hermaphrodite,” Society for the Study of American Women Writers, Oct 2009
• Presenter, “Soul Work: Oprah & the Black New Age,” Midwest MLA, Nov 2006
• Presenter, “The Indian Way is What’s Inside”: Gender and the Appropriation of American Indian Religion,” American Studies Association, Oct 2003

Selected Honors and Awards

Leadership (Selected Participant)

• Presidential Vocation & Mission Institute, Council of Independent Colleges, 2024-25
• Institute for Educational Management, Education Graduate School, Harvard, 2022
• Senior Leadership Academy, Council of Independent Colleges, 2019-20Faculty, HERS Leadership Institute: CO Mines (2019), Wellesley (2018/21), U Denver (2023)
• HERS Women’s Executive Higher Ed Leadership Institute, Bryn Mawr, 2017

Teaching and Scholarship

• Recipient, Donald B. King Distinguished Scholar Award, St. Norbert, 2015
• Recipient, Educator of the Year, Norbertine Awards, St. Norbert, 2009; Nominee, 2005-08, 2012
• Recipient, Bishop Robert F. Morneau Faculty Community Service Award, St. Norbert, 2012
• Recipient, Undergraduate Research Fund, St. Norbert, 2006 & 11; McNair advisor, 2012 & 14

Inclusive Excellence

• “Top 25 Women in Higher Education National Award,” Diverse: Issues in Higher Ed, Mar 2021
• Humana Insurance Diversity and Inclusion Partnership Award, Green Bay WI, 2016
• Awardee, Wisconsin Women Higher Ed Leadership Lifetime Outstanding Achievement, 2014Finalist, ForeWord Book of the Year Award, Women’s Issues Category, 2011
• Semi-finalist, State University of New York Press Best First Book Prize in Gender Studies, 2008

Grants

• Participant, Teagle Transfer Pathways to the Liberal Arts, 2020-23
• Co-Principal, American Association of University Women, 2018-19
• Principal, Wisconsin Humanities Council, “Rethinking Environment,” 2018-19
• Principal, Americorps Grant Awardee, 2016-2020

Consulting

• Peer Reviewer, Higher Learning Commission, 2019-present
• Reviewer, Constructive Dialogue Institute for program assessment
• Student success presentations: Hiram College, Albion College, 2024
• Led Curriculum Transformation seminar, Providence College, 2019
• External Reviewer: St. Mary’s-CA; Luther; SUNY-New Paltz; New College of Florida; U Toledo

Certificates

• Certificate, Fundraising Principles & Techniques, Indiana U Lilly Philanthropy School, Sept 2024
• Certificate, Advanced Constructive Dialogue, Constructive Dialogue Institute, Oct 2024
• Certificate, Lean Systems/Six Sigma Management, Michigan Tech, St. Norbert 2019Certificate, Lean Systems/Six Sigma Management, Michigan Tech, St. Norbert 2019

Other Professional Memberships and Service

Board and Leadership Service 

• St. Norbert College Board of Trustees: Endowment Campaign Committee, 2019-20; 
• Board of Directors, bell hooks Institute, Berea College, 2016-19 
• Co-chair, Provost Search Committee, St. Norbert, 2018 
• Board of Directors, Sigma Tau Delta International English Honor Society, 2008-16 
• Academic Affairs Committee 2016-17; Advancement Committee, 2008-10 
• ●Board of Directors, National Women’s Studies Association, 2005-10 

Editorship and Reviews 

• Reviewer, Advance Journal: NSF Outcomes, Oregon State U, Jan 2019, 2024 
• Reviewer, PMLA, Modern Language Association, Dec 2020 
• Editor of National Publications, The Rectangle and The Sigma Tau Delta Review, 2008-16 

Community Service 

• Reenactor, Delaware County Historical Society, Oct 2024-present 
• Facilitator, faculty experts in classrooms, Smith Elementary School, Delaware, OH, 2022 
• Instructor, Union Congregational Church, Adult education sessions, Green Bay, WI, 2017