Sherri Jones selected for Big Ten Academic Leadership Program



Sherri Jones selected for Big Ten Academic Leadership Program

12 Oct 2017     By Kelcey Buck

Sherri Jones, chair of the Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders, was one of 10 faculty members from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln selected to participate in the Big Ten Academic Alliance Leadership Development program for 2017-18.

Jones is one of five Husker faculty selected as a fellow in the Academic Leadership Program. She will be joined by Shannon Bartelt-Hunt, professor of civil engineering and Robert B. Daugherty water for food fellow; Sonia Feigenbaum, associate vice chancellor for international engagement and global strategies and senior international officer; Deb Hamernik, associate dean of agricultural research division and professor of animal science; and Matthew Jockers, associate dean for research and partnerships and Susan J. Rosowski associate professor of English.

“I was very excited to be selected for this leadership program, and am honored to represent the department and college in the Big Ten Academic Alliance,” said Jones, who is also the director of the Barkley Memorial Center. “I am excited to learn from Provosts, Chancellors and Presidents about the issues facing higher education and how various administrative levels work with colleges and departments to facilitate success. 

The Academic Leadership Program (ALP) was established by the Big Ten Academic Alliance in 1989 and is one of its most successful leadership initiatives. The ALP develops the leadership and managerial skills of faculty who have demonstrated exceptional ability and academic promise. The goal of the program is to help the select group of faculty develop their ability to be effective campus leaders at all levels of research universities.

“I hope to gain a better understanding of the academic leadership hierarchy and learn some best practices that I might implement in my current leadership role,” Jones said. “I am also looking forward to meeting other ALP Fellows from across the Big Ten.”

The ALP consists of three seminars throughout the course of the academic year. This year’s fellows will attend the first seminar Oct. 12-14 at the University of Iowa. The second seminar will be held Feb. 8-10 at the University of Michigan. Nebraska will host the third and final seminar of the program April 12-14 in Lincoln.

Jones is in her sixth year as the chair of the Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders. She earned all three of her degrees from Nebraska – bachelor’s in 1985, master’s in 1987 and doctorate in 1994. Jones held faculty positions at the University of Missouri School of Medicine and East Carolina University before returning to her alma mater in 2012.


Special Education and Communication Disorders