Penn State Intercom......March 22, 2001
Disney appointed as dean
of Commonwealth College
Diane M. Disney, deputy assistant secretary of defense for civilian personnel policy, was appointed by the board of trustees to become dean of the University's 12-campus Commonwealth College, effective July 1.
Since 1994, Disney has overseen the development and implementation of policies for managing the Department of Defense workforce of nearly 1 million civil service and other employees. Her areas of responsibility included staffing, training and education, compensation, labor and employee relations, systems modernization and regionalization.
Her international activities include serving as a permanent member of the U.S.-Portugal Bilateral Commission; chairing committees for the U.S.-Chilean Consultative Commission, the U.S.-Argentina Bilateral Commission, and the U.S.-Brazil Bilateral Commission; providing technical assistance to the defense ministries of Slovenia, Croatia, Chile and Argentina; and heading U.S. delegations negotiating with Germany on tax and employment issues and with Portugal and Korea on labor issues.
Previously, Disney headed the Rhode Island Office of Defense Economic Adjustment, developed and managed the New England Defense Adjustment Project and worked on numerous other defense-related and cultural projects in the region.
She has written widely and given presentations and testimony on workforce development, human resource management and defense issues. She is the author or co-author of numerous articles and books.
For several years, she was director of the Research Center in Business and Economics at the University of Rhode Island, where she was an associate professor of management. Active in economic development, she was a principal researcher for the state's Workforce 2000 Council through URI's Labor Research Center, as well as a member of the Governor's JOBS-RI Council.
She also had an adjunct appointment to the graduate faculty of the Heller School at Brandeis University, where she coordinated the Ford Foundation's project on employment-related benefits. In addition, she headed the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts and worked as Rhode Island Associate for the Urban Institute's Nonprofit Sector Project. For many years, she was president of Disney Lightfoot Lee Ltd., a consultant firm in management, human resources and strategic planning.
Disney received her doctorate from Brandeis University in policy analysis, an M.B.A. from the University of Rhode Island, a master's degree in teaching from Duke University, and a bachelor's degree from Stetson University in English, Russian and journalism.
A Fellow of the national Academy of Public Administration, Disney has received numerous honors and awards from associations, universities and her community, including the Medal for Outstanding Public Service from the U.S. Secretary of Defense.