Welcome to this online salute to Rebecca!

We are so grateful you have visited this page to help us celebrate Rebecca Hawthorne's outstanding leadership of the MAOL program at St Kate's! Please consider leaving a message on the Overview page, visit the LifeQs page to offer memories, wishes and gratitude, and/or add photos or videos on the photo/video location. Our collective efforts will continue to remind Rebecca of all the ways that we celebrate her leadership and contributions to the MAOL program and St. Catherine University. Thank you! Rebecca's Crew (Val Krech, Amy Ihlan, Louise Miner, Martha Hardesty, and Sharon Radd)

LifeStory

Rebecca K. Hawthorne

Dr. Rebecca Hawthorne has faithfully served St. Catherine University in a variety of capacities since her initial hire as an adjunct lecturer for the Education Department in 1990, with the only exception being a three-year leave overseas.  She has performed her current role as MAOL Program Director for 10 full years and currently holds the rank of Associate Professor. 

During her years as the esteemed Program Director of the Masters of Arts in Organizational Leadership program at St. Kate’s, Dr. Hawthorne has demonstrated her commitment to the program and her skillful leadership in countless ways.  Among her top accomplishments in leading the program, Rebecca:

•   Developed a partnership with the Peace Corps through the establishment of the first business-based Coverdell Fellows Program in Minnesota;

•   Led the successful internationalization of the entire MAOL curriculum, including the development and launch of two recurrent graduate study abroad courses to Japan and South Africa;

•   Secured over $125,000 worth of program funding and over $50,000 of matching funds from the George Family Foundation to support student study abroad scholarships and the MAOL Global Initiative;

•   Delivered over twenty leadership development workshops to delegations of high profile international women leaders, establishing a positive reputation for St. Catherine University with the U.S. Department of State as a leading resource for women’s leadership development;

•   Incorporated St. Catherine University MAOL graduate students as team leaders in the Mayo Innovation Scholars program for the past ten years;

•   Established student scholarship recognition and financial support through the creation of the Julie Belle White-Newman Leadership Award for Outstanding Research, the MAOL Scholar Awards and the MAOL Study Abroad Awards;

•   Secured the first tenured and tenure-track faculty members for MAOL in 30 years; and

•   Grew the MAOL Custom Certificate programs from one site to multiple sites and multiple cohorts

These, and her many other accomplishments and contributions have earned the respect, admiration, and appreciation of the MAOL full-time faculty and staff, over 40 long-term, committed adjunct faculty, and hundreds of students.

Rebecca has also made significant contributions to the University as a whole.  She was an appointed member of the OPUS Prize Steering Committee, an appointed member of St. Catherine University Leadership Task Force II, and an appointed member of the institution-wide Faculty Advisory Committee on Entrepreneurship.  She served as a member of the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs Advisory Council and a member of two Search Committees for the O'Neill Center Associate Director.  Further, she consistently participated on and made significant contributions to the Graduate Program Directors Committee, as well as the School of Business and Professional Studies Chairs and Directors Committee. Most recently, Rebecca initiated and collaborated with others across the University to put on the first (annual) Leadership Imperative Conference, which sold out months before the event.

In terms of teaching, Rebecca is a master.  Her MAOL courses include Strategic Communication, Leadership Proposal, Research Workshops, and the capstone Leadership Seminar.  Most recently, she co-developed and led a study abroad course to South Africa.  Students consistently report this course is life-changing and transformative.   Rebecca also won the RFP for the Minnesota Census research on Women in Corporate Leadership. She has conducted and published this research statewide for the past nine years with her colleague and Dean of the School of Business and Professional Studies, Dr. Joann Bangs.  Speaking engagements on this research have included presentations to Heartland Circle, Women Leading in Technology, the Mayo Clinic and the keynote address on International Women’s Day at Cargill.

Beyond the gates of St. Catherine, Rebecca Hawthorne has made extensive contributions to the community.  She has served on the Greater Twin Cities United Way Women’s Leadership Council and held numerous leadership positions in statewide and community organizations.  Rebecca served as President (as well as President-Elect, Past-President, Secretary, and Member) of the Board of Trustees of the Sheltering Arms Foundation, a statewide women’s foundation focused on supporting vulnerable children and their families.  She served as Senior Warden, Junior Warden and Council Member of St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral, the Bishop’s seat for the state of Minnesota.  Other board positions include the Full Circle Community Institute, the Junior League of Minneapolis, Wellesley College Club of Minnesota, Ballet Arts Minnesota, the Wayzata Music Education Boosters, and the Wayzata Theatre Boosters Association.  Over the past ten years, Rebecca has also served in leadership roles for the 150th Anniversary Celebration of St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral (Co-Chair) and the Fringe Festival Fundraising Committee (Chair). She and her husband Peter are active members of Global Minnesota.

 As a community leader and as a former faculty member, Rebecca Hawthorne has been and will continue to be an asset to the MAOL program and to St. Catherine University.  We graciously and gratefully celebrate her contributions, and wish her the very best in her next steps.

Rebecca K. Hawthorne
Celebration
  • celebration date

    May 1, 2017

Carey Nadeau
Rebecca! Where to begin?! I can't write an email or business letter or blog entry without thinking, "wait, did i unpack that all the way!?" THANK YOU for your tireless efforts in making me (and many other MAOL students) better communicators, leaders, and innovators. Here's to you--the original innovator!
Rebecca K. Hawthorne
Celebration
  • celebration date

    May 1, 2017