Linnette Werner

Dr. Linnette Werner brings more than 25 years of experience in leadership education, organizational development, and higher education administration. She currently directs both the Undergraduate Leadership Minor and the Organizational Leadership BA degree (ODC). Prior to returning full-time to faculty, she held multiple senior administrative roles, including Associate Dean of the College of Liberal Arts, School of Business, and School of Education and Leadership and as an Assistant Vice Provost at the University of Minnesota.

Dr. Werner is a widely published scholar in leadership education. She is the primary author of Teaching from the Emerging Now and served as guest editor of a special issue of New Directions for Student Leadership on intentional emergence and liberatory pedagogy. Her 2022 article on graduate and professional student leadership identity remains one of the few in the field to focus on this unique population. She is also co-author on the adaptive leadership chapter for Leadership Theories, Frameworks, and Approaches in Practice (Information Age Publishing). Her work is characterized by a strong commitment to bridging theory and practice, often through experiential and emergent methodologies. Her current research focuses on how to identify, prevent, and heal from toxic leadership in organizational settings.

A recipient of Hamline’s Beloved Community Award and Inclusion & Equity Award, Dr. Werner is committed to creating learning environments that are inclusive, collaborative, and transformative. She regularly leads student programs abroad—including leadership immersions in Peru and Nepal—and designs courses that immerse students in real-world simulations, adaptive challenges, and team-based projects.