University Park

Penn State announces 2010-11 Administrative Fellows

For the 24th consecutive year, Penn State faculty and staff members will gain first-hand experience in leadership through the University’s Administrative Fellows Program. The 2010-11 fellows have been selected and include:

-- Barbara A. Sims, professor and chair of criminal justice and director of Penn State Harrisburg’s Honors Program. Her mentor will be Harold L. Paz, senior vice president for health affairs, dean of the College of Medicine and chief executive officer of The Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.

-- Christina E. MacGill, associate director for outreach programming and educational credentials services in the Division of Student Affairs. Her mentor will be Bill Mahon, vice president for University Relations.

The Administrative Fellows Program offers Penn State faculty and staff the opportunity to work with senior University officers to gain knowledge and experiences pertaining to the challenges of leadership in the academic community. The program provides the chance for participants to strengthen their administrative talents and qualifications by working with a Penn State administrator in a mentoring relationship. Fellows increase their understanding of the contexts within which decisions are made and gain an increased understanding of the various units across the University. The length of the program is one academic year.

"The Administrative Fellows Program offers a unique opportunity for professional development at higher levels of administration," said Blannie Bowen, vice provost for Academic Affairs. "Fellows obtain access to a mentor who can familiarize them with issues facing higher education, broaden their leadership skills and perspective and help prepare them for any future advancement in their careers. The experience they gain also can benefit them as they return to their existing positions of leadership."

As chair of criminal justice programs at Penn State Harrisburg, Sims is responsible for managing the residential and online undergraduate criminal justice programs as well as the master of arts in criminal justice program. Part of her responsibility includes scheduling courses across all three programs and ensuring that the programs continue to meet certification standards associated with the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. Sims also manages the criminal justice budget and serves as the lead faculty member for assessment efforts related to the undergraduate program. As director of the Penn State Harrisburg’s Honors Program, she has budgetary responsibilities and serves as adviser to the program’s 35 to 40 honors students.

“Serving as an Administrative Fellow to Dr. Paz will broaden my horizons greatly," Sims said." As an administrator who oversees about 9,000 staff and whose administrative responsibilities include not just one but many critical areas, including the College of Medicine and the Hershey Medical Center, Dr. Paz is the ideal senior administrator to learn from and I am extremely pleased and honored to be able to work with him next year. I hope to take what I learn through this experience and bring it back to Penn State Harrisburg to either enhance my own area of administrative leadership or to expand that out to other areas of this campus.”

As associate director of outreach programming and education credentials services, MacGill is responsible for the planning and coordination of student outreach and programming for undergraduate and graduate students at Penn State’s University Park campus. She also is responsible for supervision of the credential services offered to students seeking employment within educational institutions and organizations. She has served in the position since 1998.

“I think the fellowship is a wonderful opportunity to allow those of us who have aspirations to take on a leadership role at the University to work with the people who lead us,” MacGill said. “A lot of what we do in outreach programming is connecting not only with our students in terms of what we have to offer, but also connecting with those external to Penn State, such as employers, where students need inroads. I hope to learn more about the University’s communication and advertising efforts during my time with Bill Mahon, and also hope that University Relations will benefit from an additional perspective."

For more information about the program, visit http://www.psu.edu/vpaa and click on the link to the Administrative Fellows Program.

Last Updated May 29, 2012