11/19/2003

Contact: K.E. Schwab  -- 724-738-2199;  e-mail: karl.schwab@sru.edu

NEW CLAIRE R. SCHMIELER LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE SETS FIRST FORMAL PROGRAM

          SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. –Dr. Carol Matteson, president of Mount Ida College and a former assistant to the president at Slippery Rock University, will lecture on "The Many Faces of Leadership" when the newly formed Claire R. Schmieler leadership Institute for Professional Women holds its inaugural program Nov. 21.

          Matteson’s visit opens in the Russell Wright Alumni House with a 3 p.m. reception followed by her address at
4 p.m. A question-and-answer will conclude the visit.

Named Mount Ida’s president in 2000, Matteson has formerly served as executive vice president and provost at Rowan University. She had also served in numerous leadership positions, including provost and vice president for academic affairs at Bloomsburg University where she had also held the post of dean of the College of Business. She was named a Distinguished Educator in Pennsylvania. She earned her doctorate in business administration from the University of Pittsburgh and is a member of the board of directors of the Newton-Needham Chamber of commerce and the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Massachusetts.

The Schmieler Leadership Institute is designed in honor of the legacy of support given and received by Mrs. Schmieler during her more than 30 years at SRU’s McLachlan Student Health Center and in the Office of Student Life.  Its purpose is to prepare women for leadership roles at SRU and in the larger arena of higher education. Information and training related to  effective communication and interpersonal skills, fiscal management and other business processes, as well as overall development in navigating the socio-political waters of higher education administration will be provided in a ongoing series of sessions.

The institute was developed from a financial gift from Schmieler and her husband, Bob. It is coordinated by the  Human Resources and Diversity Division at the university, which includes work in addressing the professional development needs of women, specifically those related to preparation for increased leadership responsibility at The Rock.  Funding for the institute is provided by the division and the Slippery Rock University Foundation, Inc.

  Member of the institution’s advisory board members are Dr. Renay Scales, assistant vice president of human resources and diversity, Dr. Jace Condravy, professor of English, DaNine Fleming, director of the Office of Intercultural Programs, and Jodi Solito, director of the SRU Women’s Center, with Mrs. Schmieler serving as an ex-officio member.

PN, PgN, WPN, PR