Administrative Director Katherine Dowd earns Vickie R. Courtney Award
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (6/26/2024) School of Mathematics Administrative Director Katherine Dowd was recently recognized with the Vickie R. Courtney Award for Outstanding Service to University Senate Governance for her service to the Academic Professional and Administrative (P&A) Senate. Dowd has been a member of the P&A senate for over a decade.
Elected to the P&A Senate in 2012, Katherine was quickly recruited to serve as chair-elect of the P&A Senate and P&A Consultative Committee (PACC) in 2013, and went on to serve as chair. In this capacity, she was also a member of the Senate Consultative Committee and the University Senate. She also served on the Senate Committee on Faculty Affairs (SCFA) from 2016-22, and was selected to chair the newly established Term Faculty & Academic Professionals Subcommittee (TFAPS) in 2022. In this role, Katherine has worked steadfastly to assemble the membership of the subcommittee, establish its charge, and identify and implement goals to benefit term and P&A faculty.
One of her nominators writes, “Katherine is an indefatigable advocate for shared governance, and for P&As at the University of Minnesota. She has the courage to put her values into action in her work toward helping to achieve the University’s mission and goals.”
Dowd joined the School of Mathematics as the Administrative Director in 2021 after eleven years of service and leadership at the Institute for Mathematics and its Applications. She has been previously recognized for her dedication to the University, the School of Mathematics, and the mathematics community with the 2023 Association for Women in Mathematics Service Award.
Vickie R. Courtney Award for Outstanding Service to University Senate Governance was created in 2014 to acknowledge faculty, academic professional and administrative staff, and civil service staff systemwide who have made a significant impact on University Senate governance. In 2021, the award was expanded to include degree-seeking undergraduate, graduate, and professional students who demonstrate a similar impact and commitment. 29 UMN professionals have been honored with this award since its creation.