Leadership & Offices
Union Institute & University’s leaders are featured for their commitment to the university’s purpose and mission. Our leadership is proudly active, engaging in the governance of the institution while remaining committed to its growth and development.
Dr. Karen Schuster Webb President | Union Institute & University
Dr. Karen Schuster Webb is Union Institute & University’s sixth president, having taken office on July 1, 2018. Dr. Webb is a visionary leader with a passion for community and mentoring women in leadership, having dedicated her career to the equity of access to educational excellence in the United States, as well as around the world. She brings more than 20 years of executive leadership and an impressive career in higher education, most recently as the Midwest campus president and senior advisor for Academic Innovation to the Chancellor at the Antioch University System. She also served as provost and vice president for Academic Affairs at Antioch University Midwest Campus. Prior to her work at Antioch University, Webb served at Alliant International University System from 2000 to 2013, where she was founding university dean of the California School of Education, overseeing programs in California, Mexico, and the Far East, as well as online programs.
Dr. Karen Schuster Webb
Dr. Webb served as dean of the College of Education (Baton Rouge) at Southern University and A&M College System: Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Shreveport (Community College), and online from 1998-2000. She co-founded and co-directed the Center for the Study of Academy Achievement in Learning Environments, part of a Stanford University Complex Instruction Institute Consortium, University of Kentucky System: Lexington from 1994-1998. Fluent in Spanish, she was also program director for Language Education Programs at the University of Kentucky from 1992-1998. Earlier in her career, she served at Howard University in Washington, D.C., Indiana University, Bloomington, and Coppin State University in Maryland.
Dr. Webb has earned numerous awards, including Teacher of the Year, by the California School of Education doctoral students at Alliant International University. Among her numerous accolades and international awards honoring her advocacy for diversity, inclusive leadership and mentoring, Dr. Webb was named one of the Top 25 Women in Higher Education and Beyond by Diverse Issues in Higher Education Magazine. As a reflection of her commitment to addressing women’s issues in higher education, she served as Chair of the American Council on Education’s Women’s Network Executive Council (WNEC) and is a Presidential Sponsor for the ACE affiliated Women’s Network of Ohio. In addition, Dr. Webb has been honored with the Distinguished Alumni Award from Indiana University’s School of Education and serves on the School of Education Dean’s Advisory Board. Dr. Webb serves on numerous Boards and Councils. Among them is the Board of Directors for the American Council on Education (ACE). Moreover, she is a member of the William V. S. Tubman University Foundation Advisory Board (Harper, Liberia), and is a Board member of Every Child Succeeds and Women Walking West in Cincinnati. Her latest board appointment is with the University of Cincinnati’s Hoxworth Blood Center Community Advisory Board.
Dr. Webb has a successful record of fundraising and building relationships and partnerships throughout her career. She served on accrediting peer visit committees for the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, as well as holding numerous committee leadership positions throughout her career. Dr. Webb has been a leader in her fields of study and has spoken at conferences nationally and internationally. She has published numerous articles in the areas of urban education, sociolinguistics, and language learning. Her career has been one of service at complex systems, and primarily at institutions serving adults returning to higher education and emphasizing experiential learning-based instruction. She also served at universities that were founded to provide equity of access to higher education for students of color. At Antioch University, she and her leadership team initiated programs that grew undergraduate and master’s degree programs. She secured corporate funding for academic program development and launches and developed private and public sector partnerships, including programs with PNC Bank and the Greene Foundation of Kettering Health Network. She was instrumental in Antioch University’s collaboration with Sinclair Community College in Mason, Ohio, and established articulation agreements with four additional non-competing regional community colleges. She launched the Workforce Development, Community Education, and outreach initiatives for Antioch University with Dayton’s immigrant communities, and established the Antioch University Midwest campus Veterans Affairs Liaison Office.
An international lecturer, author, linguist, and poet, Dr. Karen Schuster Webb holds three degrees from Indiana University-Bloomington: Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish, her Master of Science degree in Education, and the Doctor of Philosophy degree in English Education: Second Language Studies. In addition, she also completed work at the Complex Instruction Institute of Stanford University. On a personal note, Dr. Webb is the proud mother of two adult children, Ramona, who resides in California, and Wallace III, who lives in Ohio.
Dr. Webb said upon her appointment to the presidency, “I am humbled and honored to have been selected as the sixth president of Union Institute & University—a university living its mission to engage, enlighten, and empower students to achieve a lifetime of learning and service. Indeed, it is a privilege to follow Dr. Sublett, whose leadership has provided Union with a firm foundation, as well as a reputation for commitment to excellence, innovation, and community outreach. I look forward to joining the partnership reflected by the exceptional Union community of students, faculty, staff, alumni, and Board of Trustees to continue Union’s distinguished social justice legacy as a world-class university.”
