Prior to his current position, Dr. Hlavac served as the interim Associate Dean for the School of Arts and Sciences for two years, and before that was Associate Professor and Chair of the Music Department. He received Bachelor of Arts in Music and Bachelor of Science in Music Education degrees from the University of Connecticut, a Master of Music degree from Yale University, and an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of Hartford. A frequent educational leadership clinician and presenter, Dr. Hlavac has delivered presentations throughout the country. Dr. Hlavac is also an advisory board member for The Department Chair, the premier academic department chair journal. Dr. Hlavac’s research interests focus on the impacts of the organizational mission on the decision-making of educational leaders, the use of organizational and departmental missions to prioritize decision-making, and the utility of mission-based management in the administration of the contemporary university.
Dr. Adrienne Lyles serves as Executive Director for Equal Opportunity and Title IX Coordinator at the University of Cincinnati and manages UC’s comprehensive response to concerns related to discrimination and harassment as well as equal opportunity planning. Dr. Lyles completed her undergraduate degrees in Philosophy and English at Iowa State University. She earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Colorado at Boulder; her areas of specialization include feminist philosophy, existentialism, and intersectionality. Dr. Lyles earned her J.D. from Notre Dame Law School and is licensed to practice law in Indiana. Prior to arriving at UC, Dr. Lyles was Associate Director of Equal Opportunity, Senior Deputy Title IX Coordinator, and Associate Teaching Professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Iowa State University. At Iowa State, Dr. Lyles was responsible for policy, procedure, and processes related to non-discrimination as well as affirmative action planning. Dr. Lyles has taught philosophy at the University of San Diego and Saint Mary’s College (Indiana), served as department head of an interdisciplinary social justice education program, and was attorney/owner of a law firm in South Bend, Indiana. You can find Dr. Lyles’ article, “Title IX Investigations: The Importance of Training Investigators in Evidence-Based Approaches […]
Prior to joining McMurry, Matt served for four years as the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Siena Heights University in Adrian, Michigan. He began his career as a faculty member in the Department of Biology at LIU Post in Brookville, New York, ultimately serving as Department Head and Graduate Program Director for 10 years prior to moving to Savannah, Georgia to serve as Department Head of Biology at Armstrong State University. Matt is passionate about student success and the issues that affect institutional stability. He has played key roles in establishing new undergraduate and graduate programs, building student success initiatives aimed at improving retention and graduation rates, and supporting faculty and students in their research and grant writing endeavors. He has also spearheaded several key external partnerships. As a scientist, Matt likes to dive into the data when seeking to understand the full breadth and depth of an issue, and he enjoys sharing analyses and interpretations with various stakeholders to empower them to make good decisions.
Brian spent 7 years as assistant and associate professor at Manchester College (now University) in Indiana, and for the last 18 years has served in a variety of roles at Central College in Iowa. Besides serving as a tenured Professor of Economics, he has served as chairs for multiple departments, including economics, accounting, and management, as well as exercise science, philosophy and religion. He spent five years as a founding member of the class deans at Central, serving as a supplemental advisor for students, and as an advising resource for faculty members. For the last five years, Brian served as Associate Dean for Curriculum and Faculty Development, and most recently, as Senior Associate Academic Dean. In this position, Brian focused on faculty professional development, accreditation, curriculum advancement, and assessment as learning. He has just begun an appointment as Vice President for Academic Affairs at LaGrange College in Georgia, in which his focus will include curriculum development, retention, and faculty professional development. Brian has published in multiple economics education journals and edited several volumes, including the International Review of Economics Education, and has presented on many topics to a wide array of audiences and on broadcast media. He currently serves as […]
Barb has served within higher ed in a variety of roles. As a Biology professor, she was dedicated to the use of active learning and effective pedagogies to support student learning. She held several leadership positions as Chair of both the Faculty Handbook Committee and the Natural Science program, which was revamped under her leadership, and where she was also a leader in the reimagination of their general education program. Most recently, Barb has served as the Academic Dean at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University (CSB/SJU). In this role, she oversaw their 37 majors and 40 minors and worked with over 250 faculty to support the academic student experience. She supported and led in the development of several new interdisciplinary programs that support the liberal arts as well as three new nursing graduate programs at CSB. She also oversaw CSB/SJU’s academic offices and programs. In her time as Academic Dean, Barb restructured these academic offices and programs to increase awareness, access, and use of these opportunities. For example, she has led in the creation of CSB/SJU’s new Experience Hub, which encompasses the Center for Global Education, Experience and Professional Development (the office that supports career development, […]
