Linda Pisano, chair of the Department of Theatre, Drama and Contemporary Dance, has been named the inaugural recipient of the Bloomington Leadership Fellows Program for Arts and Humanities.

Linda Pisano.

The new two-year program provides an in-depth leadership development opportunity for IU Bloomington faculty in the arts, humanities or humanistic social sciences. It is designed for faculty who are, or are poised to be, national or international leaders in their discipline and who want to explore academic administration.

“We are delighted that Linda Pisano has been named the first fellow for this program whose aim is to further lead and strengthen the arts and humanities, which play such a critical role in the teaching and intellectual activity of the College,” said Rick Van Kooten, executive dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

As the first fellow, Pisano will receive extensive formal training in academic leadership, work with mentors within and beyond the university, and work on a yearlong administrative project with an arts and humanities focus with IU Bloomington Provost Rahul Shrivastav.

“I’m honored and thrilled to be named the first fellow,” Pisano said. “I was prompted to apply for this invaluable program due to the enormous advantages it provides in developing my leadership capacity while simultaneously affording me opportunities to propose ways to address the most critical issues in and around the arts and humanities on campus.”

During her first year in the program, Pisano will be part of the Big Ten Academic Alliance’s Academic Leadership Program cohort. Participants from across the Big Ten will meet as a group throughout the year to exchange ideas and develop critical skills that will assist in navigating the evolving landscape of higher education. They will also meet with a wide range of campus and university administrators to further hone their leadership skills.

In her second year, Pisano will take part in IU’s Presidential Arts and Humanities Fellows Program, while also focusing on her proposed administrative project with the provost.

The Bloomington Leadership Fellows Program is one of the latest campus initiatives focused on strengthening IU Bloomington’s commitment to the arts and humanities. A collaboration between the Mellon Foundation, the Big Ten Academic Alliance and IU, it joins two other comprehensive leadership programs offered by Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs for faculty interested in academic administration.

Caroline Dwyer Gilley is strategy and innovation specialist in the Office of the Provost.