A teacher, literary scholar, and experienced academic administrator known for her expertise in strategic planning and implementation, Joanne V. Creighton assumed the presidency of Mount Holyoke College on January 1, 1996. The comprehensive and highly consultative planning processes that Creighton has initiated—for 2003 and 2010—reaffirm Mount Holyoke's mission: educating a diverse residential community of women at the highest level of academic excellence and fostering the alliance of liberal arts education with purposeful engagement in the world.
Adopted in 1997, The Plan for Mount Holyoke 2003 was a six-year strategic plan that set ambitious goals in far-reaching areas. Initiatives included new centers for leadership and environmental literacy; enhanced art, music, and science facilities; a kosher/halal dining hall; intensified linkages with the other members of the Five College Consortium; an innovative program in speaking, arguing, and writing; winning athletic teams; and expanded opportunities to use technology in creative ways.
As the Plan for 2010 commences, Creighton notes, "The College is in a much stronger position in 2003 than in 1997. Institutional confidence is high; we are in the final year of a very successful campaign, thanks to the extraordinary generosity of donors, especially alumnae; and we have had four consecutive years of record-breaking numbers of applications."
The author of four books, Creighton has concentrated much of her scholarly work and teaching on William Faulkner, Margaret Drabble, and Joyce Carol Oates. Her books include Joyce Carol Oates: Novels of the Middle Years (1992), William Faulkner's Craft of Revision (1977), Joyce Carol Oates (1979), and Margaret Drabble(1985). She is the author of numerous scholarly articles and reviews, and is a frequent commentator on contemporary literature and issues affecting higher education. While president of Mount Holyoke, she has written reviews of recent books by Joyce Carol Oates and opinion pieces on such subjects as the implications of the Supreme Court's decision in the Virginia Military Institute case and the role of test scores and race in college admissions.
Prior to coming to Mount Holyoke, Creighton served at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, as vice president for academic affairs and provost and professor of English from 1990 to 1994, and as Wesleyan's interim president from 1994 to 1995. Previously, she had been dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, where she also served as a professor of English, and a professor of English at Wayne State University.
News Links:
- "Joanne V. Creighton, Ph.D., Named Interim President,"Haverford College News, August 8, 2011
- "Turning Women Into Scientists," The New York Times, March 28, 2011
- "Creighton and Renn '86 on Women's Education," Michigan State University Journal, November 29, 2010
- "President Honored with Naming of Creighton Hall," Office of Communications, May 7, 2010
- "MHC to Celebrate The Creighton Effect May 6," Office of Communications, April 21, 2010
- "Creighton Hailed by Her Alma Mater," Office of Communications, April 15, 2010
- "MHC's Creighton Visits White House," Office of Communications, March 9, 2010
- "Barrier Breakers: 15 Female College Presidents," Forbes, October 15, 2009
- "President Creighton: What's Next for Her?" Harvard Graduate School of Education, October 5, 2009
- "Mountain Day: President Creighton’s Last Scoop," Office of Communications, September 29, 2009
- "President’s Community Breakfast October 8," Office of Communications, September 14, 2009
- "Reflecting on Joyce Carol Oates," Wisconsin Alumnae Association, July 2, 2009
- "Mount Holyoke's Joanne V. Creighton Announces End Date to Her Presidency," Office of Communications, March 3, 2009
- "Announcement of Intention to Step Down," Office of Communications, February 25, 2009
- "A Message from President Creighton on Budget Planning," Office of Communications, February 9, 2009
- "Convocation Address 2008," Office of Communications, September 3, 2008
- "MHC President Speaks on Women's Colleges," Inside Higher Ed, February 15, 2008
- "President Creighton to Address Women Leaders,"Womensphere, February 5, 2008
- "MHC President Gives Talk on Women's Education," Office of Communications, November 27, 2007
- "MHC President Discusses Her Summer Travels," Office of Communications, September 17, 2007
- "Convocation 2007: Convocation Address," Office of Communications, September 5, 2007
- "Creighton Against Israeli Higher Ed Boycott," Office of Communications, August 8, 2007
- "President Creighton Reviews Oates's Latest," Office of Communications, June 5, 2007
- "Why We Need Women's Colleges," Office of Communications, May 21, 2007
- "Town-Gown Event at MHC Art Museum," Office of Communications, April 20, 2007
- "MHC's Creighton at Women's Day Conference," Office of Communications, March 9, 2007
- "Questioning Authority: Creighton on Harvard's New President," Office of Communications, February 13, 2007
- "President's Campaign Kickoff Remarks," Office of Communications, November 2, 2006
- "MHC President to Kick Off New Series Nov. 1," Office of Communications, October 25, 2006
- "Joanne V. Creighton 2006 Convocation Address," Office of Communications, October 11, 2006
- "President's Convocation Address '06," Office of Communications, September 6, 2006
- "Women's Education Needs Global Lesson Plan," Office of Communications, March 22, 2006
- "New York Times: Tests Need Oversight," Office of Communications, March 21, 2006
- "President Creighton in L.A. Times on SAT Failings," Office of Communications, March 13, 2006
- "President Joanne V. Creighton's Remarks at the 2003 Convocation" Office of Communications, September 3,2003
- "President Joanne V. Creighton Remarks at the Reopening of Blanchard, September 3, 2003" Office of Communications, September 3, 2003
- "Civilization Begins with a Rose—and a Plan," Vista, summer 2003
- "'In between Plans' the Perfect Time for a Presidential Sabbatical," College Street Journal, September 6, 2002
- "Joanne Creighton: Champion of the Liberal Arts," Vista, spring 2000
- "She's Here! Now What? Planning for Mount Holyoke's Future," Vista, summer 1996
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