Margaret
A. McKenna
President
Lesley University
Margaret A. McKenna is
the President of Lesley University, a
position she has held since 1985. President McKenna oversees a budget of $90
million and a student body of 10,000. The institution prepares women and men
for professional careers in education, human services, management, and the
arts. It has a national presence and reputation in education, particularly
teacher education, and the growing field of technology in education. It is
the largest provider of graduate education to classroom teachers in the U.S.,
and is the ninth-leading provider of master's degrees in the U.S.
Lesley was one of the
first institutions to make computer literacy a core requirement of its graduates.
Similarly, its Technology in Education Program, founded in 1979, was one of
the first programs of its type in the U.S. The program attracts a wide range
of educators seeking to acquire competency in the rapidly changing field of
technology. It has achieved a national reputation for its pioneering role
in integrating technology into the schools and has become a blueprint for
educational technology graduate programs nationwide. It serves over 1,500
students in 16 states in on- and off-campus programs. Since 1995, the Technology
in Education Master's Program has also been available online. In addition,
Lesley offers a Masters of Science Education for middle school teachers online
and hundreds of other courses.
Prior to her appointment
at Lesley, Margaret McKenna served as Director of the Bunting Institute and
Vice President at Radcliffe College, as White House Deputy Counsel to President
Jimmy Carter, and as a Deputy Under Secretary in the U.S. Department of Education.
Prior to her government service, Dr. McKenna served as Executive Director
of the International Association of Human Rights Organizations and as a trial
attorney with the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.
President McKenna is currently
the Chair of the Council of Independent Colleges (C.I.C) and serves on the
board of the American Council on Education. President McKenna also serves
on Dominion Resources, Inc.'s Board of Directors. Additionally, she is a director
on numerous non-profit boards, including the Cisco Learning Institute, the
Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, the Jason Foundation, and the Executive
Service Corps. She recently served on The American Council on Education's
President's Task Force on Teacher Education. She is the recipient of five
honorary degrees and of numerous awards, including the Lelia J. Robinson Award
from the Women's Bar Association of Massachusetts and the Pinnacle Award for
Lifetime Achievement from the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.
