Since 1853, generations of Beaver College and Arcadia University women have taken charge of their futures and pursued their dreams. On March 26, Arcadia’s second annual Women Who Lead Forum provided special recognition to three women who have profoundly shaped Arcadia to be the dynamic institution that it is today. 

President Emerita Dr. Bette Landman, who began her 19-year tenure as president in 1985, is the first woman to lead the institution and the only president to lead under the institutional names of Beaver College and Arcadia University. Through her extraordinary vision and unwavering commitment to access and inclusion, she touched the lives of all students, faculty, staff, and friends of the community. Dr. Landman reinvigorated the University, doubling enrollment and leading transformative projects such as the construction of seven new buildings and a nationally recognized study abroad program. Dr. Landman also led the community through the historic transition to Arcadia University. Dr. Landman’s involvement in the higher education community also is legendary. Among her many roles, she served as chair of the higher education committee of the American Red Cross, chair of the Presidents Committee and a leader of the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference, and served on the NCAA’s Presidents Council.  

A thought leader in education reform, Dr. Maimon for decades has striven to make higher education effective and equitable. At Arcadia, she organized the faculty to participate in one of the nation’s first writing-across-the-curriculum programs, funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.  Dr. Maimon’s commitment to new ways of understanding, writing, and thinking led her to serve as associate dean of the College at Brown University and as dean of Experimental Programs and tenured professor of English at Queens College (CUNY), where she worked with corporate and journalism advisory boards to provide opportunities for high potential/ low-income students. As president at Governors State University, she instituted systemic shifts that significantly improved student outcomes. In 2020, Dr. Maimon redirected her energies from the day-to-day running of universities to national thought leadership in higher education. She serves as an advisor at the American Council on Education, is a regular columnist for the Philadelphia Citizen, and participates frequently in media discussions of educational reform. 

Professor Emerita at Arcadia University,  Dr. Barbara Nodine specialized in cognitive psychology and its applied aspects. She is co-author of Writing in the Arts and Sciences; Reading in the Arts and Sciences; Thinking, Reading and Writing; and author of Study Guide for students to accompany the psychology text by Benjamin, Hopkins,and Nation. Dr. Nodine is former president of the Society for the Teaching of Psychology of the American Psychological Association (APA) and former president of the Eastern Psychological Association. She is a Fellow of both the APA and the American Psychology Society. Dr. Nodine, who has helped to evaluate several psychology departments and curricula, has also consulted extensively on incorporating writing into disciplinary courses at colleges across the country. Her accomplishments as a teacher have received national recognition.  In 1996, she was awarded the Robert Daniels Teaching Excellence Award by the Society for the Teaching of Psychology, and in 1999, the American Psychological Foundation Distinguished Teaching Award. 

To learn more about The Women Who Lead forum, visit alumni.arcadia.edu/WWLF.