Jodi has served in several roles at Alverno for the past 16 years including Executive Director of Academic Excellence and Women’s Leadership, History Department Chair, and Interim Director of Alverno’s Assessment and Outreach Center. In her current role, she leads a wide variety of academic programs and faculty in graduate psychology, business, education, and music liturgy—as well as undergraduate programs in education, business, and communication. Jodi also recently retired from 18 years with the Advanced Placement World History program, where she served in a number of leadership positions including Chief Reader, leading thousands of educators through the scoring of 320,000 AP World History exams annually. Jodi is passionate about women’s leadership, shared governance, and assessment as learning, and she appreciates the small, Franciscan, liberal arts heritage of this midwestern women’s college. Alverno is known for its innovative abilities-based curriculum, creative faculty, and dynamic assessment model, and you can read more about this tradition in her “Valuing in Decision-Making Ability: Teaching, Learning, and Assessment Across the Curriculum and Campus Culture at Alverno College” in The Journal of College and Character (2011). Alverno is proud to be recognized as Wisconsin’s first federally designated Hispanic Service Institution and one of the state’s most […]
In her role at Rutgers University, Anna provides strategic leadership to ensure that the institutional commitment to equity is reflected in the research, educational, and public engagement efforts that occur throughout the university, and that focus extends to faculty, staff, and students. She currently leads the University and Inclusion office and the Division of Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement on the New Brunswick campus, championing the role of diversity and inclusion in achieving excellence and strengthening the institutional commitment to its diverse community on and off campus. Prior to joining Rutgers University, Anna served as Associate Chancellor for Equity and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her significant accomplishments in that role included leading the integration of diversity throughout the campus strategic plan, executing the university’s campus climate survey, creating diversity infrastructure through climate advisors in executive areas and diversity officers in schools and colleges, and leading the National Science Foundation funded ADVANCE program in pursuing innovative organizational change strategies to spur institutional transformation and support racial and gender equity in the faculty ranks.
Sharon is the Academic Director and Professor of Educational Leadership at Washington State University Vancouver and Chair of Educational Leadership and Sport Management for the WSU multi-campus system. Her scholarship broadly addresses two concerns: (1) to help teachers and school leaders better understand the key role leadership plays in K-12 schools, and (2) to explore how education, in K-12 schools and universities, is currently structured and influenced by social and organizational complexity. Sharon’s interests in education and organizational change are an extension of her desire to encourage improvement, the development of communal leadership, and social justice through institutional and systemic reform. Her recent books include Educational Leadership, Organizational Learning, and the Ideas of Karl Weick: Perspectives on Theory and Practice (2019, with Bob Johnson, Routledge), A Case Study Approach to Educational Leadership (2019, with Julie Gray, Routledge), and Mindful Educational Leadership: Contemplative, Cognitive, and Organizational Systems and Practices (2023, Routledge). She is past editor of the Journal of Research on Leadership Education and Director of the UCEA Center for the Study of Academic Leadership.
Cindy has over 25 years of professional experience promoting student development and success through her work as a Student Affairs professional. Her career includes work at large and small as well as public and private institutions. Residence Life was Cindy’s introduction to student affairs, allowing her to achieve progressively expansive roles—most recently, as the Associate Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students at Rider University. Having coached, mentored, and supervised hundreds of professional and student staff, Cindy grounds her efforts in the belief that elevating the strengths and attributes of others is exponentially motivating and inspiring. During her career, Cindy has focused on building partnership bridges throughout and amongst the campus divisions on behalf of students. Once in place, these bridges provide safe and accessible paths for students to traverse both the predictable and unexpected challenges that college life presents. Cindy holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and a Master of Science in Counseling with a Higher Education concentration, both from West Chester University of Pennsylvania. Her background in counseling established the solid foundation upon which she has built the strong leadership competencies and human development skills that guide her work. Cindy marks her time at […]
Dr. Andrew Lyon has over 30 years of experience as a chemist, bioengineer, educator, and entrepreneur and currently serves as the Founding Dean of the Dale E. and Sarah Ann Fowler School of Engineering at Chapman University, a role that has seen the successful launch and meteoric growth of Chapman’s first steps into engineering education and research. Prior to his current role, he served as Dean of the Schmid College of Science and Technology at Chapman University from 2014-2018 and was a key leader in Chapman’s rapid expansion in the STEM disciplines. Before arriving at Chapman, Dr. Lyon spent 15+ years at the Georgia Institute of Technology as a member of the Chemistry & Biochemistry faculty and directing a research program aimed at creating new types of biomaterials for regenerative medicine applications. He also served as the Chair of GT Chem & Biochem just prior to joining Chapman. In addition to his role at Chapman, he is the co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Sanguina, Inc. and SelSym Biotech, Inc., two early-stage biotechnology companies. He is the recipient of the NSF CAREER, Beckman Young Investigator, Research Corporation Research Innovation, and Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Awards, an Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, and […]
