The Institute for Women’s Leadership Announces New Leaders and Advisory Board Updates
Dr. Jennica Webster, associate professor of management at the College of Business Administration, has been named director of the Institute for Women’s Leadership. Dr. Leah Flack, chair and professor of English, and Dr. Melissa Shew, associate professor of philosophy education, each from Klingler College of Arts and Sciences, were named co-directors.
Webster was a member of the IWL’s inaugural leadership team, announced in 2019. Former IWL director Andrea Schneider was named Professor of Law and Director of the Kukin Program for Conflict Resolution at Cardozo School of Law, the law school of the Yeshiva. New York University.
“I am delighted to announce the appointment of Dr. Jennica Webster as Director of the Institute for Women’s Leadership at Marquette,” said Dr. Jeanne Hossenlopp, Vice President for Research and Innovation. “She has done extensive research and scholarship on issues of equity and social justice in terms of gender, race and sexuality in the workplace. With our new co-directors, Dr. Leah Flack and Dr. Melissa Shew, we have a leadership team that is uniquely qualified to lead together at this time and continue the IWL’s important mission of fostering an inclusive community of leaders and teachers. , a dynamic research environment and programming that challenges and elevates the discourse around important topics of gender equity and social justice.
Webster started at Marquette in 2010. During her time at Marquette, she held several leadership positions, including University Senate and Faculty Council, as well as chair of the June and Herman Loebl Women’s Lecture Series Committee. Business Leaders. Her research expertise includes diversity, equity and inclusion, and occupational health in the workplace.
Widely published in leading academic journals and contributor to media including Forbes and harvard business review, Webster is a regular speaker at national and international conferences such as the Academy of Management and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Additionally, she worked on a large-scale research grant funded by the National Science Foundation and provided consulting services to organizations on issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as to employee engagement and well-being.
Flack also came to Marquette in 2010 as a member of the English Department, where she has served as Department Chair since 2019. The author of two books – “Moderism and Homer” and “James Joyce and Classical Modernism” – she is interested how and why ancient literature has helped modern writers innovate through crises and affirm the enduring value of literature in an ever-changing world. She serves as an academic advisor for N4@MU, the first Wisconsin chapter of the global nonprofit Narrative 4, where she also serves on the National University Advisory Board. She is currently working on a project that considers the wisdom of literature for 21st century leaders and another that examines the real impact of storytelling experiences on the personal and professional trajectories of women.
Shew has been a participating faculty member at Marquette since 2007. She is also the faculty director of the Executive MBA program and a senior researcher at the Center for Teaching and Learning, where she supports the development of her fellow faculty on campus. . She co-edited “Philosophy for Girls: An Invitation to the Life of Thought,” in 2020. She then co-edited and contributed to “On the Vocation of the Educator in this Moment,” a collection of 30 reflections from the body Marquette faculty and staff. which capture a specific moment in time as educators across the country and around the world were called upon to rethink their teaching strategies and vocations in 2021. She also delivered, “Women and Intellectual Empowerment,” a TEDx Talk in June 2021.
“I would like to thank Professor Schneider for his leadership in launching the IWL,” Hossenlopp said. “As its first director, she played a central role in establishing a mission and culture around the IWL that blossomed into a strong and thriving community of faculty and scholars aligned with the values of the institute. I wish him good luck in his new position. »
Krista Brookman as Advisory Board Chair; the board welcomes five new members
The IWL also announced that Krista Brookman, Senior Director of Diversity and Inclusion at Northwestern Mutual, will serve as the newly created Chair of the IWL Advisory Board. The board also welcomed four new members, Tammy Belton-Davis, Founder and President of Athena Communications; Jennifer Dirks, President and CEO of TEMPO; Mark Naidicz, HR Manager in Residence at the College of Business Administration and former HR Manager at AbbVie; and Mary Alice Tierney, former vice president of communications at Aurora Health Care. Alexandra Quintana, a junior student at the College of Business Administration, joined the council as a student representative.
The IWL advisory board also includes current and former executives from BMO Harris, Nike, Spartan and Fiserv, among others.
The Institute for Women’s Leadership builds on Marquette University’s historic role as the world’s first coeducational Catholic university beginning in 1909. The IWL’s mission is to support and conduct cutting-edge research on the gender and create transformational experiences and relationships that empower women and advance women’s leadership.
