Page 30 - Chester County Chamber - 2019 Guide and Business Directory

NEW LEADERS IN EDUCATION
CHESTER COUNTY CHAMBER
The Future Is Bright
Nationally acclaimed schools and universities educate the next generation’s leaders
Brenda Allen, President, Lincoln University
When Brenda Allen was appointed president of Lincoln University in May 2017, it was something of a homecoming for the 1981 Lincoln alumna.
“Everything I’ve learned about loving academics, research and teaching was instilled in me here,” she said.
In between her graduation from Lincoln and her ascension to the university’s leadership, Allen had a distinguished career
in academia that included a PhD in psychology from Howard University, a fellowship at Yale and 15 years as a faculty member and administrator at Smith College in Massachusetts. Just before returning to Lincoln, Allen worked for eight years at Winston- Salem State University in North Carolina.
In leading Lincoln, Allen is very conscious of the university’s history as a liberal arts institution. “My goal is to reinvigorate that historical legacy by placing even greater emphasis on delivering a high- quality liberal arts education,” she said. “We’re going to do that
by investing in our faculty and making sure that they’re the best teacher-scholars they can be. We want to make sure we give our students the opportunity to be excited about learning content, but also develop important thinking, writing and speaking skills, to understand themselves as global citizens and understand their actions can change the world.”
To instill that sense of connectedness with the world, Allen aims to emphasize access to internships, undergraduate research and study-abroad opportunities. “We’re hoping to do so much more of that as we become really integrated with the neighborhood where we’ve existed so long,” she said.
Barbara Lettiere, President, Immaculata University
Like Allen, Barbara Lettiere began her academic career with a degree from the institution she now leads. She later moved on to the University of Notre Dame and served for 15 years as chief financial officer of Trinity Washington University.
“Then, about 10 years or so ago, I got a call from one of the sisters at Immaculata, and she asked me if I was willing to be on the board of trustees,” Lettiere said. “I was on the board for about seven years. ... The president at the time decided it was time for her to retire, we started the search for her successor, one thing led to another, and here I am.”
Lettiere notes that many higher education institutions, especially smaller private schools, are fighting for survival. “My vision is not one of survival; my vision is one of thriving,” she said. “We do that by doing what we do best, which is providing a very distinctive and transformational education to students here.”
What makes Immaculata distinctive, she said, is a faculty that cares, which includes calling up students who miss a class to see what’s going on and helping students with research or questions after class hours.
The transformational piece of an Immaculata education has to
do with service, said Lettiere: “This generation of students is very service-oriented. We offer the students a number of opportunities for them to provide service in the community, and we never have a problem getting enough students to volunteer. ... These kids can take that service orientation and caring they learned here and apply it in their lives and careers when they leave.”
Brenda Allen
Barbara Lettiere
28 Chester County Chamber of Business & Industry