The American Council of Education Michigan (MI-ACE) Women’s Network, a national system in Lansing, has announced Teresa K. Woodruff, provost at Michigan State University, has been awarded the 2022 Distinguished Woman in Higher Education Leadership award.
Woodruff is the seventh MSU scholar to receive the award, established in 2001, recognizing women who have made a significant impact in the lives of their colleagues, campuses, and communities.
She was honored the award in part due to her pivotal role in maintaining academic operations through the pandemic, driving the need for remote and online learning by orchestrating the unprecedented response of MSU faculty, staff, and students.
“Since her arrival on campus, Provost Woodruff has been an incredible champion for our campus and those who call it home,” says Dr. Samuel L. Stanley Jr., president of MSU. “She’s led our university through unprecedented times with true resilience and has been a key partner in creating an intellectual framework of academic excellence for our students, faculty, academic staff and alumni.”
The provost also led faculty through changes in bylaws that aided campus governance in cases of egregious misconduct, as well as changes to faculty tenure, with unanimous votes by the University Committee on faculty tenure, the University Committee on academic affairs and the faculty senate, with unanimous ratification by the Board of Trustees.
“In our rapidly changing world, we need the diversity of thought and abundance of talent all genders bring to the table,” says Linda Logan, state chair of MI-ACE. “In particular, we need the insightful leadership of women in policymaking to create an open and just higher education environment. By their example, our Distinguished Women honorees inspire us to provide an ever-increasing pool of talent to Michigan’s college and university campuses.”
Michigan ACE will present Woodruff with her award at its June 14 state conference.
