Dana Garbarski appointed director of the Gannon Center for Women and Leadership

Dana Garbarski will assume the role of director of the Gannon Center for Women and Leadership, effective January 2027. This appointment follows a search process initiated by a call to all tenured faculty and conducted by a faculty search committee.

Garbarski is professor in the Department of Sociology and director of the University Core Curriculum at Loyola University Chicago. She brings a deep understanding of the Center’s mission and a strong record of leadership, scholarship, and faculty development. From 2018 to 2020, she served as the Carolyn B. Farrell Endowed Assistant Professor in the Gannon Center, where she developed programming to support women faculty in their scholarship. She also served as a co-principal investigator on Loyola’s NSF ADVANCE Adaptation Grant (INSPIRED) from 2021 to 2025, helping to design and lead initiatives focused on mentoring, research, leadership development, and faculty success.

Garbarski will remain director of the University Core Curriculum through the end of the 2026-27 academic year, ensuring continuity in that work as Loyola continues a comprehensive review of the Core. More information will be shared about the next phase of Core leadership in the coming months.

In his email to the community, Provost Douglas W. Woods shared, “Garbarski brings to this role both institutional knowledge and a deep commitment to advancing women’s leadership. She is exceptionally well positioned to help the Center build on its strong foundation and expand its impact across Loyola and beyond.”

The Gannon Center has long played an important role in Loyola’s commitment to educating women and men who lead with purpose, courage, and a concern for others. Garbarski succeeds Robyn Mallett, who has served as interim director since the retirement of Gabrielle Buckley in December 2025.