The Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities (CUMU) has created a new award that recognizes the growing need for research-informed leadership in higher education. Today, CUMU announced that Emily Janke, Ph.D., is the first recipient of the Barbara A. Holland Scholar-Administrator Award.
Dr. Janke will be honored with an award presentation on October 23 at the 2018 CUMU Annual Conference in Chicago.
The Holland Award is a CUMU member-nominated, member-led initiative. In recent years, CUMU initiatives revealed many leadership decisions and campus strategies are being informed by rigorous research that leads to effective and replicable strategies. The Barbara A. Holland Scholar-Administrator Award honors mid-career scholar-administrators whose leadership and intellectual voice is leading to new strategic directions relevant to current challenges in higher education. Holland Scholars are distinguished by an integrated record of administrative leadership and high-impact scholarship that has shaped ideas and actions within and beyond their institution.
“The award honors Barbara’s leadership, intellectual voice, and deep commitment to supporting the urban mission of the CUMU membership,” said Dr. Valerie Holton, Executive Editor of CUMU’s Metropolitan Universities journal. “Dr. Janke’s approach to leadership shows the strength of integrating inquiry with leadership. Through that approach, she has been able to imagine and animate innovative, evidence-based solutions to the persistent and emerging challenges facing urban and metropolitan universities and their communities.”
Dr. Janke serves as director of the Institute for Community and Economic Engagement (ICEE) at UNC Greensboro (UNCG) and is an associate professor in the Peace and Conflict Studies department. As Director of ICEE, Dr. Janke connects and convenes scholar-administrators from UNCG and other institutions to address community-identified priorities through partnerships. Her scholar-administrative work focuses on multiple aspects of community engagement, community-university partnerships, and institutional culture and change strategies.
“I am honored to receive the inaugural Holland Award in recognition of my work,” said Dr. Janke. “Dr. Holland has not only led by example, but also created space for a larger community of scholar-administrators to boldly pursue unusual career paths—weaving administrative and scholarly leadership into whole cloth.”
Dr. Janke studied higher education at The Pennsylvania State University (Ph.D.) and environmental geography at Colgate University (B.A.). Additionally, she participated in Colgate University’s Environmental Studies Program at University of Wollongong in Australia and Colgate University’s Peace Studies Program at University of Bradford in England.
Dr. Janke was nominated by Dr. Terri Shelton, Vice Chancellor for Research and Engagement at UNCG. In her nomination letter, Dr. Shelton noted, “Dr. Janke brings a rigor to this work that is reflective of her scholarship. Her knowledge of national and international history of effective engagement coupled with her own writings and investigations provide a rich scholarly lens from which to drive this work.”
Dr. Tom George, Chancellor of University of Missouri–St. Louis, serves as president of the CUMU executive committee. “Dr. Janke’s scholarly approach to administrative leadership and collaboration is evident in her work at UNCG and is an example of the type of high-impact scholarship that is happening across the CUMU membership to support our collective urban-serving mission.”
“At UNCG, community engagement is embedded and embraced across our campus,” said Dr. Frank Gilliam, Jr., Chancellor, UNC Greensboro. “We are thrilled that Dr. Janke has received this well-earned recognition. As a scholar-administrator, she is a leader, creating institutional change and furthering our public-serving civic mission to not only transform our students, but to create new knowledge and help build a strong, vibrant community and region.”
About CUMU
Founded in 1989, the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities (CUMU) is the longest-running and largest organization committed to serving and connecting North America’s urban and metropolitan universities and their partners. CUMU focuses on strengthening institutions that are developing new responses to the pressing educational, economic, and social issues of the day. Learn more at cumuonline.org and follow CUMU on Twitter.
About UNC Greensboro
UNC Greensboro, located in the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina, is 1 of only 50 doctoral institutions recognized by the Carnegie Foundation for both higher research activity and community engagement. Founded in 1891 and one of the original three UNC system institutions, UNC Greensboro is one of the most diverse universities in the state with 20,000+ students, and 2,700+ faculty and staff members representing 90+ nationalities. With 17 Division I athletic teams, 85 undergraduate degrees in over 125 areas of study, as well as 74 master’s and 32 doctoral programs, UNC Greensboro is consistently recognized nationally among the top universities for academic excellence and value, with noted strengths in health and wellness, visual and performing arts, nursing, education, and more. For additional information, please visit uncg.edu and follow UNCG on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.