2019-2020 SEC Academic Leadership Development Program Fellows Selected

Published on Aug. 30, 2019

Updated on Oct. 19, 2020

The University of Missouri has selected four faculty members for the SEC Academic Leadership Development Program (ALDP) for 2019-2020. Each of the 14 SEC member universities selects two to four SEC ALDP fellows per year for a one-year program. Participants attend two SEC ALDP workshops hosted by different SEC universities and engage in activities on their local campus. The MU faculty are: Robin Harris, S. David Mitchell, Alexandra Socarides, and Mary Stegmaier.

The SEC ALDP mission is “to identify, develop, prepare, and advance faculty and early career administrators from within the Southeastern Conference.” The fellows learn about the challenges of academic leadership from current SEC administrators, and have the opportunity to develop their own leadership and administrative skills. The 2019-2020 host universities are Vanderbilt University and the University of Florida.

The fellows for the 2019-2020 year are:

Robin Harris, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Sinclair School of Nursing – Dr. Harris has primarily taught in the areas of pediatrics, obstetrics and medical surgical nursing. She was nominated for the Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching, University of Missouri Sinclair School of Nursing (2016) and selected for the Greater Missouri Leadership Challenge (2016).

S. David Mitchell, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Ruth L. Hulston Professor of Law – Dr. Mitchell is an affiliate member of the MU Black Studies Program and a Policy Research Scholar with the MU Institute for Public Policy. His awards include the Gold Chalk Award (2009); Legion of Black Collegians Minority Faculty and Staff Appreciation Award (2011); the 2014-2015 Lloyd L. Gaines Scholarship Banquet Honoree; and the MU President’s Community Engagement Award (2015).

Alexandra Socarides, Chair, English Department – Dr. Socarides is an Associate Professor in English and teaches courses on nineteenth-century American literature and poetics. She was a 2016 Kemper Fellow and currently sits on the editorial boards of the Emily Dickinson Journal and Legacy: A Journal of American Women Writers.

Mary Stegmaier, Interim Vice Provost for International Programs – Dr. Stegmaier is the interim director of the International Center and associate professor in the Truman School of Public Affairs. She has served as an international election observer with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Macedonia.

Dr. Matthew Martens, Associate Provost and MU liaison for the program, as well as a SEC ALDP alum, said “this is a great opportunity for the selected fellows. It gives them an opportunity to meet and learn from a variety of academic administrators across the SEC, and bring that knowledge back to MU. We have a number of administrative leaders on campus who have benefited from this program.”