Strategic Innovation
The business of education is changing lives. People can achieve a high level of personal and professional well-being when they understand their unique skills, abilities, and characteristics. Aligning one's strengths to a career and organization allows for congruence between oneself and the job, leading to a better work-life balance and job satisfaction. Throughout my career in higher education, I've used programming innovation to lead organizational change and help students maximize their individual potential. The examples below provide evidence of organizational development activities and the outcomes of innovative strategic interventions that I envisioned, designed and/or implemented.
(Click any of the icons for further details.)
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Strategic Innovation in Higher Education
NSF S-STEM Grant
Goal: Increase completion rates of students underrepresented in STEM majors/fields.
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Methods: STEM Scholars program with embedded ePortfolio and reflection.
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Success: Visit the outcomes page or read the final report.
Getting Ready to Optimize at Work
Goal: Help women successfully promote themselves in interviews and the workplace.
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Methods: Mentoring interventions with alumni, advisors and peers.
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Success: Participants credited involvement with enabling them to earn roles including Commencement Speaker, Conference Volunteer and Speaker, and secured employment. Listen to the radio show where a student describes her experience. Click the GROW logo to view an overview.
IGNITE Portfolio
Goal: Educate higher education administrators and faculty to the uses and values of ePortfolios.
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Methods: Co-authored Fieldguide to ePorfolios (Read Chapter 8 starting on page 68.)
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Success: Co-created a collaborative eportfolio to demonstrate the process and outcomes. View the 5 minute conference video by clicking the icon above.
Reality MC
Goal: Increase senior students' skills and readiness to transition to "life after college."
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Methods: Created engaging Senior Year Experience programming, including Reality MC Weekend. Click the blue buttons for examples.
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Success: Students reported statistically significant skill and confidence increases after Reality MC Weekend; SYE culture shifted from party to appreciation of College and faculty and sense of alumni connection. Over 100 students and nearly 100 volunteers participated in Reality MC Weekend annually.
Nationally Recognized Programmer
Innovation and collaboration have long been key elements in my professional work. By continuously Striving for Excellence and Celebrating Uniqueness, I have been recognized and rewarded with invitations to showcase programming at the leading conferences on career development at the National Association of Colleges and Employers, and the National Resource Center for First-Year Experience and Students in Transition.
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Reality MC became the signature event of The Senior Year Experience at Muhlenberg College under my direction. Pre-test, post-test analysis revealed statistically significant improvements in skill acquisition over the course of the event. View the conference presentation for examples of strategic planning, program development and marketing, data collection, and redesign.
Reality MC is cited as an example of cross-campus collaboration for Senior Year programming in the book: The Senior Year: Culminating Experiences and Transitions by Hunter, Mary Stuart Hunter, Jennifer R. Keup, Jillian Kinzie, and Heather Maietta.
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For additional information about my experience in education, visit my Research and Strengths pages, or my teaching site. For an example of strategic planning, view my Public Service page for information on my work with Allentown's parks and trails network. Or, use the Contact form below to begin a conversation.