At Georgian Court University (GCU), women leaders are the norm. The private Roman Catholic university boasts a leadership of majority women, with women leading all four of the school's academic schools as deans.
Dr. Janice Warner
GCU’s four academic deans now are: Dr. Mary Chinery, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences; Dr. Jennifer Edmonds, dean of the School of Business & Digital Media; Dr. Teri Wurmser, dean of the Hackensack Meridian Health School of Nursing and Wellness; and Dr. Kelly McNeal, dean of the School of Education.
McNeal was the last to join – she did so in July 2022 – and her appointment solidified GCU’s 100% women deanship rate.
GCU, located in New Jersey, also has women in other school leadership positions as well, such as director of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives; director of career services, the director of financial aid, and the director of global education.
To note, this is not the first time GCU has had an all-women deanship, said Dr. Janice Warner, provost of GCU. Warner, a former GCU School of Business dean herself, said that during her time as dean, all three of GCU’s academic deans were women then as well.
Founded in 1908 by the Sisters of Mercy of New Jersey, GCU has been led by women for most of its existence. Increasingly, other colleges and universities are also following in this tradition. Howard University, a historically Black university in Washington, D.C., recently announced that ten women now hold deanships. Back in 2014, the number of women deans was just one.
“Georgian Court's tradition is a concern for women in the first place,” said Dr. Joy Smith, associate provost for student support and services and chief diversity officer at GCU. “So this is not something that is really abnormal or different. If you look at the presidents of the institution prior to [current GCU President Dr. Joe Marbach], they clearly have all been women. So women in leadership is not new to our institution by any stretch of the imagination. And because it's already built into the culture, students are expecting that dynamic. ... They expect women to be leaders."
