Penn State administrator to speak at MUW's inauguration of Claudia Limbert

COLUMBUS, Miss. -- Dr. Diane M. Disney, dean of the Commonwealth College and professor of management at The Pennsylvania State University, will give the keynote address at the inauguration of Dr. Claudia A. Limbert, the 13th president of Mississippi University for Women.

Held in conjunction with MUW's annual Welty Weekend at The W, the inauguration will take place on Friday, Oct. 18 at 4 p.m. in Rent Auditorium of Whitfield Hall. The inaugural reception will follow at 6:30 p.m. at Trotter Convention Center. In addition to Welty Weekend and the inauguration, MUW also will host the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees the same week for its monthly meetings.

Prior to Limbert's appointment, which began July 1, Limbert had served as campus executive officer at the DuBois campus of Penn State since 1998. She received a bachelor's degree in English, history and education from Bethel College in Kansas in 1978, and she received a master's degree in creative writing in 1980 and a doctorate in English literature in 1988, both from Boston University.

As dean of the Commonwealth College, Disney oversees 12 campuses across the state, including the DuBois campus, that offer a range of associate, baccalaureate, master's and continuing education programs through some 1,200 faculty members to nearly 15,000 students.

"Dean Disney is a truly remarkable woman who has been a strong role model for many, including me," Limbert said. "Under her guidance, I learned so much as a Penn State administrator and have the greatest respect for her. It seems very fitting that she help launch me on the next step of my career."

Before joining the management staff at Penn State, Disney held the position of deputy assistant secretary of defense for civilian personnel policy for seven years in which she oversaw the development and implementation of policies for managing the department's workforce of nearly one million civil service and other employees.

Other positions she has held include heading the Rhode Island Office of Defense Economic Adjustment and developing the New England Defense Adjustment Project, directing the Research Center on Business and Economics at the University of Rhode Island where she was an associate professor of management and serving as a principal researcher for the state's Workforce 2000 Council through URI's Labor Research Center and a member of the Governor's JOBS-RI Council.

Disney also had an adjunct appointment to the graduate faculty of the Heller School at Brandeis University, headed the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts and worked as Rhode Island Associate for the Urban Institute's Nonprofit Sector Project. In addition, Disney has been a board or committee member for more than 30 nonprofit organizations.

She received her doctorate from Brandeis University in policy analysis. She earned her graduate degrees from URI and Duke University and an undergraduate degree from Stetson University.

The author of "The Sourcebook on Postretirement Health Care Benefits," Disney has written and edited publications on various aspects of management and has been book review editor of "Compensation & Benefits Management."

Her awards include the Director's Citation for Exemplary Public Service from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the Exceptional Public Service Award from the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Department of the Army Decoration for Distinguished Civilian Service, all in April 2001, and the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service in January 2001.

She was named to the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels in 2000, elected a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration in 1997 and named Rhode Island Woman of the Year in 1994.

For more information about Dr. Limbert's inauguration or Welty Weekend events, please contact MUW's Office of Public Affairs at (662) 329-7119, Office of Alumni Relations at (662) 329-7295 or Office of Development at (662) 329-7146.

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