VIMS professor selected for prestigious HERS Bryn Mawr Summer Institute
Professor Linda Schaffner of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science has been selected to participate in an intensive two-week professional-development program dedicated to advancing women leaders in higher education administration.
Schaffner, associate dean of academic studies for the College of William & Mary’s School of Marine Science at VIMS, was selected along with approximately 70 other female faculty and administrators from around the nation for the Bryn Mawr Summer Institute for Women in Higher Education Administration. The program, which began in late June, is one of three summer institutes offered by the educational non-profit Higher Education Resource Services (HERS).
Schaffner was nominated by W&M Provost Michael Halleran and VIMS Dean and Director John Wells. Schaffner said she was mentored during the application process by the College’s Vice Provost for Academic Affairs Kathleen Slevin.
“I’m very thankful for the support of these individuals who encouraged me to seek this wonderful opportunity,” said Schaffner. “The intensive training provided by the HERS Institute will allow me to provide better leadership for our academic program at VIMS.”
“This is a phenomenal opportunity for Linda, and I’m confident that she will use the information and contacts she gains at Bryn Mawr to further enhance the academic programs and services that we provide to our graduate students and to the Commonwealth,” said Wells
Each summer since 1976, the program has provided a residential program with an intensive leadership and management curriculum for faculty and administrators on the Bryn Mawr campus in Pennsylvania.
“A major focus of the program will center on helping us to understand and cultivate our leadership capacity in the context of our professional goals and role within the university,” said Schaffner. “We’ll also learn more about the workings of higher education in areas as diverse as university finances, IT, and legal issues, from Institute faculty who have experience in those areas.”
During her time in Pennsylvania, Schaffner and the other participants will pair with HERS faculty and alumnae to develop professional development plans and networks. Curricular themes will include understanding the higher education environment, planning and leading change in the academy, managing and investing strategic resources, engaging individual and institutional diversity, and mapping leadership development.
HERS has served the higher education community since 1972, preparing more than 4,300 women faculty and administrators for leadership roles. Today HERS Alumnae are active on more than 1,200 public and private campuses across the U.S., South Africa, Botswana, India, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Micronesia, and the Caribbean. More than 500 HERS alumnae now serve in senior level positions.
