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Four senior-level administrators from UMass Amherst will be among 64 emerging higher education leaders from across the U.S. to participate in the 2023-24 Weekend HERS Leadership Institute, taking place on four weekends from September 2023 to March 2024 in the greater Washington, D.C. area. 

The HERS Leadership Institute (HLI) is a transformational leadership development program for gender-diverse 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. Participants for the 2023-24 weekend cohort represent 25 states and come from 52 unique institutions, both public and private. 

Attending from UMass Amherst will be Nancy Buffone, associate vice chancellor for University Relations; Lucinda Canty, associate professor and director of the health equity in nursing program for the Elaine Marieb College of Nursing; Nandita Mani, dean of University Libraries; and Heather Sharpes-Smith, associate provost, instructional design and technology, who oversees the Instructional Design, Engagement and Support (IDEAS) group and the Instructional Media Lab. 

UMass Amherst attendees at this past summer’s HERS Leadership Institutes, held at Bridgewater State University in June and the University of Denver in July, were Eleni Christofa, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering; Yolanda Covington-Ward, professor and chair of the W.E.B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies; Marta Pluta, assistant director of IT computer classrooms and Enterprise Desktop Support; and Laura Vandenberg, acting vice chancellor for research and engagement and professor of environmental health sciences. 

Alumnae of the HERS Leadership Institute emerge better skilled and more confident in leading with their unique voices, providing an infusion of bold new leadership to their respective institutions.

More information about HERS can be found at HERSnetwork.org.