Missy M. Korduner, PhD

Biography

In addition to her faculty role, Dr. Missy Korduner serves as the MS Graduate Programs Coordinator and an Academic Advisor in the LSU School of Leadership & Human Resource Development. A Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach, she focuses her work on helping students and professionals identify and build on their strengths as leaders.

In 2025, Dr. Korduner was selected as a Faculty Fellow for Student Success with the Pinkie Gordon Lane Graduate School, where she developed the Graduate Student Leadership Initiative (GSLI), a semester-long, strengths-based leadership development program for graduate students. In 2026, LSU recognized her and her Graduate School colleagues through its "We Build Teams That Win" program for launching GSLI. Over the last several years, she has also served as a leadership development coach, workshop facilitator, and content developer for the LSU Leadership Development Institute. Her chapter on that coaching work, "Using Coaching to Influence Educator Well-Being and Retention," appears in Andragogy in Practice (Routledge, 2025).

Before joining the SLHRD faculty in 2019, Dr. Korduner spent more than 15 years in higher education, working in residential life, honors student programming, and first-year experience. Her areas of expertise include strengths-based development, leadership development, student leader training, academic advising, program planning, and extended orientation and transition programs. She has presented sessions and workshops on these topics for campus, community, and professional audiences.

Dr. Korduner is active in a variety of professional and community organizations. She currently serves as Past President of LACADA, the Louisiana Academic Advising Association, and as Diaper Bank Chair for the Junior League of Baton Rouge. Nationally, she has served as co-chair of the Association for Talent Development (ATD) Chapter Recognition Committee and spent three years on the ATD Chapter Leaders' Conference Program Advisory Committee. Locally, she has held several board positions with ATD Baton Rouge, including President. She is also a member of Pi Beta Phi Fraternity for Women, where she serves on the national Legislative Committee.

Her recent honors include the H.M. "Hub" Cotton Award for Faculty Excellence (2024), the LSU CHSE Engagement Award (2024), and the NACADA Outstanding New Faculty Advisor Award (2021).

She holds a PhD in Human Resource Education from LSU, and an MA in Education and a BA in Music from the University of Connecticut.