New Missouri Stephens College admin will live on campus

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- An incoming school administrator will be among the new faces living in on-campus housing at Missouri's Stephens College next semester.

Incoming vice president for Academic Affairs Suzan Harkness will live on campus while her 13-year-old son Sebastian finishes school in Washington, D.C., the Columbia Daily Tribune reported.

She is moving into an apartment in Columbia Hall at the women's private college the week before she begins work Jan. 12. She said she is looking forward to meeting students, staff and faculty, and plans to go to productions, lectures and fashion shows, attend some classes and even ride a horse for the first time at Stephens' stables.

"It was an easy reason," Harkness said of her decision to work at Stephens. "The historical legacy of the institution, serving women, educating women -- I believe so deeply in women's institutions."

Harkness now serves as special assistant to the president at the University of the District of Columbia. She has held numerous positions at the historically black university, including associate professor of political science.

Stephens College president Dianne Lynch said Harkness' prior work as assistant dean for the university's Center for Academic Technology "creates huge opportunities for enhancing our online work."

Harkness previously worked as a legislative assistant to U.S. Rep. Diane Watson, a California Democrat. She focused on health, gender and educational issues.

The incoming administrator earned a doctorate in political science and public policy from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, as well as a master's degree in international relations and intercultural studies from the United States International University. She also attended the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, where she received a bachelor's degree in psychology.

"I think this job is going to be amazing," Harkness said. "I really want to understand the institution (and) get to know the city as my new home."