Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College’s (SMWC) Division of Business and Leadership announced that Kimberly LaComba, Ph.D., assistant professor of global Leadership, has been named director of the Ph.D. in Global Leadership Program. LaComba joined SMWC in 2021 to assist with developing the inaugural doctoral program.
LaComba has worked in higher education for more than twenty years, serving in administrative and faculty roles. She earned her Ph.D. in Global Leadership with a concentration in organizational management from Indiana Institute of Technology and a Master of Science in Human Resource Development for Higher Education and Industry from Indiana State University.
Dr. Lamprini Pantazi, dean of the division of business and leadership at SMWC, said of LaComba’s appointment, “Dr. LaComba helped co-develop the inaugural doctoral program focused on global leadership with a concentration in organizational behavior and change. Since the program launch, she has taught and mentored doctoral students and she has proven herself as an accomplished and creative faculty member. We expect her student-centeredness and leadership abilities to further elevate our Ph.D. program.”
In 2022, LaComba was the co-primary investigator on the Lilly Endowment Inc.’s Indiana Youth Programs on Campus grant initiative, securing more than $700,000 in funding to bring C.A.M.P (Challenging Ambitions and Maximizing Potential) at The Woods this summer to SMWC. C.A.M.P. at The Woods includes globally focused sessions with fully funded study abroad components for attendees and faculty to increase their global mindset. She has developed numerous doctoral courses, currently serves as chair of the graduate council and is a member of both the institutional review board, the faculty affairs and development committees and the diversity council at SMWC.
LaComba is excited about her new role at the College. “I am honored to lead the Ph.D. in Global Leadership program as the director and look forward to continuing to support each current and future doctoral student to meet their educational goals.”
LaComba piloted Virtual Study Abroad Global Leaders of Ireland in 2022 for doctoral students as an additional cultural immersion opportunity that has now become a yearly offering while rotating the country of focus. She presents internationally at conferences such as the International Leadership Association and NAFSA International Educators while continuing to build collaborations locally and internationally as the global outreach pillar leads through the Global Leadership Institute at SMWC. She recently returned from the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador, where she is developing collaborative opportunities for the doctoral students and C.A.M.P at The Woods programs while preparing future responsible global leadership research opportunities.