Women Soar In Higher Education

Women are increasingly aspiring to leadership positions within Georgia's public and private universities. But making it to the president's office is still uncommon.

by Patti Ghezzi

September 26, 2008

L isa Rossbacher is an anomaly in higher education. She's a woman at the helm of a technical university where most of the students are men.
She hopes her position as president of Southern Polytechnic State University will inspire other women to pursue leadership positions in higher education, a path that is rewarding though challenging for women who must overcome traditional views of men as presidents. "Higher education administration is a wonderful way to have an impact on a lot of people," Rossbacher says. "I feel incredibly fortunate."
 
Women are increasingly aspiring to leadership positions within Georgia's public and private universities. But making it to the president's office is still uncommon. Rossbacher is one of only five women presidents among the University System of Georgia's 36 institutions, and two of those five are interim appointments. Nationally, only 23 percent of college presidents are women, according to the American Council on Education.

Still, now is an excellent time for women to pursue careers in higher education administration, because women increasingly outnumber men on college campuses, says Sharon Hoffman, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Clayton State University. "It's very important that today's young women have role models," she says. In her six years at Clayton State, she has worked to recruit women as deans and professors, many of whom she is grooming for top administrative positions.

Tamara Nash, director of the Center for Civic Engagement at Oglethorpe University, sees higher education as a career alternative to the corporate track. "It's a completely different culture," she says of academia. "We are able to find the level of intellectual stimulation the woman requires, and it's an opportunity to stay connected to the next generation of leaders."

Here are some women who have found success in higher education:

Lisa Rossbacher, president, Southern Polytechnic State University
Since arriving a decade ago, Rossbacher has added eight degrees, increased enrollment and retention, started a women's basketball team and overseen the addition of five buildings. A geologist, Rossbacher earned her doctorate from Princeton University and worked for the U.S. Geological Survey, NASA, a geothermal exploration company, National Public Radio and several public and private colleges. She has extensively researched the role of water and ice on Mars, and in 1984 she was a NASA astronaut finalist. She now works to bring more women to Southern Polytech's campus and to promote women in higher education leadership.

Sharon Hoffman, provost and vice president for academic affairs, Clayton State University
In her six years at Clayton State, Hoffman has worked with various faculty groups to launch more than 26 graduate and undergraduate majors, transforming into a diverse university an institution once known as a local commuter college. Hoffman has master's degrees in nursing and nursing education, a doctorate in higher education from the University of Minnesota and an MBA from Duke University.
    
Hoffman served as interim president of Spalding University in Kentucky and was dean of the School of Nursing at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. She has served as a consultant to the governments of Taiwan and Cyprus and strives to make sure students from foreign countries feel comfortable on the Clayton campus.

Tamara Nash, director of the Center for Civic Engagement, Oglethorpe University
Nash came to Oglethorpe in 2006 from Georgia-Pacific after almost a decade of directing the company's community outreach programs. She was anxious to return to academia, having previously worked in administration at Spelman College, Brown University and The American University. Nash has a bachelor's of arts degree from Wellesley College and a master's in education from Harvard University.
    
In her current position, she promotes the university's connections with the city of Atlanta through service-learning programs, student internships, leadership development and community outreach. She serves on the Oglethorpe University President's Cabinet.

Elizabeth Kiss, president, Agnes Scott College
Kiss has been president of this women's college since 2006. A former Rhodes Scholar, she earned a doctorate in philosophy at Oxford University and has held fellowships at the Harvard Program of Ethics in the Professions and the National Humanities center. She has shared her passion for ethics, moral education and academic integrity with community leaders, middle-school students, undergraduates, faculty members, elected officials and business leaders. Before Agnes Scott, she spent a decade at Duke University, where she directed the Kenan Institute for Ethics and was an associate professor. She has taught at Princeton University and at other colleges.

Beverly Tatum, president, Spelman College
Tatum was appointed president of this historically black women's college in 2002. She is the acclaimed author of Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? that was published in 1997 while Tatum was on the faculty at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts.
    
A clinical psychologist, she has devoted her career to studying and lecturing on racial issues, such as racial identity in teens, black families in white communities and the role of race in the classroom. She has taught her signature course on the psychology of racism for more than 20 years. She earned her master's and doctorate from the University of Michigan and also holds a master's degree in religious studies from Hartford Seminary as well as a bachelor's degree in psychology from Wesleyan University.

Dr. Penny L. Elkins, associate dean/professor of education/chair of educational leadership, Mercer University
Dr. Penny L. Elkins is the associate dean of Mercer University’s Fred L. Miles Chair of Educational Leadership. She is also the professor of education in the Tift College of Education and is senior associate vice president. Dr. Elkins is responsible with day-to-day operations of Mercer's Atlanta campus and Regional Academic Centers in Douglas County, Henry County and Eastman.

Dr. Elkins has over 18 years of experience in leadership, curriculum design and development, educational leadership, program planning, teaching, and program evaluation.  She holds two degrees from Mercer University, a bachelor's degree in Christianity and early childhood education and a master's degree in early childhood education.  She also earned an education specialist degree in education, administration, and supervision from Georgia College & State University. Her Ph.D. is in educational leadership from Georgia State University.  

