Faculty Academy 2007

Keynote Address
Transforming Higher Education: The Role of Trust

Look within your own universities. How many examples you can cite where university faculty couldn’t build a bridge over the continental divide of disciplinary or cultural differences? Is this war of words and war of worlds the legacy we leave behind, or do we face the brutal truth and begin the process of transforming our institutions to be more flexible, adapt performance policies, and review and renew our approach to faculty and staff employees? Transformation requires trust. Trust illuminates a new path, enabling people to change and move beyond cynicism and betrayal. The institutional role of leading teaching and learning requires that we, as educators, not just teach trust, but practice it.

Biography

Dr. Karen Stephenson, hailed in Business 2.0 as “The Organization Woman,” is a corporate anthropologist lauded as a pioneer and “leader in the growing field of social-network business consultants.” In 2007, she was one of only three women recognized in Random House’s Guide to the Management Gurus. In 2006, she was named the first Houghton Hepburn Fellow at Bryn Mawr College for her groundbreaking contributions to civic engagement. In 2001, her consulting firm Netform was recognized as one of the top 100 leading innovation companies by CIO magazine. Her prominence catapulted in 2000 when she was featured in a New Yorker article by Malcolm Gladwell regarding the social dynamics of office spaces. Even before these accolades, Stephenson had earned praises for innovatively solving a variety of complex problems that have been featured in The Economist, Forbes, The Guardian, The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company and Wired. Drawing upon her prolific experience and 400-member database, Dr. Stephenson consistently delivers that “aha” moment to her clients and audiences.

A global nomad, she currently teaches at the Rotterdam School of Management at Erasmus University. This appointment was preceded by five years at the Harvard School of Design and ten years at the UCLA Anderson Graduate School of Management.

She received her Ph.D. in Anthropology at Harvard University, an M.A. in Anthropology at the University of Utah, and B.A. in Art & Chemistry at Austin College, TX. You can read about her company at www.netform.com.

Additional Resources

• The New Yorker article by Malcolm Gladwell that includes a lengthy profile of Dr. Stephenson’s work (PDF)
• A recent “IT Conversations” podcast in which Dr. Stephenson discusses her work in social network analysis and indicates her interest in bringing this work into higher education
• Press release from Bryn Mawr College on Dr. Stephenson’s education reform work as a Hepburn Fellow (PDF)
• Profile in Galt Global Review of Dr. Stephenson’s work and background