Biography

Carol is the Executive Director of the Great Plains Interactive Distance Education Alliance, a consortium of universities offering masters degrees in the Human Sciences and Agriculture on line. Students are admitted and enroll at one of the member institutions but take classes to complete a master's degree or graduate certificate at any of the institutions participating in the program. Carol holds degrees in microbiology from the University of Missouri and in political science from Kansas State University. She has served as a Fellow in the W.K. Kellogg Foundation International Leadership Program. Her fellowship concentrated on leadership issues for rural women in Kansas and she developed a statewide project designed to address their needs. She has directed projects funded by the Economic Development Administration of the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, the Corporation for National Service, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and the US Dept. of Education. She was a member of the 2000 Class of Leadership Kansas and has also participated in the Leadership Development Program and LeaderLab through the Center for Creative Leadership. She is past President and Board member for the Heartland Center for Leadership Development. Carol is a fifth generation Kansan and has resided in Manhattan since 1971. She has been an active member of many community organizations, served two terms on the Manhattan Urban Area Planning Board, and was a City Commissioner from 1999 - 2001. She is the mother of four grown sons and enjoys three grandchildren. Her husband, Tom, is a faculty member in the A.Q. Miller School of Journalism, Kansas State University.