Dr. Rhonda Maneval, Mechanicsburg, associate professor of nursing at the Lancaster Campus of Harrisburg Area Community College, joins a group of select academic administrators and faculty worldwide in the National Institute for Leadership Development (NILD). Maneval will participate in the international Leaders Institute for a year, focusing on fine-tuning skills, identifying leadership and community college issues and developing personal confidence.

Participants work on enhancing their skills to prepare them to assume major decision making roles in their institutions. They take part in a number of exercises to improve supervisory and human relations skills. The Institute also focuses on planning and budgeting, as well as organizational transformation and features discussions with national experts on the issues confronting higher education.

According to Carrole Wollin, president of the NILD, Maneval was chosen for her professional abilities, her interest in advancement in higher education and the quality of her proposed projects. A HACC nursing program graduate herself, Maneval organized and established HACC's nursing program at the Lancaster Campus in 2001. Since that time, enrollment in the nursing program has more than tripled, growing from an initial 24 students in fall 2001 to a projected enrollment of 120 students for fall 2003. In addition to teaching, Maneval oversees the nursing program at Lancaster, and is now involved in a feasibility study for a possible Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN) certificate program that complements the associate degree program.

The NILD is internationally recognized by colleges, universities and businesses for its visionary, holistic programs that produce leaders who effectively challenge assumptions, eliminate barriers and create new pathways to successful solutions.