Inland Northwest Women in Higher Education Roundtable

A brief history

February 1993 to March 2000

 The Roundtable first met on February 18, 1993 in Spokane, Washington.  President Elisabeth A. Zinser of the University of Idaho, President Mark Drummond of Eastern Washington University, and Jane Johnson, Vice President for University Advancement at Eastern Washington University convened the meeting.  Attendees at the first meeting included representatives from the University of Idaho, Eastern Washington University, Washington State University, North Idaho College, Community Colleges of Spokane, Whitworth College, and Gonzaga University.  Lewis Clark State College joined the Roundtable in December 1994.

 The initial mission statement for the Roundtable was developed over the next few meetings and follows:

 To establish environments at our institutions of higher education which develop women leaders, support them in their attainment of leadership roles and understand the benefits women bring.

 During the first year of its existence the Roundtable gathered quarterly and discussed professional development opportunities for women, shared practices related to search processes at each institution with an eye towards how these processes encouraged or discouraged women applicants, and considered evaluation processes for tenure and promotion and its effect on women faculty.

 On May 26, 1994 the Roundtable hosted its first “conversation with the presidents” meeting held at the Spokane offices of Eastern Washington University. At this gathering the presidents were invited to provide their thoughts on increasing diversity and equity in hiring and the role campus leaders can play in increasing diversity.

In 1994-95 the Roundtable studied hiring practices at the various institutions to see whether we could identify any practices that negatively or positively affected the hiring and retention of women. Joan Niemann of Eastern Washington University and Mary Heitkemper of Gonzaga University worked on gathering policies from each institution related to employment screening practices.  Through their work the Roundtable had in- depth discussions of how these processes affect the entry of women into leadership in higher education in the region.  Also during that year Beverly Lingle of Washington State University led a project to gather hiring data from each institution to look at patterns of actual hires over time and their effect on numbers of women and minorities among new hires.  These projects were discussed with the presidents at the second “conversation with the presidents” meeting held on September 26, 1995 at Whitworth College.

In 1995-96 the Roundtable conceptualized and instituted a mentoring project.  This project is entitled “The Women in Higher Education Roundtable Leadership Mentoring and Exchange Program.”  Its purpose is to develop leadership through mentoring: “Through the program, women faculty and professional/exempt staff with leadership potential will have the opportunity to spend time with senior-level college and university officials, gaining a deeper understanding of higher education leadership and issues.” This program matches mentors at each institution with women who wish to be mentored at another Roundtable institution.  The mentor program only matches the mentor and the mentee. The participants are free to define how they will communicate and what activities they will engage in.  The commitment to the mentoring relationship is for as long as the parties agree. To date twenty women from the Roundtable institutions have been mentored through this program.  In March 1997 we invited women who had been mentored to join us and discuss their experiences.  This was an informative and affirming meeting.

 In July the Roundtable meets at the home of one of the members. Beverly Lingle’s home on Lake Coeur d’Alene has become a favorite summer location.  These meetings have served as excellent opportunities to spend more time in discussion and to take advantage of the sometimes slower pace of summer work.  

On January 8, 1998 the Roundtable hosted its third “conversations with the presidents” at Washington State University.  This meeting focused on transitions in leadership.  Recognizing that most presidencies and vice presidencies last between four and six years, we sought wisdom from our presidents and chief academic officers on transitions.  We discussed questions such as what do Presidents want, expect and observe in major institutional transition?  What are the challenges  of being a new president and working with a cabinet that is in place?  How do communication patterns shift with new leaders?   

During 1999 the Roundtable met quarterly and focused its discussion on growth of the Roundtable to include more institutional representation and revised the mission statement to read:  

To foster inter-institutional and regional collaboration among women in higher education and to encourage the promotion of leadership of, and for, women into administrative leadership.

 

Up to six women, with a target of three women, from regional institutions are appointed by each University President with a goal of strengthening the institution through gender diversity.

 

In addition, the aim of this group is to promote conversation among senior administrators within as well as across institutions.

 

The work of this group goes across state lines and various types of institutions. The women meet consistently to network, influences, and have an ongoing conversation about the institutional climate for women in higher education.

 In addition to planning the fourth “conversation with the presidents,” the Roundtable also is hosting, in concert with other on-campus women’s groups, a video teleconference in March 2000: “Women’s Lives, Women’s Voices, Women’s Solutions.” ‘

 In March 1999, the Web site for the Northwest Women in Higher Education Roundtable was created. It included a Welfare Reform Survey to assess the impact of welfare reform on Northwest students’ financial ability to attend college.