快活视频celebrates Women鈥檚 Leadership Collective Launch, hosts Presidential Scholar Forum
University broadens initiative to serve women at high school, collegiate and mid-career levels
By Megan Bradshaw and Rebecca Kirkman on April 5, 2019
In a day focused on celebrating and inspiring women leaders, a targeted group of about 100 Towson University students attended the Women鈥檚 Leadership Collective Launch. They were joined by more than 300 leaders from the community for the Presidential Scholar Forum: Voices of Women and the Missing 33%.
Spearheaded by 快活视频Presidential Scholar Nancy Grasmick, the Women鈥檚 Leadership Collective encompasses programs designed to educate and inspire women at the high school, collegiate and mid-career levels.
The collective builds on TU's existing Professional Leadership Program for Women, a five-month professional development program for mid-career women offered through the Division of Strategic Partnerships and Applied Research.
鈥淭his is an initiative for 快活视频that came from President Kim Schatzel,鈥� said Grasmick of the Women's Leadership Collective. 鈥淚t has three parts to it: The first is identifying young women who are juniors and seniors in high school who have shown potential as leaders. The second part focuses on students on campus who have demonstrated leadership interest. And then the third part is the continuation and expansion of the external women鈥檚 leadership program that is in its fifth cohort.鈥�
Grasmick hopes the day鈥檚 events signal TU鈥檚 interest in nurturing female leaders to the wider community. 鈥淲e really wanted to launch [the collective] with the larger community, to let them know that Towson University is undertaking this important topic, and that it will be an ongoing initiative.鈥�
Towson University is uniquely suited to spearhead this effort, Grasmick says. 鈥淣ot only are we centered in a large community where we have unprecedented access to leaders, both internal and external, but we have the support of a very dynamic woman leader in Dr. Schatzel.鈥�
Launching the Women鈥檚 Leadership Collective
Thursday鈥檚 kickoff event featured a panel with Violet Apple, CEO of Girl Scouts of Central Maryland, Chief Judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals and 快活视频alumna Mary Ellen Barbera and Iris Sobchak of the consulting firm Leading Women.
Moderated by Kim Fabian of Junior Achievement of Central Maryland, the panelists shared personal stories and encouraged the young women in the room to take risks, and the young men to serve as allies to women.
鈥淏e intentional about putting yourself in uncomfortable positions,鈥� said Apple in response to a question about what college students can do now to continue on the leadership path. 鈥淭hose are the kinds of things that will really help you in your career.鈥�
After the panel, the students鈥攔ecommended by faculty and invited to the collective launch because of their demonstrated leadership on campus鈥攂roke into groups for more intimate conversations with each panelist.
In a relaxed and lively breakout conversation, Barbera focused on the importance of building self-confidence and shared her experiences while asking students to do the same. Apple told students about the value of taking risks in her own life, and how those risks led her to career opportunities. And Sobchak emphasized the role ethics have played in her career.
With this and following collective events, Grasmick hopes to develop a pipeline of well-equipped female leaders from high school to the professional world.
鈥淥ne of the primary goals will be the continuation for the external leadership program and to identify and galvanize the women on campus who have demonstrated leadership. We鈥檒l take those juniors and seniors in high school and validate what they鈥檙e [doing.] But [also encourage them] to continue on this journey as they matriculate into higher education and on to the world of work,鈥� says Grasmick. 鈥淎nd to emphasize that Towson is a place where you could come that would nurture these leadership skills.鈥�
Presidential Scholar Signature Forum: Voices of Women and The Missing 33%鈩�
Grasmick鈥檚 Women鈥檚 Leadership Collective events continued Thursday afternoon with the Presidential Scholar Forum.
The forum events featured national experts who presented compelling research on pressing issues.
Negotiation expert Ron Shapiro and President and COO of Leading Women Kelly Lockwood Primus shared the stage to discuss the experience of women aiming for leadership roles and The Missing 33%鈩�, respectively.
Towson University President Kim Schatzel spoke at the beginning of the event, noting that as one of the two percent of university presidents nationwide who have significant C-suite and academic experience, it was her 鈥減leasure and responsibility to invest in women鈥檚 leadership.鈥�
She spoke of the growing necessity of C-suite skills for higher education leadership, citing not only TU鈥檚 academic growth and excellence but also its expansion on campus and into downtown Towson鈥攑articularly with the recent long-term lease of the former Maryland National Guard Armory.
Shapiro began his talk by referencing a 1979 Daily Record newspaper article about the obstacles women faced reaching leadership positions and noting how similar it was to articles he reads today. He relayed insights on female leadership shared with him from women in his life, including one from a Chinese immigrant to Australia who served on a cruise ship crew but hoped to become a naturalist:
鈥淪eeing women hold leadership roles traditionally held by men gives me hope.鈥�
Lockwood Primus and Leading Women define leadership as 鈥渦sing the greatness in you to achieve and sustain extraordinary outcomes by engaging the greatness in others.鈥�
She noted that women are traditionally highly rated in the first and third parts of that definition (using and engaging greatness) but are perceived to be lacking in the middle third鈥攖he missing 33%鈥攚hich is what is needed to make the leap to senior leadership.
Lockwood Primus asked the over 300 people in attendance to think of the best career advice they ever received. Only eight people raised their hands when she asked if that advice pertained to outcomes.
She closed her talk by giving attendees advice for middle management and senior level/executive advice emphasizing developing business acumen, compiling a track record of strategic decisions and taking actions based on the story the organization鈥檚 finances tell.
This story is related to several of President Schatzel's priorities for Towson University.