Featured Speakers

Dr. Graham Spanier, President of Penn State University since 1995, will be the luncheon speaker on Saturday. A strong supporter of the arts disciplines, he has an impressive career in administration, including positions as chancellor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, provost at Oregon State University, and vice provost at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He is a distinguished researcher and scholar in sociology and marriage and family with more than 100 scholarly publications and was the founding editor of the Journal of Family Issues.

 

Dr. Marlene Ross directs the ACE Fellows Program, the nation's premier leadership development program that identifies and prepares leaders for senior positions in higher education administration. She oversees the recruitment and selection process for the program and organizes and teaches seminars on higher education leadership and administration. Ross is co-author of The Well-Informed Candidate: A Brief Guide for Candidates for College and University Presidencies, “So You Want to Be a College President” in Educational Record, and The American College President: 2000 Edition, as well as editions from 1998 and 1993. She also has written widely, conducted workshops, and served as a consultant to colleges and universities on numerous higher education issues. She served as project director for the presidential database, a longitudinal study of the backgrounds and career paths of American college and university presidents. She received her bachelor’s degree from Barnard College, Master’s from Harvard University, and Ph.D. from American University.

Katherine L. Kleindorfer has worked as a strategy and leadership development consultant since 1989. Her clients include small, medium and large (Fortune 500) firms as well as nonprofit organizations in the United States and Canada. In recent years, the main focus of her work has been strategic planning, executive coaching, leadership development, and design/facilitation of retreats. Kathy has a great deal of experience in the areas of organizational assessment, strategy, team development, leadership development, problem solving, and facilitation. Kathy also serves as a visiting assistant professor of management at the University of Evansville where she teaches classes in leadership and global strategy. In addition to more than 30 years of work experience in various corporate positions and as a consultant, Kathy has a Ph.D. in Management with a minor in Organizational Psychology and master's degrees in both Psychiatric Social Work and Business Administration.

Directors

Mark Alan Heckler is the 18th President of Valparaiso University (Indiana). He previously served as Provost and Vice Chancellor for the University of Colorado Denver. He has completed the American Council on Education's Institute for Chief Academic Officers and Harvard's Institute for Management and Leadership in Education. Heckler has over 100 academic and professional productions to his credit, including performances throughout the United States, Europe and the Middle East. Other global initiatives have included international education development in China, Russia, Germany, Italy, Nepal, Mongolia and Taiwan. He was founding Dean of the College of Arts and Media at the University of Colorado Denver and has served ATHE in multiple leadership roles, including president.

Dr. Barbara Oliver Korner, Dean, College of Arts and Architecture and Professor of Theatre at Penn State University previously served as associate and interim dean of the College of Fine Arts at the University of Florida. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the International Council of Fine Arts Deans. She has been recognized as a distinguished alumna of the College of Fine Arts at Ohio University, where she earned a Ph.D. in interdisciplinary fine arts. She has completed Harvard's Institute for Management and Leadership in Education and has served as in several leadership roles for ATHE. She maintains an active role as a performing artist and is the writer and performer of Responding to the Call: African-American Women Preachers. With Carla Waal, she is the co-editor of Hardship and Hope: Missouri Women Writing About Their Lives.