Christine Götz Shakespeare, Ph.D.
Assistant Vice President, Continuing and Professional Education, Pace University
Christine attended the Waldorf School of Garden City from kindergarten through 12th grade finishing with 18 other students some of whom she still sees on a regular basis. At Waldorf she played field hockey and basketball—and she still shoots hoops today for fun. “At Waldorf I built the foundation of a lifelong commitment to exercise thanks to the discipline of Mr. Laszlo Jurak (Waldorf’s Athletic Director from 1963 to 1994) and Mr. Mark Levine (Class Teacher and Basketball Coach from 1975 to 1985).” Upon graduation, Christine attended New College at Hofstra University where she graduated with Honors and Phi Beta Kappa in the Humanities.
Christine started her career in higher education as an admissions counselor at Hofstra while starting a master’s degree in guidance counseling. She then moved to San Diego to complete her master’s in education and started a career in local and state government. She next lived in Richmond, Virginia and then Austin, Texas where she re-connected to Waldorf education by becoming deeply involved with the Austin Waldorf School. For three years, she served on the Board of Trustees at the Austin Waldorf School and was an assistant coach of their girls’ basketball teams. “When volunteering at the Austin Waldorf School, I felt right at home and had a true community to belong to.” In Texas, Christine worked, on behalf of then Governor Bush’s Office of Volunteerism, with state agencies, the corporate community, higher education, and nongovernmental organizations to build the capacity and infrastructure of the volunteerism sector utilizing the resources of AmeriCorps funding and volunteers.
In 2001, Christine returned to New York in order to pursue her Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration which she completed with a focus on policy studies in 2005. While earning her Ph.D., Christine was an education consultant at the Ford Foundation. For two years, she served on Board of Trustees at the Waldorf School of Garden City while also working as Assistant Director of Government and Community Relations at New York University. In 2007, she left NYU to join Sunbridge College (now Sunbridge Institute) as the Dean of Academic Affairs.
Currently, Christine is Assistant Vice President of Continuing and Professional Education at Pace University where she leads the lifelong learning unit, to include the leadership of Pace’s first fully online undergraduate degree program. She coordinates summer initiatives; oversees the English Language Institute; manages the noncredit course/programs unit; and the Pace Encore Transition Program. Previously, she held the position of Interim Associate Provost for Student Success and two other positions related to international students and global initiatives. Christine is devoted to providing access to higher education for nontraditional students and she spends a significant amount of time building strategy, understanding the federal higher education policy context, and starting up programs and initiatives. “I am fortunate to have been provided the education that the Waldorf School gave to me and I do my best to give back to Waldorf education. Working at the forefront of changes in higher education requires a connection to the traditional purpose of higher education while recognizing opportunities to innovate and adapt. I believe my Waldorf education provided the foundation for being able to negotiate the traditional and the innovative and create a new path.”
Christine Götz Shakespeare, Ph.D.
Symposium Panelist 2016Christine Götz Shakespeare, Ph.D.
Symposium Panelist 2016Assistant Vice President, Continuing and Professional Education, Pace University
Christine attended the Waldorf School of Garden City from kindergarten through 12th grade finishing with 18 other students some of whom she still sees on a regular basis. At Waldorf she played field hockey and basketball—and she still shoots hoops today for fun. “At Waldorf I built the foundation of a lifelong commitment to exercise thanks to the discipline of Mr. Laszlo Jurak (Waldorf’s Athletic Director from 1963 to 1994) and Mr. Mark Levine (Class Teacher and Basketball Coach from 1975 to 1985).” Upon graduation, Christine attended New College at Hofstra University where she graduated with Honors and Phi Beta Kappa in the Humanities.
Christine started her career in higher education as an admissions counselor at Hofstra while starting a master’s degree in guidance counseling. She then moved to San Diego to complete her master’s in education and started a career in local and state government. She next lived in Richmond, Virginia and then Austin, Texas where she re-connected to Waldorf education by becoming deeply involved with the Austin Waldorf School. For three years, she served on the Board of Trustees at the Austin Waldorf School and was an assistant coach of their girls’ basketball teams. “When volunteering at the Austin Waldorf School, I felt right at home and had a true community to belong to.” In Texas, Christine worked, on behalf of then Governor Bush’s Office of Volunteerism, with state agencies, the corporate community, higher education, and nongovernmental organizations to build the capacity and infrastructure of the volunteerism sector utilizing the resources of AmeriCorps funding and volunteers.
In 2001, Christine returned to New York in order to pursue her Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration which she completed with a focus on policy studies in 2005. While earning her Ph.D., Christine was an education consultant at the Ford Foundation. For two years, she served on Board of Trustees at the Waldorf School of Garden City while also working as Assistant Director of Government and Community Relations at New York University. In 2007, she left NYU to join Sunbridge College (now Sunbridge Institute) as the Dean of Academic Affairs.
Currently, Christine is Assistant Vice President of Continuing and Professional Education at Pace University where she leads the lifelong learning unit, to include the leadership of Pace’s first fully online undergraduate degree program. She coordinates summer initiatives; oversees the English Language Institute; manages the noncredit course/programs unit; and the Pace Encore Transition Program. Previously, she held the position of Interim Associate Provost for Student Success and two other positions related to international students and global initiatives. Christine is devoted to providing access to higher education for nontraditional students and she spends a significant amount of time building strategy, understanding the federal higher education policy context, and starting up programs and initiatives. “I am fortunate to have been provided the education that the Waldorf School gave to me and I do my best to give back to Waldorf education. Working at the forefront of changes in higher education requires a connection to the traditional purpose of higher education while recognizing opportunities to innovate and adapt. I believe my Waldorf education provided the foundation for being able to negotiate the traditional and the innovative and create a new path.”
