Mount Mary faculty member to head up global communications for School Sisters of Notre Dame
S. Linda Marie Bos SSND ’74, who taught history and political science at Mount Mary University for 30 years, has accepted a position in Rome, Italy, to coordinate congregational communications for the School Sisters of Notre Dame.
In this position Bos will oversee the order’s global communications plan for its 3,000 members in 34 countries. She will work in the administrative and spiritual headquarters of the order, developing communications strategies and technology platforms.
During her time at Mount Mary, Bos has been active in learning and using learning management systems and is a believer in the power of technology in bringing people together.
“In the early years I didn’t think that digital learning would ever be as effective as face-to-face classroom delivery,” she said. But after becoming conversant in videoconferencing, facilitating online discussions and utilizing digital resources, she has come to believe this form of learning brings another level of understanding.
“As an instructor I can help the student at the point where they need it,” she said. “It doesn’t have to take place in the confines of a classroom.”
Technology will become crucial in her role of creating unified messages for SSNDs in Africa, Asia, Europe, South America and the U.S. This will certainly have its challenges, she said, as not all areas of the world have equal access to technology and resources.
During her time at Mount Mary, Bos led Honors Convocation and held integral roles in presenting Mount Mary signature events including Investiture, Commencement ceremonies and Founders Day.
Bos has taught courses ranging from modern Asia to 20th century European history. She has created courses of her own design, such as a class tracing the parallels between the story of Harry Potter and the rise of Nazism in Germany. As a historian and academic, Bos said this move to Rome will enable her to experience history in a completely different way.
“I won’t have to rush through history, I’ll be able to take it at my leisure,” she said.
Bos’ new position will be effective in mid-March. She is currently teaching an online history course and even though she will no longer be at Mount Mary, she plans to see it through until the end of the semester.
“Because it’s online, some of the students might not even realize I’m not in Kostka Hall,” she said.
"S. Linda Marie Bos committed her time at Mount Mary University unconditionally to our students,” said Vice President for Academic Affairs Karen Friedlen, Ph.D. “She was a pioneer in online instruction and continues to be forward thinking to this day.”
Bos is eager for this experience, to be able to apply her deep commitment to education, and to understand it in context of the order’s full ministry.
“What I’ve done at Mount Mary encouraged me to say yes to this,” she said. “I’m always telling my students they need to look at things with a global perspective, so I need to act this way, too.”