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K-State Today

September 16, 2011

Lynn-Sherow graduates from prestigious summer leadership institute

Submitted by Communications and Marketing

Kansas State University's Bonnie Lynn-Sherow spent part of her summer in elite company.

Lynn-Sherow, associate professor of history and director of the Chapman Center for Rural Studies, attended and graduated from the Higher Education Resource Services' Denver Summer Institute, conducted July 24-Aug. 7, at the University of Denver.

Higher Education Resource Services, also known as HERS, is the premier residential professional development program dedicated to advancing women leaders in higher education. The organization has been conducting annual institutes since 1976.

"I was encouraged to apply to the HERS program by campus alums of the program, including Provost April Mason, Senior Vice Provost Ruth Dyer and Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Beth Montelone. They understood how the program would enhance my work as the director of the Chapman Center for Rural Studies and also help me assume a greater leadership role in service to the university," Lynn-Sherow said. "It was a tremendously valuable experience."

Lynn-Sherow was among the 72 participants selected for this year's Denver Summer Institute. Participants represented 62 institutions from 26 states and six foreign countries. They included a president, vice presidents and associate vice presidents, as well as faculty, deans, directors and chairs of academic and administrative departments.

The broad range of experiences across disciplines, sectors and positions offered a special environment to evaluate critical issues confronting higher education today, Lynn-Sherow said.

This year's summer institute, responding to the current environment for higher education globally, had a special focus on "Women Leaders Today: Accepting the Challenge of Re-inventing Higher Education." More than 33 senior officers from colleges and universities, national organizations and accrediting associations -- many institute alumnae or board members -- served as faculty.

Lynn-Sherow joined K-State in 1998 and has served as director of the Chapman Center since 2008. Her recent achievements include the successful renovation of a portion of Leasure Hall for the center, receiving a National Endowment for the Humanities' digital humanities grant, the creation of a digital archive for the history of lost Kansas Communities and a new digital project sponsored by the Brunswick Corporation of Illinois. She currently serves on the K-State Sesquicentennial Steering Committee and has served in the K-State faculty senate, representing the College of Arts and Sciences, since 2008.

Her participation in the Denver Summer Institution was sponsored by provost's office, department of history and the Chapman Center for Rural Studies.

Lynn-Sherow received a bachelor's from the University of Windsor in Windsor, Ontario, Canada; a master's from Purdue University; and doctorate in American history from Northwestern University.