Aimee Zellers, PhD, will assume her new role this summer.
St. Catherine University announced today the formation of the School of Liberal Arts, Business, and Leadership (LABL). This new school integrates the academic programs currently offered under the School of Business and the School of Humanities, Arts, and Sciences for students in the College for Women, College for Adults, and Graduate College.
“Our vision for this new school is to foster collaboration across traditional disciplines, creating vibrant programs that respond to market needs. We will deliver educational experiences that align our mission – to educate women to lead and influence – with an ever-changing social and economic landscape,” said Denise Baird, PhD, Provost and senior vice president at St. Catherine University. “By linking business, leadership, and the liberal arts, we prepare graduates to bring a human-centered, inclusive leadership perspective to every industry and community they serve.”
Home to a vibrant array of more than 45 majors and minors, LABL houses signature St. Kate’s offerings, including the Antonian Honors program, the core general education curriculum, a leadership minor, and the Katie Leadership Impact program. Across all programs, innovative and traditional teaching-learning practices foster the mental agility, cultural fluency, and understanding of power dynamics and systemic inequities across diverse identities. These practices equip students to critically analyze, explore, and assess available solutions through an equity lens, empowering them to take effective action in an increasingly complex global context.
Inaugural Dean Announced
Leading the formation of this new school will be its inaugural dean, Aimee Zellers, PhD. Zellers, currently associate provost at Carlow University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, will assume her new role this summer. Carlow is a private Catholic liberal arts institution founded in 1929 by the Sisters of Mercy, with approximately 74% of the student body identifying as female.
“Leadership has been a throughline in my career, and equity and justice have always been central to both my work and who I am. That is why, with deep respect for St. Catherine University’s mission and a strong sense of alignment with its Catholic identity, I was truly excited to be considered for this role,” said Zellers. “The opportunity to lead a newly integrated school that brings together the liberal arts, business, and leadership is especially meaningful to me because it reflects the kind of interdisciplinary, mission-driven work that has shaped my own path as a faculty member and academic leader.”
Having served various leadership and teaching roles at Carlow since 2013, Zellers’ 15 years of teaching and research spans philosophy, bioethics, public health ethics, and interdisciplinary courses, much of which has emphasized ethics, social responsibility, and leadership. She brings a record of building interdisciplinary programs, strengthening community and employer partnerships, promoting inclusive excellence, enhancing academic quality, and stewarding resources responsibly.
Zellers holds a PhD in healthcare ethics and a master’s in philosophy from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and history from Clarion University of Pennsylvania.