Kelly Dalton has been named founding director of the Saints’
Center for Service at Marymount University in Arlington, which opens with the
fall semester to support, promote and coordinate service opportunities across
campus.
Her appointment was announced by William Ehmann, provost and vice
president for academic affairs and enrollment management.
Her responsibilities will include establishing the center as the
one-stop clearinghouse for students and partners passionate about service,
helping to measure and assess learning that comes through service and
projecting service as one of the pillars of a Marymount education.
“I was drawn to Marymount because the university is built upon the
values of intellectual curiosity, service and a global perspective,” Dalton
said. “I have built my life around these values and when the opportunity arose
to help shape the culture of community-engaged learning, I knew this was the
perfect fit for me.”
The sixth-generation Arlington resident was an adjunct professor
in Marymount’s Malek School of Health Professions in 2012. She is impressed
with the opportunities students have to travel the world, deepen their faith
and engage in meaningful service.
Dalton holds a doctorate in education from George Mason
University in Fairfax and has served as director of its Nonprofit Fellow
Program in the School of Integrative Studies. She also has held the positions
of assistant director of the Center for Social Action and Integrative Learning
and alternative break coordinator. A registered dietitian, she holds a master’s
degree in nutrition education and behavior and a bachelor’s degree in human
nutrition, foods and exercise from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg.
“Dr. Dalton has experience building meaningful service
opportunities in local, domestic and international communities,” Ehmann said,
noting that she is an international education volunteer with HELPS
International, Quiche Province, Guatemala, as well as a delegate for Global
Peacemaking Program Intersection International.
“Our goal with the center is to ensure that each of our graduates
has a significant service experience that they will carry forward and that
their sense of service will last a lifetime,” Ehmann said.
