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Fourteen administrators and faculty members from across UMass Amherst have been selected for funding by the provost and chancellor to attend transformational leadership programs through the HERS Leadership Institute, ELATES at Drexel or the Harvard Institutes for Higher Education this spring, summer and coming academic year.

“We are proud to support professional development opportunities that empower faculty, administrators and staff to grow as leaders on our campus and in their fields,” Chancellor Javier Reyes says. “I congratulate our 2025-26 HERS, ELATES and HIHE participants and look forward to working together to educate, innovate, engage, connect and steward for the common good.”

“The selection of these 14 faculty members and administrators is a testament to the depth of experience that exists on the UMass Amherst campus,” says Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Fouad Abd-El-Khalick. “Having colleagues who will bring back valuable knowledge and leadership skills from these programs will be a great benefit to our community and will have positive reverberations throughout the university.”

The HERS Leadership Institute (HERS) is a leadership development program for higher education faculty, staff and administrators who hold mid-to-senior level positions and have a desire to emerge as more dynamic leaders for themselves and their institutions. 

Those selected for funding to attend HERS include:

• Gabrielle Abelard, Clinical Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Programs, Elaine Marieb College of Nursing
• Whitney Battle-Baptiste, Professor of Anthropology and Director, W. E. B. Du Bois Center
• Patricia Cardoso-Erase, Interim Dean of Students, Student Affairs and Campus Life
• Erika Hamilton, Senior Lecturer II, Co-Director of Microbiology Laboratory Teaching Services, and Department Head, Microbiology
• Ebru Kardan, Senior Director of Communications & Events, Office of Equity & Inclusion
• Lisa Masteralexis, Senior Associate Dean and Professor of Sport Management, Isenberg School Management
• Pari Riahi, Associate Dean for Research and Engagement and Associate Professor of Architecture, College of Humanities & Fine Arts
• Karen Whelan-Berry, Director of Faculty Development and Programs, College of Natural Sciences
• Linda Ziegenbein, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Strategic Outreach & Engagement, Office of Equity & Inclusion

ELATES at Drexel is a national leadership development program designed to promote senior women faculty and faculty allies of all genders, in leadership for academic STEM fields into institutional leadership roles through an intensive full-year, part-time fellowship program. Shannon Roberts, associate professor in mechanical and industrial engineering, was selected for funding to attend ELATES.

With an almost 50-year history of advancing the practice of higher education administrators, the Harvard Institutes for Higher Education (HIHE) offers comprehensive leadership development programs for higher education leaders who want to make a deep impact in their institutions and professional communities.

Those selected for funding to attend HIHE include:

• Emmanuel Adero, Assistant Vice Chancellor of Culture & Strategic Initiatives, Office of Equity & Inclusion
• Sarah Fefer, Associate Dean for Research & Faculty Development and Professor of Student Development, College of Education
• Jesse Mager, Associate Vice Chancellor for Research Support Services Office of Research & Engagement and Professor of Veterinary and Animal Sciences
• Yahya Modarres-Sadeghi, Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs, Planning and Operations, and Professor of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering

All leadership development alums will emerge better skilled and more confident in leading with their unique voices, providing an infusion of bold new leadership to campus.   

For more information about Faculty Leadership Development at UMass Amherst, visit the Office of Faculty Development (OFD) website. More information about HERS can be found at HERSnetwork.org. Details about ELATES can be found on the Drexel website and info about HIHE can be found on Harvard’s website.