Jolie A. Sheffer

I believe in collaborative leadership that values the knowledge and experiences of all constituents – faculty, staff, students, community partners, and alumni – to move institutions towards their highest values and aspirations. I am a strategic thinker and pragmatic problem-solver who develops win-win-win scenarios that advance the institutional mission while stewarding resources effectively and efficiently.

Associate Dean, College of Arts & Sciences at Bowling Green State University

I currently serve as an associate dean in the College of Arts & Sciences at Bowling Green State University. My areas of focus include faculty development, graduate studies and funding, and student experiential learning activities (including internships and other work-integrated learning, study abroad, research and creative work, residential learning communities, and community-based learning). I also have experience with advancement and fundraising, undergraduate scholarships, and cultivating interdisciplinary collaborations.

Accomplishments include:

• Oversaw annual budget of more than $12 million dollars in graduate allocation, used to provide scholarships for tuition and fees and stipends for graduate assistantships across the College.
• Managed more than $1.2 million in undergraduate scholarships and overseeing selection and disbursement of more than 200 separate scholarship funds for the College of Arts & Sciences.
• Oversaw graduate education for 14 different doctoral programs and 37 master’s programs, including face-to-face, hybrid, and online modalities.
• Coordinated with Associate Dean for Curriculum to revise graduate curricula.
• Managed graduate student services, including curriculum exceptions, add/drop forms, leaves of absence, etc. Created graduate handbook template for all programs in the College of Arts & Sciences.
• Led College efforts to reimagine and optimize graduate, portfolio, curriculum, and funding models.
• Piloted new select admissions program for high-achieving current undergraduates to seamlessly enter BGSU master’s degree programs.
• Oversaw faculty mentoring and development programs in the College.
  • Reimagined New Faculty Development Program.
  • Created mid-career and late-career faculty professional development series.
  • Provided individualized support for faculty on performance improvement plans.
• Researched and developed pilot programs for experiential learning and career readiness opportunities; served as academic lead on Work-Integrated Learning Accelerator project team sponsored by Arizona State University, JP Morgan, and Strada Foundation.
• Helped develop new research mentoring programs for faculty who work with graduate and/or undergraduate students in labs and fieldwork. Certified as a facilitator for by the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER).

Publications about Higher Education Leadership

I believe in putting ideas into practice, and in sharing lessons from leadership challenges with other academic administrators. I regularly collaborate with fellow higher education leaders to write and present on effective campus leadership practices. Examples of this include:

• W. John Koolage, Lisa Hanasono, Mary-Jon Ludy, M. Elise Radina, Jerry Schnepp, and Jolie A. Sheffer, “Academic Leadership from 10,000 Feet or Under a Rock? Finding the Right Elevation through Empathy.” The Department Chair, vol. 36, no. 3, Winter 2026, pp. 9-11.
• Elise Radina, Jerry Schnepp, Jolie Sheffer, Mary-Jon Ludy, John Koolage, and Lisa Hanasono, “Reframing and Reclaiming ‘Dirty Words’ of Academic Leadership.” The Department Chair, vol. 36, no. 1, Summer 2025, pp. 7-10.
• Jerry C. Schnepp, Lisa K. Hanasono, W. John Koolage, Mary-Jon Ludy, M. Elise Radina, and Jolie A. Sheffer, “What’s Next? Navigating Inflection Points along Your Leadership Journey.” The Department Chair, vol. 35, no. 3, Winter 2024, pp. 1-3.
• Mary-Jon Ludy, Lisa Hanasono, W. John Koolage, M. Elise Radina, Jerry Schnepp, and Jolie Sheffer, “Leadership Doesn’t Have to Be Lonely: Building Community Through Co-writing,” The Department Chair, vol. 34, no. 2, Fall 2023, pp. 5-7.
• Jolie Sheffer, Lisa Hanasono, et. al, “Puzzle Pieces: The importance of shared governance.” Liberal Education, Winter 2022, pp. 21-29.
• Mary-Jon Ludy, Elise M. Radina, and Jolie A. Sheffer, “Recognizing Our Humanity: How the Pandemic Helped Us Value Each Other.” AAC&U Liberal Education (online), February 16, 2023.
• Jerry Schnepp, W. John Koolage, M. Elise Radina, and Jolie A. Sheffer, “Deltas, Not Pipelines: A More Organic Way to Develop Academic Leaders.” AAC&U Liberal Education (online), October 20, 2022.
• Jolie A. Sheffer, Ana Brown, Lisa K. Hanasono, Mary-Jon Ludy, Jennifer Q. McCary, Sheri Wells-Jensen, and M. Elise Radina, “A Moonshot for Diversity and Accessibility.” AAC&U Liberal Education (online), July 21, 2022.

Leadership Training & Awards

In July 2022, I participated in the HERS Summer Leadership Institute, the premier leadership development program for women in higher education, in Philadelphia.

In 2022, I was awarded the Faculty Mentor Award from Bowling Green State University’s Faculty Senate.

In 2019 I was awarded the David Hoch Memorial Award for Excellence in Service for my work with ICS. This award recognizes outstanding work in service-learning and/or civic engagement at 42 Ohio member institutions of Campus Compact.

In 2018-19, I served as a fellow in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Academic Leadership Development Program.