Denise Bauer

New Opportunities for a Feminist-Inspired Agenda
By Denise Bauer, associate dean of Liberal Arts at the Culinary Institute of America
As I opened the Chronicle of Higher Education recently, the title “A New Provost Promotes Diversity and Women in the Sciences” caught my eye. The article announced that feminist scientist and women’s studies pioneer Sue V. Rosser had been appointed provost of San Francisco State University (Lopez-Rivera 2009). This is certainly exciting news. But announcements like this no longer seem as anomalous as they did even a few years ago. According to recent data, nearly half of all senior administrators and nearly one in four college presidents are now women (Touchton 2008, 29), a change that is visible in the increasing numbers of women giving keynote addresses, setting agendas, and leading discussions at national conferences hosted by AAC&U and others. While certainly cause for celebration, these visible changes also raise an interesting question: how are the new demographics of higher education leadership affecting the culture of higher education at large?

Beverly Davenport Sypher		Katie Pope

From Campus Women Lead to Purdue Women Lead: A New Program for Inclusive Leadership
By Beverly Davenport Sypher, associate provost for special initiatives and Susan Bulkeley Butler Chair for Leadership Excellence, and Katie Pope, director of the Women's Resource Office, both at Purdue University
In the last five years, women and minority men have constituted more than half of new hires at Purdue University. These hiring patterns reflect concerted efforts on the part of university leadership to pursue the inclusive vision laid out in Purdue’s past and current strategic plans. The university has supported a number of converging efforts to retain and develop diverse talent, and to encourage and prepare more women faculty and faculty from underrepresented groups to pursue leadership positions. While Purdue has long led the nation and the world in scientific discoveries that are changing lives and solving human problems, we also aspire to be a leader among our peers in terms of inclusive leadership.