A native of Eclectic, Alabama, Dr. Martha Wingard Tack graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. degree from Troy University. She received her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from The University of Alabama.
Dr. Tack is Professor Emeritus in the Educational Leadership Program within the Department of Leadership and Counseling at Eastern Michigan University (EMU). During her 21-year career at EMU, she served in several leadership positions including senior executive for presidential initiatives and headquarters administrator for the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities (CUMU); interim associate vice president for academic affairs; and associate dean in the College of Education. While working as head of the Department of Leadership and Counseling at EMU, she was responsible for the implementation of the institution’s first doctoral program, a Doctor of Education degree in educational leadership. During a short leave of absence from EMU, Tack was affiliated with the University of Alabama at Birmingham as associate dean and tenured professor of educational leadership in the School of Education.
Before her affiliation with EMU, Tack was a tenured professor in the Department of Educational Administration and Supervision at Bowling Green State University. Tack served as assistant dean for personnel, policy, and off-campus programs and tenured associate professor of educational leadership in the College of Education at The University of Alabama. While on leave from the College of Education for two years, she worked as Assistant-to-the-President and American Council on Education (ACE) Intern. During her employment at The University of Alabama, she also served as acting head of the Area of Special Education and as acting director of the Women’s Studies Program.
For two years, she was state coordinator of the Michigan ACE Network for Women Leaders in Higher Education and chair of the 16-member Executive Board. Under her leadership, the Michigan Network received the coveted 2005 American Council on Education National Network and Program Award for Outstanding, Innovative, and Visionary Programs Benefiting Women Leaders. For 12 years Tack served on the Board of Trustees of the National Business and Professional Women’s Foundation and was chair of the Foundation’s Research and Information Committee for six years. She was a member of the Board of Trustees for The University of Findlay (Ohio) and also served the Mortar Board National Foundation as a trustee.
During her professional career, Tack won a number of awards. She received an honorary doctorate from the University of Findlay and the Outstanding Contributor to Graduate Education award from Bowling Green State University. In addition, she was named the Education Alumna of the Year by Troy University, her undergraduate institution, and was the winner of two Phi Delta Kappa (Bowling Green Chapter) Research Awards.
Tack received external funding to study issues in leadership from several agencies. For example, she and Dr. James L. Fisher were awarded a grant from the U.S. Department of Education Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) to complete and deliver a FIPSE lecture on the “Effective College President.” The grant was one of only six awarded nationally. She and Dr. Fisher also received research funding from the Exxon Education Foundation. The National Federation of Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, Inc. and the W. K. Kellogg Foundation also supported Tack’s initiatives.
Tack co-authored (with Patitu) an ASHE/ERIC Higher Education Report entitled Faculty Job Satisfaction: Women and Minorities in Peril. She also co-authored (with Fisher) two books on college administration: The Effective College President and Leaders on Leadership: The College Presidency, New Directions for Higher Education. In addition, she has written numerous articles and has given many presentations on leadership and planning in a variety of settings across the country. She has directed 35 dissertations, with 3 winning research awards. Tack’s areas of expertise are leadership, women in leadership, management, and strategic planning in higher education.
Her membership in honorary societies includes the following: Phi Delta Kappa, Kappa Delta Epsilon, Kappa Delta Pi, Omicron Delta Kappa, and Mortar Board.