2019 HERS scholarship recipients hone leadership skills

Lila Andersen, Dana Haynie and Merijn van der Heijden received scholarships from The Women’s Place and the president’s office to attend the 2019 Higher Education Resource Services (HERS) Summer Institutes. The HERS Summer Institutes provide an intensive 12-day curriculum that prepares women faculty and administrators for institutional leadership roles.

Through an annual competitive application process, Ohio State faculty and staff women are selected to attend and receive scholarships for the institute. Scholarships are supported by The Women's Place, Office of the President and individual colleges and departments. Congratulations to the 2019 HERS cohort. Learn more about these women who are ready to advance.

Portrait of Lila Andersen
Lila Andersen

Lila Andersen is Library Operations Manager for the Eighteenth Avenue Library. In this role, she coordinates the operations of seven other department libraries. Andersen is directly responsible for providing insight, recommendations, and operations decisions for the locations. She works with faculty librarians on programming for their constituents and overseeing the student hiring budget for all units within the division and works with staff to resolve issues with facilities, services, and scheduling.

My experience at the HERS Institute was invaluable. The information and programs were insightful and dynamic and covered a variety of topics and areas within higher education. I gained support and advice for long term career goals as well as short term. Being a part of this institute has given me an amazing network and support base that will continue to grow and strengthen over the years.

Lila Andersen
Portrait of Dana Haynie
Dana Haynie

Dr. Dana Haynie is a professor of sociology and former director of the Criminal Justice Research Center, which conducts, publishes and sponsors world class research in the criminal justice and related arenas.

Dr. Haynie's research applies criminological and social network methods and theories to better understand processes related to crime and delinquency. Examples include work that examines the diverse ways in which peer relationships and social networks affect adolescent involvement in risky behavior, race and gender differences in social networks and crime, and the role of neighborhood and school networks for understanding criminal behavior. Professor Haynie is also a co-investigator of Ohio’s HEALING Communities Grant addressing the opioid epidemic in OH. 

Dr. Haynie has extensive leadership experience including the following roles: former director of OSU’s Criminal Justice Research Center (2011-2019); former director of Graduate Studies (2005-2008); prior chair of the Crime, Law and Deviance Section of the ASA; and member of the President and Provost’s Leadership Institute at The Ohio State University.

Portrait of Merijn van der Heijden
Merijn van der Heijden

Merijn van der Heijden is the director of Urban Arts Space and Hopkins Hall Gallery in the College of Arts and Sciences. As director, she has rearticulated the vision of the galleries and is building coalitions in support of fulfilling the Urban Arts Space’s potential as the university’s premier downtown arts and culture hub. She is also working to connect Ohio State faculty, staff and students with downtown and the broader Columbus community through meaningful partnerships, experiential learning and accessible arts and culture programming.

For the past 17 years van der Heijden has served in successive leadership roles with increased public-facing responsibility such as faculty in Art; director of academic services with responsibility for college-wide academic petitions, dismissals and reinstatements; and assistant dean and director of the Arts and Sciences Honors Program.