Leadership Philosophy
I define leadership as, “an ethical, collaborative process between followers and leaders; through communication, mutual respect, and empathy, leaders learn the best ways to inspire their followers to work toward a common goal.” This definition of leadership stems from my own simple, yet powerful leadership philosophy – above all else, be a good person and treat your team well. This is a fundamental belief about humanity, about the kind of person I strive to be, so it comes naturally to me as a leader who is adaptable and can adopt different styles as needed but who grounds herself in trauma-informed principles.
Watch the video below for my full leadership philosophy. If you would rather read my full leadership philosophy, click here for a PDF document of my leadership philosophy.
Leadership Experience
Below is a snapshot of my leadership experience in libraries and institutional effectiveness (assessment, accreditation, and compliance). Additional details about my leadership and other work experience can be found on my LinkedIn profile.
- Association for the Assessment of Learning in Higher Education (2024 – 2025), Emerging Dialogues Committee
- Peer reviewer for articles for AAHLE’s Emerging Dialogues publication.
- Conference proposal reviewer – 2025
- Office of Commonwealth Libraries (2024-2025), Steering Committee for PA Assessment of Collective Impact
- Volunteer role
- The Office of Commonwealth Libraries is leading a statewide needs assessment of the role of libraries in Pennsylvania. This assessment is being done via a collective impact approach, and the Steering Committee will work with OCL and its consulting partner to guide this project.
- Steering Committee charges
- Advise the project team on the project approach
- Help interpret research findings, including sharing outside research that provides important context
- Review final drafts
- Advocate for the project’s findings during and after completion
- International Leadership Association (2023 – 2025)
- Conference proposal reviewer, leadership education track – 2024
- Alvernia University (2021-present)
- Director of Institutional Assessment, Accreditation, and Compliance (2024-present): I lead institutional assessment, institutional accreditation, and academic compliance initiatives at the university. I have one direct report, and I collaborate closely with other departments and all levels of leadership across campus to ensure assessment of the strategic plan via assessment of individual department and division goals.
- Assessment
- Chair the newly created Institutional Assessment Committee which is responsible for campus-wide assessment education and guidance.
- Engage in assessment education and faculty development, often in collaboration with Institutional Research. This education includes using assessment software, guidance on aligning institutional assessment goals with programmatic assessment requirements, etc.
- Encourage the adoption of a culture of assessment while leading Alvernia through new assessment processes and procedures which will be used to inform budget planning.
- Liaise with Curriculum Committee chair to remain abreast of new programs at Alvernia.
- At the request of the Director of Grants, offer assistance in developing achievable, measurable assessment goals for grant initiatives and offering other requested input into grant applications.
- Collaborate with Institutional Advancement and other campus departments to determine how to integrate employment and graduate school placement rates into assessment.
- Assist General Education Assessment Committee Chair with revising general education assessment.
- Revived and actively participated in the Berks County Assessment mailing list.
- Accreditation
- Lead Alvernia’s Middle States reaffirmation of accreditation via co-chairing the Steering Committee, consistent communication via a multimedia communications campaign to encourage campus involvement (dedicated website, emails, videos, visual communication, newsletter announcements, town halls, etc.), leading report evidence collection and report drafts, and co-authoring the final report.
- Serve as a resource for Alvernia’s numerous programmatic accreditations. See a list of accreditations on Alvernia’s Accreditations page.
- Compliance
- Ensure completion of annual PDE and NC-SARA reporting as well as NC-SARA renewal.
- Monitor compliance landscape and share appropriate information as needed with other departments handling legal compliance issues.
- Review and sign affiliation agreements on behalf of the University.
- Collaborate with the Compliance Manager to ensure all students are in compliance with vaccines and other health regulations required for clinical placements, internships, service learning, etc.
- Collaborate with the Office of the Provost staff to investigate and implement software to improve compliance efficiency.
- Assessment
- Library Director (2021-2023): I lead a team of two librarians, one full-time paraprofessional, one part-time paraprofessional, two graduate assistants, and a handful of student workers to ensure the Library was a welcoming space for the campus community that provided adequate resources to achieve educational goals. During this time, we enhanced information literacy, improved library outreach and collaboration with other departments, and integrated 24/7 chat consortium services. We also streamlined data collection and engaged in outreach to ensure library information required for programmatic accreditations and curriculum reviews was effectively and efficiently gathered and disseminated. Finally, the Library became a leader in administrative assessment.
- Director of Institutional Assessment, Accreditation, and Compliance (2024-present): I lead institutional assessment, institutional accreditation, and academic compliance initiatives at the university. I have one direct report, and I collaborate closely with other departments and all levels of leadership across campus to ensure assessment of the strategic plan via assessment of individual department and division goals.
- Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences (now Saint Joseph’s University in Lancaster, 2015-2021)
- Director, Learning Commons/Director, Library Services (2017-2021): This position started as Director, Leaning Commons, in 2017. At that time, I oversaw all aspects of our learner support services and our library services. During my tenure, learner support services grew so much that the college created a separate Learner Support Department in 2019, and at that time, my responsibilities transitioned solely to the Library. After becoming the Director, Library Services, I oversaw library services and as well as provided information literacy, technology, and writing instruction. I also worked with various departments across PA College and Lancaster General Health to improve clinical and classroom library services. Finally, I served as the College’s copyright policy content expert.
- Assessment and accreditation work: I was instrumental in providing library data for programmatic accreditations and ensuring the library and learning commons were leaders in administrative assessment. I also served as the co-chair for the Standard II Working Group and as a member of the Steering Committee for the Middle States reaffirmation of accreditation for PCHS.
- Manager, Library Support Services (2015-2017): I worked closely with the education librarian to enhance library education and reference services to students attending face to face, online, and in accelerated and traditional semester-length formats in addition to enhancing these services for our affiliated health system, Lancaster General Health.
- Director, Learning Commons/Director, Library Services (2017-2021): This position started as Director, Leaning Commons, in 2017. At that time, I oversaw all aspects of our learner support services and our library services. During my tenure, learner support services grew so much that the college created a separate Learner Support Department in 2019, and at that time, my responsibilities transitioned solely to the Library. After becoming the Director, Library Services, I oversaw library services and as well as provided information literacy, technology, and writing instruction. I also worked with various departments across PA College and Lancaster General Health to improve clinical and classroom library services. Finally, I served as the College’s copyright policy content expert.
- Pennsylvania Library Association (2012-2018; 2022-2023)
- Lehigh Valley Chapter Secretary (2022-2023): I provided leadership for the association’s Lehigh Valley Chapter by serving as the chapter’s secretary, a role which included conducting meetings and assisting with various activities.
- College and Research Division Board (2012-2018): I served on the CRD Board in various roles, beginning with member-at-large and progressing to vice chair, chair, and chair emeritus. I helped lead many state-wide educational initiatives for academic libraries, and I was part of the subcommittee that launched Pennsylvania Libraries: Research & Practice, an open-access, peer-reviewed journal.
Copyright 2025, Christina J. Steffy
Christina J. Steffy 