Dr. Rita Padmore, Ed.D; MBA; Ed.M; MA
Dean
260-399-7700 Ext. 8313
HPadmore@sf.edu
Dr. Rita Padmore
Dean, Keith Busse School of Business and Entrepreneurial Leadership
In January, 2008, Dr. Rita H. Padmore was appointed as the Dean of the Keith Busse School of Business and Entrepreneurial Leadership (SOBEL) at the University of Saint Francis. Since assuming the deanship, she has worked closely with her advisory board, faculty and staff to increase enrollment, improve retention, diversify revenue streams, and build strong collaborations and partnerships with industry. Through such alliances, Dr. Padmore seeks to align the school’s academic and experiential programs and services with the strategic direction of regional businesses. Ultimately, her goal is to prepare students to become valuable contributors to, and leaders of, businesses today and in the future.
Dr. Padmore has worked in the fields of business and technology for over 15 years and in higher education administration for over 8 years. She began her career at IBM Corporation managing technology projects for large institutions. While at IBM she was promoted to positions of increasing responsibilities in consulting, marketing, and executive relationship management. Dr. Padmore also served as the company’s liaison to the offices of K-12 district superintendents, chancellors of schools, and college presidents. As an entrepreneur, she co-founded Kimeta Systems, a former management and technology consulting company that was based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
In addition to working in the private sector, Dr. Padmore has managed academic programs and taught courses in strategic planning and technology strategy at Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE). Prior to this role and while a doctoral candidate at Harvard, she served as a resident hall advisor and public service coordinator of Winthrop House. At HGSE she was awarded a graduate research assistantship, a teaching fellowship, and appointed a member of five graduate and doctoral admissions committees. At Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) she managed the Leadership Learning Institute within the Center for Reflective Community Practice and co-taught the design of knowledge management systems.
Shaken by the loss of family members and friends in the civil war in Liberia, the land of her birth, Dr. Padmore left MIT and joined Roxbury Community College (RCC) as Dean of Business and Computer Information Systems and as interim dean of Math, Science, and Engineering. RCC, a member of the Massachusetts state college systems, is a resource-challenged college that educates primarily nontraditional students from low-income backgrounds. In this environment, Dr. Padmore sought to make a social contribution through her work. Noted achievements under her leadership included streamlining of academic programs and services, making them more consistent with the needs of industry; building collaborations with industry and government; creating partnerships with feeder high schools and colleges; and obtaining grants, donations, and in-kind services totaling over $500,000.
Today Dr. Padmore serves on the boards of institutions that promote education and economic development and volunteers within numerous public service organizations. She was educated at Harvard Graduate School of Education, MIT’s Sloan School of Management, Columbia University, and Syracuse University. Her hobbies include international travel for cultural understanding, community service, reading, gourmet cooking, and all visual and performing arts.