From the Director

By: Kim Bobby

We recently sent out a survey to ask the state coordinators to reflect on their work through the lens of the four goals of outlined in the Moving the Needle: Advancing Women Leaders in Higher Education (MTN) initiative.

We know the work you are accomplishing around the nation is inextricably tied to these four goals, and we want to raise awareness by having you reflect on your work with the MTN goals in mind. Here is a sample of some of the responses.

How does your network create a sense of urgency regarding advancing women in higher education leadership positions?

“Our network communicates this message at every event with the hope that high-level administrators and college presidents, who are in the audience, hear this important message and reflect on it when they go back to their institutions.”

“Our state network brings the women's leadership conversation to the council of presidents, boards of regents, and Utah System of Higher Education in a formal way, while drilling down to the needs and desires of women on each campus and the various institutional objectives that matter most to them.”

“We are encouraging institutional representatives to raise this topic on their campuses. We also encourage members, including the board, to recommend women from the network when positions become available on their campus.”

How does your network encourage governing boards, college and university presidents, and policymaking bodies to implement policies and best practices that support the recruitment and hiring of women to chief executive positions?

“Hopefully by bringing to their attention through various initiatives such as our annual conference, our Women of Color Collaborative (WOCC), Young Women Strong Leadership (YWSL), Legislative Dinner, Ready to Run (for political office), and annual newsletter to all presidents in the state of Michigan. Our Institutional Rep (IR) program has increased the capacity of serving women through its expanded outreach programming, sharing our mission, goals, and objectives. We also have a very vibrant website where all program initiatives are listed along with professional opportunities available for women.”

How does your network build professional capacity in women to advance to both mid-level and senior-level administrative positions in higher education?

“Building professional capacity is the strength of our network. We offer several workshops throughout the year which offer a variety of training [opportunities] and information with a heavy focus on strengthening leadership capabilities. Our annual fall dinner recognizes notable leaders in our state and individuals who have demonstrated great leadership potential. We offer an annual Leadership Summit, which is a one-day workshop with a variety of sessions centered on developing women in higher education. In addition, we offer two networking events each year, which include a presenta­tion from a guest speaker who has an area of expertise in a topic that we are interested in.”

“We offer events which highlight women in higher education leadership positions who speak about the issues and trends, and also share their own personal stories about leadership. They emphasize the need for women leaders. In addition, we offer professional devel­opment opportunities for our membership and adver­tise the many positions available within the region and across the nation.”

How does your network acknowledge and advance best practices and models for advancing women in higher education?

“Our network is very fortunate that our long-time members and more experienced members are very active in our network. They continuously serve as models and mentors without actually having a formal mentorship program. In my opinion, the best mentoring occurs when a natural relationship is fostered as opposed to a formal mentorship where two people are assigned to each other. Relationships have developed between many members in our network, and this has developed into many networks for sharing information and supporting each other.”

It is critically important to bring attention to this important alignment with the four MTN goals as we reflect on our progress. The ACE Women’s Network is a powerful messenger in this work and has the ability to contribute significantly. I know you will bring to light more stories of your work in this context, and we look forward to sharing the survey results with you.

Please add your response to the Moving the Needle Survey by May 1, 2015.

 



Kim Bobby is the Director of ACE's Inclusive Excellence Group.