Monica Manning, Ph.D.
Monica Manning, Ph.D. is an independent educator and founder of The Nova Group. With the purpose of supporting innovation in colleges and universities while preserving the best of their academic traditions, she has pioneered the work of institutional formation, that is — how we co-create and care for the institutions to which we belong. She has led faculty and staff on campuses across the country to explore the inner landscape of their institutions in order to create the kinds of academic communities that meet society's needs and that provide people with the opportunity to develop and use their talents for rewarding professional and personal lives. Using collective reflection and collaborative learning, she invites people to discover the light and shadow of their institutions in order to ensure that creativity and freedom are fostered in an environment of support and shared purpose.
Dr. Manning began her career as a faculty member, later serving as associate academic dean and dean of continuing education. Asked to serve in Minnesota state government, she became the founding executive director of that state's primary strategy for catalyzing collaborations between higher education and industry. While leading Nova, she was also a Senior Fellow at the American Association of Higher Education. Her scholarship has been supported by a Bush Leadership Fellowship and a Coolidge Research Fellowship as well as by the Fetzer Institute and Lilly Endowment.
Dr. Manning received Baccalaureate and Masters degrees from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, in Rhetoric and Public Address. Her Ph.D. in Higher Education is from the University of Minnesota. And she holds a post-doctoral Masters of Public Administration from Harvard University. Currently, she serves on the boards of the William C. Norris Institute and the Center for Formation in the Community College, and co-chairs the Minnesota Innovation Council.