Agnes Scott College: Carolyn J. Stefanco Elected to National Board

Carolyn J. Stefanco, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the college at Agnes Scott College, has been elected to serve on the board of directors of The Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences (CCAS).

Stefanco is the first board member from a women’s college elected to serve on the board in the organization's nearly 50-year history.

“It’s an opportunity for women’s colleges to have a seat at the table in the consideration of key issues that confront higher education across the globe," said Stefanco, "and particularly those that pertain to the recruitment, retention and success of women students and faculty. It is gratifying to be part of an organization that recognizes how vital women's issues are in higher education."

“Dr. Stefanco’s background as a women’s studies scholar and as the academic vice president of a women’s college is particularly well suited to one of our association’s strategic goals: to increase the representation of women in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) disciplines,” said Anne-Marie McCartan, executive director of CCAS. “ CCAS has received funding from the National Science Foundation for a four-year program to advance women as faculty members and administrators through training programs for university deans and department chairs, and Dr. Stefanco brings a wealth of experience and passion to help us meet this goal.”

CCAS, founded in 1965, is a national association of baccalaureate degree-granting colleges of arts and sciences whose purpose is to sustain the arts and sciences as a leading influence in American higher education. The council serves as a forum for the exchange of ideas and information among deans of arts and sciences representing the member colleges and as a representative of the liberal arts and sciences at a national policy-making level. The council further seeks to support programs and activities to improve the intellectual stature and public understanding of the disciplines of the arts and sciences.

A scholar of women's history in the Civil War South and the Western frontier and a member of the first generation of scholars trained in women's history and women's studies, Stefanco has taught at Oklahoma State University, Wheaton College (Mass.) and California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly), and helped build women's studies programs at these institutions.

Her experience and accomplishments in academic leadership roles include serving as director of women's studies, chair of the history department, founding director of the Forum on Women, Science and Technology, and assistant dean for faculty development at Cal Poly; and founding dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at California State University, Stanislaus.

A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Colorado at Boulder, Stefanco earned an M.A. in women’s history from the State University of New York at Binghamton and her Ph.D. in history from Duke University. She has participated in professional development programs offered by Harvard University and the American Council on Education. Stefanco also served as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Zagreb, Croatia.

Agnes Scott College educates women to think deeply, live honorably and engage the intellectual and social challenges of their times. Students are drawn to Agnes Scott by its excellent academic reputation, exceptional faculty and metropolitan Atlanta location – offering myriad cultural and experiential learning opportunities. A diverse and growing residential community of scholars, this highly selective liberal arts and sciences college is known for its dynamic and challenging intellectual community. Encouraging students to engage the wider world through study abroad and presenting its curriculum with international context, Agnes Scott College delivers on its promise: The World for Women.

Original source here.