The president of the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) will be on Wofford’s campus in February to present a lecture and to conduct a leadership workshop for women.

Dr. Marjorie Hass will give a lecture, “The Virtues of Leadership: Courage, Compassion and Grace,” at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 9, in the Jerome Johnson Richardson Theatre. Hass will draw on her leadership successes, as well as her background as a philosopher, speaking about the ethical values of leadership, and if these are gendered.

President Nayef Samhat will host a reception preceding the lecture from 5-6 p.m. in the front lobby of the Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts. The event is free and open to the public.

The next day, Hass will conduct a workshop titled “The Practice of Leadership.” The workshop will be held from 2:30-4:30 p.m. in the Harley Room of the Richardson Physical Activities Building.

Workshop participants will identify their core leadership values and skills and develop a plan for building a sustainable leadership practice. The workshop is open to Wofford faculty and staff who identify as women.

Hass’ visit is sponsored by the Wofford Women’s Leadership Group and the Office of the President.

The events were organized by the founders and organizers of Wofford’s Women’s Leadership Group: Colleen Ballance, associate professor and chair of theatre; Dr. Kara Bopp, professor of psychology; and Dr. Karen Goodchild, Chapman Family Professor of Humanities and Interim coordinator. The three saw Hass give a National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity presentation via Zoom last fall.

“Those of us who watched were impressed by her intelligence and insight,” says Goodchild. “In our search for our next speaker, we shared her name with President Samhat and found that he had long been as enthusiastic about her vision and abilities as we were.”

Hass was 20th president of Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee (2017-21), and president of Austin College in Sherman, Texas (2009-17). She was previously a professor and provost at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania. She holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Illinois and has published on philosophy of language, logic and feminism. She wrote “A Leadership Guide for Women in Higher Education,” which was published in 2021.

For more information, email WomensLeadership@wofford.edu.