A woman as influential as Madeline Wing Adler is a perfect candidate to recognize during Women’s History Month. Adler has numerous accomplishments under her belt, beginning with her academic career. She received her undergraduate degree in Political Science from Northwestern University where she was the only female in most of her classes. She moved on to earn both her master’s and doctorate degrees in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Madeleine Wing Adler has always been a wholehearted feminist. She was a founding member of the Chester County Fund for Women and Girls Board of Directors and a member of the Forum of Executive Women in Philadelphia. Additionally, she was named a Woman of Distinction by the Philadelphia Business Journal, “Citizen of the Year” by the Chester County Chamber of Business and Industry in 1998 along with the county’s March of Dimes’ Woman of Achievement, and Philadelphia’s Business Journal named her a “Woman of Distinction” in 2002.
In August of 1992, Dr. Adler was named the 13th president of West Chester University, making her the first and only female president in WCU’s history. During her time serving as president, Dr. Adler’s distributive style leadership left quite an impact. The annual number of applications to West Chester University doubled, enrollment increased by 12 percent, and by attracting students of many different backgrounds, WCU became the most diverse school in the PASSHE system.
Over the years, Dr. Adler’s achievements received well-deserved attention as she was offered many different positions at various schools across the country. Fortunately, Dr. Adler always remained loyal to WCU. “I knew this was the best place for me—and it has been” (Pirro mainlinetoday.com).
On June 30th of 2008, Madeleine Wing Adler retired with an emeritus status. In honor of Dr. Adler’s influence on West Chester University, Swope Music Building opened the Madeleine Adler Theatre arts venue in 2008. Dr. Adler is now on the Emeriti Board of the Chester County Community Foundation working as a community volunteer.
Blog post written by Katherine Mash, Class of 2019, she is a student worker in FHG’s Special Collections Department and a Communications Major.
Bibliography:
AASCU-Penson Center for Professional Development - Our Consultants. (n.d.). Retrieved March 08, 2017, from http://www.aascupenson.org/adler_bio.html
Marshall, K. (n.d.). Press Releases - Dr. Madeleine Wing Adler named President... Retrieved March 08, 2017, from http://www.passhe.edu/inside/ne/press/Lists/Press%20Releases/pressup.aspx?ID=37&ContentTypeId=0x01006B3D98C5084ABB47927D422E92C00C3300058DFAF00E84824A8F87467AD4FF8E26
Pirro, J. F. (n.d.). The Adler Advantage. Retrieved March 08, 2017, from http://www.mainlinetoday.com/core/pagetools.php?pageid=6576&url=%2FMain-Line-Today%2FJune-2008%2FFRONTLINE-Profile-2%2F&mode=print
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