Dr. Kathleen Harring Named American Council on Education Fellow
Molly Corbett Broad, president of the American Council on Education (ACE), announced that Kathleen Harring, Associate Dean for Institutional Assessment and Professor of Psychology, Muhlenberg College has been named an ACE Fellow for academic year 2012-13.Wednesday, March 28, 2012 09:58 AM
Harring, a graduate of Franklin and Marshall College, earned her M.A and Ph.D. in social psychology with a minor in quantitative psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She joined the Muhlenberg faculty in 1984, teaching courses in statistics, social psychology, and health psychology. Promoted to Professor of Psychology in 1999, she was awarded the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching and the Paul C. Empie Memorial Award, and served as chair of the department from 1993-2005. As a founding member of the Faculty Center for Teaching, she directed the Center from 1995- 2007. Harring’s research interests focus on group processes and the preconscious processing of emotion. In addition, she presents programs at national and international conferences on innovative pedagogies, general education reform, and faculty leadership development.
“Kathy Harring has distinguished herself at Muhlenberg as a teacher, scholar, department chair, and associate dean,” said Muhlenberg College President Randy Helm. “The ACE Fellowship presents her with a marvelous opportunity to further develop her considerable talents in academic leadership while exposing her to best practices at other institutions. This will be a win-win for Kathy and for Muhlenberg.”
The ACE Fellows Program, established in 1965, is designed to strengthen institutions and leadership in American higher education by identifying and preparing promising senior faculty and administrators for responsible positions in college and university administration. Fifty-seven Fellows, nominated by the presidents or chancellors of their institutions, were selected this year following a rigorous application process.
Sharon A. McDade, Ed.D., director of the ACE Fellows Program, noted that most previous Fellows have advanced into major positions in academic administration. Of the more than 1,700 participants in the first 47 years of the program, more than 300 have become chief executive officers and more than 1,100 have become provosts, vice presidents, or deans.
“We’re extremely pleased with the strength of the incoming class,” McDade said. “The Fellows Program will sharpen and enhance their leadership skills and their network, and prepare them to address issues of concern to the higher education community.”
Each ACE Fellow will focus on an issue of concern to the nominating institution while spending a semester working with a college or university president and other senior officers at a host institution. The ACE Fellows Program combines retreats, interactive learning opportunities, campus visits and placement at another higher education institution to condense years of on-the-job experience and skills development into a single semester or year. The Fellows are included in the highest level of decision making while participating in administrative activities and learning about an issue to benefit Muhlenberg.
Fellows attend three week-long retreats on higher education issues organized by ACE, read extensively in the field and engage in other activities to enhance their knowledge about the challenges and opportunities confronting higher education today.
>Founded in 1918, ACE is the major coordinating body for all the nation's higher education institutions, representing more than 1,600 college and university presidents, and more than 200 related associations, nationwide. It provides leadership on key higher education issues and influences public policy through advocacy. For more information, please visit www.acenet.edu or follow ACE on Twitter @ACEducation.
