ISSUED: 5 November 2019
MEDIA CONTACT: Valerie Owens
SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV — Dr. Christy Wenger, associate professor of English at Shepherd University, gave the keynote address at the Western States Rhetoric and Literacy Conference in Bozeman, Montana, October 25-26. Wenger’s talk was titled “‘Going on Being:’ Mindful Leadership in Higher Education for Teachers, Scholars, and Administrators.”
Wenger’s talk addressed leadership development within higher education and explored what education leaders can learn from the multibillion-dollar corporate leadership industry, specially focusing on the growing interest in and application of mindful leadership. Her project brings together corporate applications of mindful leadership and collaborative theories of distributed leadership to forward a proposal for mindful academic leadership based on secular theories of mindfulness, or non-judgmental moment-to-moment awareness. Wenger examined the changes to organizational culture, workplace relationships, and community brought about by mindful leadership in contrast to more traditional applications of leadership.
Wenger is director of rhetoric and writing in Shepherd’s Department of English and Modern Languages and author of “Yoga Minds, Writing Bodies: Contemplative Writing Pedagogy,” which explores the value of contemplative practices like yoga and meditation for writers. Wenger continues to research contemplative writing pedagogy and is working on a book-length project on mindful leadership and administration in higher education.
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