Rosemary Magee, vice president and secretary of the university, Emory University
Appointed to her current position in 2005, Magee works with the president and the board of trustees in developing governance practices across campus and in setting the agenda for the future. In her previous position as a dean in Emory College, which she held for almost two decades, Magee was responsible for the college's annual operating budget of $150 million and for planning new and renovated facilities.
     
She was also involved in promoting the arts at Emory. An accomplished writer, she has published essays, stories and reviews in literary magazines and is working on a collection of short stories. Her teaching and research has focused on Southern culture and literature. She earned bachelor and master's degrees from Florida State University and has a doctorate in literature and religion from Emory.

Teresa Joyce, associate provost, Kennesaw State University
In the 1980s and 1990s, Kennesaw State University was the only university in the state or the Southeast headed by a woman, Dr. Betty Siegel. Siegel is now distinguished chair of the Siegel Institute at the university. However, earlier this year, the university created the position of associate provost and named its dean of the graduate college, Teresa Joyce, to the position.
    
In this role, Joyce is primarily responsible for managing strategic planning for academic affairs and supervising the university's special learning centers. Joyce is the co-author of Corporate Transformation: Revitalizing Organizations for a Competitive World and has written or co-authored more than 80 articles on organizational change, strategic planning and human resource management. She joined KSU in 1987 and was appointed chair of the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship in 1993 and later dean of the graduate college.

Sue Rosser, dean of Ivan Alan College of Liberal Arts, Georgia Tech
An authority on women's issues, Rosser has served as dean of Georgia Tech's liberal arts school since 1999. She is also a professor of public policy and of history, technology and society. She was previously director of the Center for Women's Studies and Gender Research at the University of Florida - Gainesville, where she was a professor of anthropology.
   
In 1995, she was senior program officer for women's programs at the National Science Foundation. Prior to that she was director of women's studies at the University of South Carolina where she was also a professor in the medical school. Rosser has written more than 100 articles on women in science and women's health and is the author of 11 books.

Nancy E. Peterman, president of the Georgia State University Foundation and vice president for University Development, Georgia State University
Peterman has more than 17 years experience in development and 14 years of foundation management experience. Prior to coming to Georgia State, she was executive director of Old Dominion University Educational and Intercollegiate Foundations and president of the DePaul Health Foundation. She also served as director of development for the Marist School and as senior executive consultant for the Kellogg Organization. She graduated from the University of Virginia.

Alvetta Peterman Thomas, president of Atlanta Technical College
Dr. Alvetta Peterman Thomas is a veteran educator with more than 20 years of experience in secondary and postsecondary education. She is the only African-American woman to lead a technical college in Georgia.

Before her appointment as president of Atlanta Technical College, Dr. Thomas served as its vice president of academic affairs. In 2007, Atlanta Tech was named America's Best Community College by Washington Monthly. Before her arrival at Atlanta Tech in 1997, Dr. Thomas served as executive director at Skills for Tomorrow Charter High School in Minneapolis, Minn.; instructional support services coordinator at the Technical College System of Georgia, then known as the Georgia Department of Technical and Adult Education; education specialist at the U.S. Department of Defense; teacher and curriculum specialist in the Savannah-Chatham County schools; and adjunct assistant professor at Alabama State University.

Sharon J. Bartels, president, Gwinnett Tech
Sharon J. Bartels has a high profile not only in Gwinnett County but also throughout the state. She has been named one of Georgia Trend's 100 most powerful and influential Georgians and was named Gwinnett Magazine's 2005 woman of the year.
    
Bartels joined Gwinnett Tech in 1986 as the school's director of marketing and was promoted to executive director for institutional advancement in 1990. She was named Gwinnett Tech's president in September 1996. Among her achievements are creating a comprehensive marketing program that led the institution to become one of Georgia's largest two-year technical colleges and also resulted in the creation of the Gwinnett Tech Foundation.

Dr. Robin Hoffman, president, DeKalb Technical College
Appointed president of DeKalb Technical College in June 2004, Dr. Robin Hoffman oversees operations and services of the Clarkston and Covington campuses, the Newton Center in Covington, the Community Education Center in Doraville, the Paul M. Starnes Center in Clarkston, and other off-campus locations within the service area of DeKalb, Rockdale, Newton, and Morgan counties.
    
Dr. Hoffman earned a doctorate in vocational leadership in 1983 from Georgia State University. While a graduate student, she was a part-time assistant professor in the Department of Vocational and Career Development and responsible for planning, coordinating, and conducting the program "Expanding Leadership Skills for Women and Minorities in Vocational Education" through the Center for Vocational Leadership. She also holds a master's in education administration and supervision from Georgia State University and a bachelor's degree in medical technology from Oglethorpe University.

Kary Porter, acting president, Chattahoochee Technical College
Kary Porter graduated from Kennesaw State University with a bachelor's degree in accounting. When Porter began her career in payroll, accounts payable and general accounting in 1988 at Chattahoochee Technical College, the school was under the auspices of Marietta City Schools but was in the process of being converted to a unit of the Georgia Department of Technical and Adult Education. Porter was named chief financial officer and then later became vice president of administrative services. She was appointed acting president of Chattahoochee Technical in 2007.