Faculty

Dr. Catherine Baumgardner is a faculty member in Penn State’s School of Public Policy as well as the Workforce Education and Development program. She is also president of Catherine Baumgardner & Associates, Inc., a consulting practice specializing in leadership and organization development. An experienced health care executive, she has more than 30 years of operational and consulting experience. Dr. Baumgardner has worked with inpatient and outpatient hospital environments as well as physician practice management and long-term care. Her research interests include organization development, leadership development, and workforce engagement.

Dr. Eric J. Bergstrom has taught undergraduate credit and noncredit business management courses as well as graduate training and development and organizational development courses. He has facilitated leadership development programs for organizations across a variety of industries focused on strategic planning processes, continuous improvement processes, human resource development, and organization development. His practical and research interests include individual career development, leadership competency modeling and development, human resource development, and organizational process improvement.

Dr. Maureen Dodson has taught numerous undergraduate and graduate courses at Penn State for more than 20 years. She teaches WFED 880: Facilitating Groups and Teams for Penn State World Campus. Dr. Dodson has spent her career helping organizations advance leadership skills, improve interpersonal communications, and create high-performing teams. Her expertise lies in DiSC®, Emotional Intelligence (EQ), the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®), team performance, and coaching. She is certified in a variety of 360 Instruments.

Dr. Shubha G. Kashyap is a higher education and organization development professional with extensive experience in change management, business coaching, strategic planning, appreciative inquiry, process consultation, and facilitation. She is the director of online learning design & innovation for the College of Engineering at the University of Michigan. Having worked at multiple universities, Dr. Kashyap’s drive for increasing access to education is eminent throughout her career. She has successfully launched several online degree programs designed for adult learners, specializes in program development for diverse learners, manages small- and large-scale strategic education initiatives, and is an advocate for first-generation college students and inclusive education practices. Her research interests are in the areas of coaching, managing institutional change, and examining facilitating and inhibiting factors for change management.

Dr. John M. Kenny is an experienced researcher. He was an Executive Fellow at the Brookings Institute in Washington, D.C., and a Research Fellow for the Office of Naval Research. He was also a senior research engineer at Penn State's Applied Research Laboratory. As a Penn State adjunct professor, he teaches Process Consultation. Dr. Kenny is a professor at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, and teaches Theater Security Decision-Making.

Dr. Michele Newhard's teaching and research interests include appreciative inquiry, positive psychology and positive emotions, strengths philosophy, systems thinking, intergenerational communication, coaching, and team-building. She has developed and taught graduate courses in the basics of appreciative inquiry, appreciative inquiry coaching, and appreciative leadership. Dr. Newhard has published work on appreciative inquiry, succession planning, work-family balance, and job burnout. She is also a certified life and mentor coach, as well as a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach.

Dr. William J. Rothwell, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, CPLP Fellow, is professor of workplace learning and performance in the Workforce Education and Development Program, part of the Department of Learning and Performance Systems, on the Penn State University Park campus. As one of the founders of the MPS in ODC program, he had many years of experience in OD before becoming a faculty member in 1993. His research interests center around organization development, talent management, and succession planning. He is the author of 110 books and more than 200 articles.