While women have been increasingly finding their place as STEM professionals, that has been an unsteady trend. Some have enrolled in Ph.D. programs but dropped out. Others, meanwhile, are left to ask: After gaining tenure, what to do next? How does one thrive as a tenured professor with the same ease, efficiency, and longevity of career as their…

When it comes to leadership, women are now taking on long overdue roles. This article presents 25 dynamic women in the world of higher education and beyond. They lead some of the most demanding and consequential organizations and programs on the planet. No longer sitting on the decision-making sidelines, they have shattered the glass ceiling and,…

Ruth Simmons made a big news splash a decade ago when she was named president of Brown University, making her the first Black president of an Ivy League institution. She made another splash three years later by naming a committee to investigate Brown's role in the slave trade and make recommendations on possible reparations. Reflecting on her…

In this article, the author profiles Dolores E. Cross, who, during her more than 30-year academic career, has advocated for multicultural education, championed equal education access for all students, and blazed trails as the first African-American female president of Chicago State University and the first female president of Morris Brown College.…

This article presents a conversation with three women college leaders on how their respective Ohio colleges are faring in the economy, leadership and what tops their presidential agendas these days. Patricia L. Hardaway was appointed president of Wilberforce University in April 2008. An attorney and graduate of the historically Black university,…

From the first female president of the American Council on Education (ACE) to the first female and Hispanic president of Texas A&M University, women have been appointed to a number of high-profile presidencies over the past year. Yet, according to ACE's "The American College President" report for 2007, women and people of color still occupy…

Women are absent from the top ranks at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, a stark contrast to the increase in gender parity at other schools. SIUC's chancellor, vice chancellors, provost and all 10 academic deans are men. Nationally, women made up at least a third of the vice presidents and provosts surveyed and 36 percent of deans,…

Retirement. It's a word with a wonderful ring, bringing images of afternoons on the golf course or lazy days puttering in the garden. It's a word that speaks of long stretches of time spent as one pleases, with children, grandchildren and significant others--or of taking those trips always promised and always put off. And then there are those who…

In 2005, the NCAA took a significant step towards combating one of the most consistent criticisms in intercollegiate athletics. Despite the growing visibility of women's sports and the abundance of excellent minority student-athletes, most of the top college coaching and athletic administration jobs have remained largely closed off to both women…

This article discusses the appointment of Dr. Drew Gilpin Faust as the first woman named president of Harvard University, which marks a diversity high point in the storied history of the nation's oldest university. At age 9, Faust famously wrote to U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower calling for an end to segregation. And in her current role as a…