Building Capacity

 
Mergers, decreased public funding, legislative involvement in curriculum decisions, campus safety, increasing public demand for accountability, mounting student debt, and appropriately serving a growing number of academically underprepared students are all realities facing institutions of higher education today. These complex challenges require leadership acumen that is influential, nimble, proficient, and responsive to the dynamic interests of the broader social, academic, political, and economic community. 

In a 2015 research brief published by Higher Education Resource Services (HERS), Susan Madsen posits that higher education institutions have the “potential for greater thriving” when an emphasis is placed on gender inclusivity and gender parity. She suggests—based on numerous research studies—that women in higher education leadership positions could assist institutions in “improving financial performance” and by so doing “strengthening organizational climate . . . and enhancing innovation” to a degree so far unrealized.

The Georgia Association of Women in Higher Education (GAWHE), a nonprofit volunteer organization committed to providing support for women educators, administrators, and researchers in higher education, continues to work to build capacity for women to connect in meaningful ways with a collegial network, receive leadership professional development designed to assist them in their current roles, and prepare for increasingly responsible future assignments. In existence for more than two decades, the membership of GAWHE remains primarily reflective of women who are employed with colleges and universities under the auspices of the University System of Georgia. With the guidance and support of Gretchen Corbin, commissioner of the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG), Anthony O. Parker, president of Albany Technical College, launched an effort in the fall of 2015 to encourage women within the TCSG colleges to consider connecting with GAWHE.

A Women in Higher Education conference was conducted with more than 120 attendees. Conference keynote speakers were Belle Wheelan, president of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, and Kathy Schwaig, dean, Dinos Eminent Scholar Chair of Entrepreneurial Management, and professor of information systems in the Michael J. Coles College of Business at Kennesaw State University. Additional nationally recognized presenters included Connie J. Gores, president of Southwest Minnesota State University, Kim Bobby, former director of the Inclusive Excellence Group at the American Council on Education, and Narcisa Polonio, executive vice president of education, research, and board leadership services with the Association of Community College Trustees.

Notable Georgians providing guidance to attendees were Angela Evans with Kennesaw State University, Freida Hill-Harrell, retired assistant commissioner, TCSG, and Cheryl Davenport Dozier, president of Savannah State University. The two-day conference proved beneficial for all attendees. Subsequent to the conference, GAWHE membership among TCSG employees increased by nearly 44 percent, thereby building capacity for the volunteer organization. 

GAWHE held an annual conference, which was hosted by Cheryl Davenport Dozier, president, and the Savannah State University faculty, staff, and students, on March 1–3, 2017. Commissioner Gretchen Corbin with TCSG was the pre-conference luncheon speaker. Information relative to the upcoming conference is available through the following link: http://www.gawhe.org.

The incremental growth that GAWHE is realizing will further substantiate the purpose of the organization in supporting women to meet the complex and dynamic challenges in higher education to ultimately assist institutions in realizing gains in student learning and achievement; thereby strengthening the organizational climate and enhancing innovation.   

GAWHE is moving the needle both quantitatively and qualitatively. Stay tuned to hear more about our efforts.

Kim Lee
Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness, Albany Technical College
Vice President for Membership, GAWHE