Lemons, Shaffer among 2022-2023 Women's Leadership Fellows

The University of Georgia has named nine faculty and academic leaders to the 2022-2023 class of the university’s Women’s Leadership Fellows Program, including Franklin College faculty members Paula Lemons and Anne Shaffer.

UGA established the program in 2015 as part of its Women’s Leadership Initiative to provide a select group of current faculty and administrators with an opportunity to develop leadership skills while gaining a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities confronting higher education. The program specifically focuses on issues women face in academic administration.

Paula Lemons, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology and associate dean of social and behavioral sciences in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. Her research focuses on how students develop conceptual understanding and problem-solving skills in college science courses and how to facilitate improvements in STEM education at the course, department and university levels. Lemons is a recipient of the National Science Foundation’s Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. Her other honors include the University System of Georgia Board of Regents’ Excellence in Teaching Award.

Anne Shaffer, professor in the department of psychology in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and associate dean of the UGA Graduate School. A clinical and developmental psychologist, her research focuses on risk, resilience and development in the family context, with an emphasis on emotion regulation and parent-child emotion communication. Shaffer’s honors include being named to the American Psychological Association’s 2021 Leadership Institute for Women in Psychology. In addition, she received the Award for Faculty Excellence in Diversity Leadership from the Franklin College.

Throughout the yearlong program, the participants will attend monthly sessions to learn from senior administrators on campus as well as from visiting speakers from higher education, business and other fields.