Eight to Attend Higher Education Resource Services Institutes

Michelle Budig
Michelle Budig

A record eight faculty members and administrators have been chosen to attend the 2018-19 Higher Education Resource Services (HERS) institutes, a leadership development program for women, according to John McCarthy, interim provost and senior vice chancellor for academic affairs.

The eight, who represent six schools and colleges, join a cadre of more than two dozen other administrators and faculty members who have attended the intensive residential leadership and management training institutes that are offered at the University of Denver, Bryn Mawr College and Wellesley College. During the institute, each of the participants will pursue an individual study project.

This year’s HERS participants and their projects:

  • Michelle Budig, professor of sociology, will continue work she began this spring as a Chancellor’s Leadership Fellow in the provost’s office. She will focus on creating institutional supports for mid-career faculty, with an emphasis on finding pathways forward for long-term associate professors.
  • Daniela Calzetti, professor of astronomy, plans to learn and develop skills to help diversify her department at all academic levels for women and underrepresented minorities.
  • Mari Castañeda, professor and chair of communication, will work on deepening student-faculty connections in her department.
  • Karen Helfer, professor and chair of communication disorders, is focused on raising the profile of her department by increasing the research productivity of faculty members, developing a vibrant Ph.D. program, and improving the clinical training of graduate students in professional degree programs.
  • Christina Monte, director of enrollment management and student success, Isenberg School of Management, will focus on plans to involve more students from more disciplines in an international service learning program in South Africa.
  • Jennifer Ross, associate professor of physics, will explore ways to improve the environment for women and underrepresented groups in STEM fields, particularly in her own department.
  • Amanda Seaman, professor of Asian languages and literatures, will be working on ways to prepare more diverse faculty for leadership roles.
  • Gabriela Weaver, vice provost for faculty development, director of the Institute for Teaching Excellence and Faculty Development, and professor of chemistry, will work with the HERS Clare Boothe Luce program to provide support and encouragement to women in STEM and to develop strategies for advancing a diverse cadre of women into STEM leadership roles.

Budig, Calzetti, Castaneda and Monte are attending the Wellesley institute, which meets monthly during the 2018-19 academic year.

Helfer, Ross, Seaman and Weaver are attending the Bryn Mawr institute, which runs for 2 weeks in July.

Since 1976, more than 5,000 women from more than 1,200 campuses in the U.S. and abroad have participated in HERS institutes. The university has been sponsoring participants since 2009. The campus selection process begins with nominations from deans and vice chancellors with the final selection of nominees made by the chancellor. 

“Chancellor Subbaswamy, the deans, and I are committed to diversity in campus leadership,” McCarthy said. “For many years, HERS has helped advance women into leadership positions, and we are pleased to continue that tradition by sending an unprecedented eight women faculty, administrators and staff to HERS. The funding is truly a collaborative effort of my office, the chancellor’s, and the deans who nominated the participants.”

Current campus administrators and faculty who have attended a HERS Institute include Marjorie Aelion, Erin Baker, Martha Baker, Carol Barr, Joye Bowman, Enobong (Anna) Branch, Laura Briggs, Julie Caswell, Heidi Dollard, Claudia Donald, Linda Griffin, Claire Hamilton, Elisabeth Hamin, Julie Hayes, Beth Jakob, A. Yęmisi Jimoh, Barbara Krauthamer, Sara Littlecrow-Russell, Jennifer Lundquist, Jennifer Normanly, Sally Powers and and Jacqui Watrous.