Dixie Thompson, professor and head of the Exercise, Sport and Leisure Studies department, recently graduated from the 2008 class of the HERS Bryn Mawr Summer Institute, held June 21-July 16 at Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Penn.
The Summer Institute, a 32-year partnership between Bryn Mawr College and Higher Education Resource Services (HERS), is the premier residential professional development program dedicated to the advancement of women leaders in higher education administration.
The sixty-four participants selected for this year’s Summer Institute represented fifty-nine colleges, community colleges and universities from twenty-six states, as well as Canada and the Marshall Islands.
The participants included a number of vice presidents, vice provosts, associate vice chancellors, as well as deans, directors and chairs of academic and administrative departments.
The broad range of experiences across disciplines, sectors and positions offered a unique environment to evaluate critical issues confronting higher education today.
The faculty of the Summer Institute was composed of over forty senior officers from colleges and universities, national organizations, and accrediting associations. Among the faculty this year were Belle Wheelan, President of the Commission on Colleges, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS); Claire van Ummersen, Vice President for Effective Leadership, American Council on Education (ACE); Marvalene Hughes, President, Dillard University; Janet Dickerson, Vice President for Campus Life, Princeton University; and Annette Parker, Vice President for Finance, Dickinson College.
Thompson has been at UT Knoxville since 1994, serving as Department Head since August 1, 2008. Her academic training is in the area of exercise physiology, and she has focused her research efforts on developing a better understanding of the health impact of regular physical activity on women.
Her research has led to numerous peer reviewed publications, articles for the general public, book chapters, and presentations. Thompson is active in professional societies and is a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). She is Editor-in-Chief for the Fit Society Page Newsletter, a publication of ACSM. She also serves as the Associate Editor-in-Chief of ACSM’s Health and Fitness Journal, and is a past president of the Southeast Chapter of ACSM.
Thompson’s participation in the HERS Bryn Mawr Summer Institute was sponsored by the Chancellor’s Office. She was selected to represent UT Knoxville through a process facilitated by UT Commission for Women. Seven women from UT Knoxville have been sponsored to participate in the Summer Institute (or the other HERS Institutes at Wellesley College or the University of Denver).
For more info e-mail dixielee@utk.edu or visit the HERS Web site.