Marquette University in Milwaukee Announces Directors for Its New Institute for Women’s Leadership

Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has announced a new administrative team for the university’s new Institute for Women’s Leadership. The Institute for Women’s Leadership has a stated mission to “advance women’s leadership locally and globally through pioneering research, innovative programming, and collaborative engagement.” The creation of the Institute for Women’s Leadership was made possible by a $5 million gift from the Thomas J. Rolfs Family Foundation.

Andrea Schneider, professor at Marquette University Law School, has been named the first director of the institute. “I am extremely honored to be the first director of the Institute for Women’s Leadership and to help set the foundation for the research that the institute can accomplish,” Professor Schneider said. “We all are eager to help enhance leadership and career development programming serving women on campus and in the community while encouraging cutting-edge research to influence the national discussion on gender inequality.”

Professor Schneider joined the faculty at Marquette in 1996. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the Woodrow Wilson School of International Affairs and Public Policy at Princeton University and a juris doctorate from Harvard Law School.

Jean Grow, professor of strategic communication in the Diederich College of Communication, and Jennica Webster, associate professor of management in the College of Business Administration, will serve as co-directors of the institute.

Dr. Grow joined the faculty in 2000 after teaching at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. She was director of Marquette’s fine arts program from 2009 to 2017. Dr. Grow previously worked in advertising and her research focuses on gender bias and discrimination in the advertising industry. She is a graduate of the Art Institute of Chicago. Professor Grow earned a master’s degree in communication from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and a Ph.D.  in mass communication from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Dr. Webster’s research interests center on occupational health psychology with an emphasis on gender, diversity, and underrepresented groups. She joined the faculty at Marquette in 2010 after teaching at Northern Illinois University and Central Michigan University. Dr. Webster was promoted to associate professor at Marquette in 2016. She is a graduate of Bowling Green State University in Ohio, where she majored in psychology. Dr. Webster earned a master’s degree in industrial/organizational psychology from the University of Wisconson-Oshkosh and a Ph.D. in industrial/organizational psychology from Central Michigan University.