The Meredith community often receives messages from Meredith’s Executive Leadership Team (ELT). However, some students may not know who exactly comprises this team. The Herald spoke with some of its members to find out more about their roles and what they do for the College.
First taking office as the eighth president and first alumna president of Meredith College in 2011, Dr. Jo Allen, ‘80, has driven a series of successful projects and accumulated many titles, making use of her experience as a scholar, faculty member and administrator. Dr. Allen leads the ELT according to Vice President for College Programs Jean Jackson, ‘75. Dr. Jackson is also a member of the team along with Dr. Matthew Poslusny, Senior Vice President and Provost, Dr. Tammi Jackson, Vice President for Business and Finance, Dr. Lennie Barton, Vice President for Institutional Advancement and Kristi Eaves-McLennan, MBA ‘14, Vice President for Marketing.
The ELT’s main job at Meredith is to see how each member’s roles “intersect with each other and build the infrastructure for making the best decisions for the entire College,” Dr. Allen said. The ELT also oversees how the College’s priorities change depending on the year. The team’s goals for the 2021-2022 academic year include paying “attention to the College strategic plan, closing out this year and moving into a new iteration for 2022-2027,” said Dr. Allen, “[as well as] reducing expenses and increasing fundraising to keep tuition, room and board as low as possible.” The ELT will also continue its “renewed commitment to anti-racism and fuller inclusion of all.”
Eaves-McLennan said the best part of being on the ELT is “working alongside committed colleagues.” She “appreciate[s] the opportunity to contribute to decisions that help make Meredith a great place to study, live and work.” Dr. Jean Jackson stated that the team “work[s] for the greater good and recognize[s] that all that needs to be done cannot be done at once.”
Dr. Jean Jackson recognizes that the ELT’s decisions “affect students, faculty, staff, alumnae and others who care about Meredith College.” The team takes into consideration that “Meredith’s leaders have worked to ensure that Meredith College will be able to meet the changing needs of students and will continue to do so for many generations of students to come.”
By Shae-Lynn Henderson, Staff Writer