President's cabinet
Dr. Rhonda Brinkley-Kennedy
PATRICIA J. BURKE
Rhonda Brinkley-Kennedy, PsyD, LMFT is the Founder and CEO of the South-Central Training Consortium, (SCTC) as well as the newly appointed Dean of Education Transformation and Strategic Alliances at Union Institute and University. In 1992, upon graduating with her doctorate in Clinical Psychology, Dr. Brinkley-Kennedy founded the non-profit SCTC, in an effort to meet the unmet mental health needs of underserved families of South Los Angeles. Along with her husband, Clinical Psychologist Clive D. Kennedy, Ph.D., she has provided oversight and leadership to the training and supervising of hundreds of graduate psychology students. For 30 years, SCTC has partnered with and provided direct support services for, various non-profit agencies, including agencies working with families struggling with homelessness, domestic violence, sexual assault, and re-entry. For over 25 years Dr. Brinkley-Kennedy served in various academic and administrative roles at Alliant International University, believing in the importance of bridging the gap between academia and university-community engagement.
Dr. Brinkley-Kennedy taught various graduate courses in the areas of diversity, family violence, trauma healing, and community consultation. Her administrative roles included appointments as the Multicultural Community Clinical Proficiency Director, Founding Director of the School Psychology Program, and Interim Dean of the School of Education, which she retired from in 2017. A licensed marriage and family therapist since 1989, Dr. Brinkley-Kennedy holds a School Psychology credential. In 2002, Pepperdine University awarded her the Alumni of the Year for Outstanding Service Award. In 2018, she joined Union Institute and University, where she continues to bring innovation and insight into how universities can better engage and serve their under-served communities.
Patricia J. Burke, JD
PATRICIA J. BURKE
Patricia Burke joined Union Institute & University in 2010 as HR Generalist. With over 16 years of experience in higher education human resources, Patty quickly moved up the ladder to Assistant Director-HR, Compliance and Operations Director, Chief Human Resources Officer, and finally to VP, Human Resources. Prior to joining Union, Patty worked as a Benefits Analyst/Employee Relations Specialist at Northern Kentucky University, where she also served as an adjunct instructor. Before Northern Kentucky University, she was an HR specialist at The Cincinnati Enquirer and served as a Mediation Officer for the KY Administrative Office of the Courts.
Patty has a Juris Doctorate from the University of Kentucky College of Law and a BA from Northern Kentucky University. After earning her JD, Patty focused on Human Resources and employment law because of a desire to be involved in all aspects of a workplace and to support the people whose talents and commitment are essential to the success of an organization. She is passionate about helping people, business operations, and communities thrive. In all her roles, Patty has been especially committed to health and wellness, diversity and inclusion, and employee engagement and benefit initiatives. In addition to her JD degree, Patty has senior status-SPHR and SCP-HR professional certifications and belongs to the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) and College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR).
Patty’s notable accomplishments at Union include;
- successfully negotiated and maintained cost containment for Union benefits with minimal cost increases while adding plan options and enhancements for the benefit of employees;
- initiated and oversaw the addition of the first-ever mental health counseling service (Employment Assistance Plan) for all employees, as well as the addition of voluntary life insurance options for employees’ spouses and dependents;
- assumed responsibility for the first Title IX office at Union, which included the development of Union’s Sexual Misconduct Policy; implemented university-wide training on sexual harassment prevention;
- successfully negotiated and oversaw the implementation of a new Payroll/HRIS system, which incorporated new efficiencies and protocols system-wide;
- initiated and oversaw updates to employee policies, which included implementation of a flexible work policy (even prior to the pandemic);
- initiated and implemented training development courses for faculty and staff, including training on Data Security, FERPA, Title IX and Managers training.
Helping to guide Union faculty and staff through an unprecedented worldwide pandemic has been one of the biggest challenges she has faced in her career. The challenges continue as workplaces face transformational, fundamental change.
Patty is involved in community activities, volunteering her time and efforts organizing and coaching youth softball, soccer and volleyball teams and leagues. She also serves as a tutor for Cincinnati public schools and is a volunteer member of the Kenny and Brian Williams Foundation in Greater Cincinnati. Patty is a proud mom of one son, who resides with his wife in Maryland.
Dr. Tom Frederick
Dr. Tom Frederick
Dr. Tom Frederick serves as the Interim Vice President of Academic Affairs at the Union Institute & University. His service to Union has spanned a spectrum of positions, starting from working as an affiliate professor and then progressing through to serving as an advisor, part-time faculty, full-time faculty, Chair of General Education, and Interim Executive Director. He has taught in the undergraduate, Master’s, and Ed.D. programs, and is currently the national Chairperson for General Education.
For forty years Dr. Frederick worked for the School Board of Miami-Dade County, as a teacher, assistant principal, and principal. In 2005, Miami-Dade County Public Schools, the fourth-largest school system in the United States, named him “Assistant Principal of the Year” and the South Florida Business Journal referred to him as a “Heavy Hitter in Education”.
Over the last thirty-two years of his public school career, he was a school administrator, serving as the instructional leader at numerous elementary and secondary schools.
Frederick has made numerous presentations at national and international conferences on the topics of using technology to enhance instruction, using data to drive classroom instruction, and engaging in family literacy. Dr. Frederick holds a BA in English Education from Biscayne College (1974), an MS in Educational Administration and Supervision from Barry College (1976), and Ed.S. and Ed.D degrees in Educational Administration and Supervision from Florida Atlantic University (1980 & 1982).