Dr. Deborah Sturtevant, professor of sociology and social work and chairperson of the department at Hope College, attended the Summer Institute for Women in Higher Education Administration sponsored jointly by Bryn Mawr College and Higher Education Resource Services (HERS), Mid-America.
The residential program was held from Sunday, June 26, through Friday, July 22, at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. The 73 participants were from 30 states, Canada and South Africa.
The Summer Institute was established 30 years ago to improve the status of women at the middle and executive levels of higher education administration, levels at which women traditionally have been underrepresented. The curriculum places special emphasis on the growing diversity of both the student body and the work force. Participants in the program are provided with skills and information pertinent to the management and governance of colleges and universities, and with timely information and perspectives on teaching, research and service. The institute seeks to encourage participants to tackle new projects and seek out new knowledge.
The Summer Institute seeks to build a network of women administrators who are committed to working together and supporting each other, to expand opportunities for women in higher education. The network is enhanced by interaction with the Summer Institute faculty, which includes women and men drawn from government, foundations, professional associations, and colleges and universities throughout the United States.
The program units include: Academic Environment, which addresses issues such as strategic planning, student and faculty development, and general education; External Environment, which addresses the political, social and economic trends in higher education; Institutional Environment, which addresses budgeting, accounting, staffing and resource allocation; and Professional Development, which addresses the needs of the individual woman, including leadership skills, public speaking and professional networks. Formal coursework is supplemented by an informal curriculum tailored to the needs specified by the participants.
Bryn Mawr College, established in 1885, was the first women's college in the country to offer both the A.B. and a full range of graduate programs leading to the Ph.D. degree. Higher Education Resource Services (HERS), Mid-America, located at the University of Denver, sponsors leadership development activities designed to improve the status of women in higher education. The project was founded in 1975 at the University of Pennsylvania.