Zonta Celebration Award: Dr. Nancy Blattner

Dr. Nancy H. Blattner assumed her role as the first female president of Fontbonne University in July 2020, but her inauguration was delayed until September 19, 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Blattner previously served as Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty at Fontbonne from 2004 to 2009 and went on to serve as the President of Caldwell University, a Catholic Dominican university in Caldwell, New Jersey, where she served for 11 years.

Returning to the mid-west was a homecoming of sorts for Blattner who holds a B.S. in Secondary Education/English and an M.A. in English from Southeast Missouri State University and a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale,

A lifelong Catholic, Dr. Blattner fell in love with Catholic higher education during her initial tenure at Fontbonne. “Fontbonne was my first opportunity to be in a Catholic institution of higher education, and I knew from that point on, I never wanted to leave Catholic higher ed,” shared Dr. Blattner. “I’ve been very fortunate to have been in Catholic higher ed now for over 16 years. So, when the opportunity arose for me to entertain the thought of returning to Fontbonne as it was searching for its next president, it was very easy for me to want to come back here to the people and to the community that I really cherished. It’s been a very nice homecoming.”

Since her return, Blattner has laid the framework for Fontbonne’s next five-year strategic plan which outlines goals around development of new academic and co-curricular programs, community outreach and partnerships in the St. Louis region and beyond. For example, Dr. Blattner initiated the vision for the Summer Scholars Program, which afforded participants an opportunity to take two college-level courses for free over a four-week period. She introduced the Refresh program, a free opportunity for first-year students to retake and improve their grades in a designated course, while also building upon knowledge and skills. Additionally, Blattner has worked with the College of Education and Allied Health to launch its first satellite program in Kansas City, MO that allows graduate students in the Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) program to earn their master’s degrees.

Dr. Blattner has championed the efforts to expand academic offerings as well as sports offerings. Included among these initiatives is the introduction of a new BSN in Nursing, as well as the formation of a new collegiate sprint football program, both set to launch this fall. As its originator, Dr. Blattner will serve as founding chair of the Board of Governors for the Midwest Sprint Football League, the first collegiate sprint football league organized in nearly 100 years.

“We are very excited to have Dr. Blattner back with us at Fontbonne,” shares Dr. Gale Rice, professor and dean of the College of Education and Allied Health Professions. “She is a genuine person who is an enthusiastic leader with an unwavering commitment to the Fontbonne community.”

Please join the Zonta Club of Cape Girardeau in congratulating this year’s recipient of the Zonta Celebration Award- Dr. Nancy Blattner.