Author: UWHEN ADMIN

With the rising number of COVID cases in Utah and the uncertainty of future variants, the UWHEN Board of Directors has determined to offer the 2022 Annual Leadership Conference in a Virtual format. Given the success of last year’s virtual conference, we look forward to once again offering quality educational sessions, an engaging keynote speaker, an insightful leadership panel, and acknowledging our peers with our annual leadership awards. We recognize and thank Weber State University for their planning efforts thus far. Please mark April 8 on your calendars, more details to come.

The Utah Women in Higher Education Network is pleased to announce registration is open for the first of three Fall Events.  The Finding Financial Freedom workshop will be held on Friday, October 5 at Utah State University (Logan, Utah).  Attendance is free for employees of UWHEN member institutions and workshop outcomes include:

• Find reliable resources for reducing debt (credit card, student, mortgage).
• Make prudent decisions on student loans.
• Know when to put your financial security first (when children of all ages may have a claim on your resources).
• Prioritize your long-term financial freedom over short-term wants. 
• Recognize the need for an Advance Health Care Directive, letter of last instruction, and a will. 
• Locate and use trustworthy financial resources

For additional details and to register by October 3, visit https://2018falleventusu.eventbrite.com.

Registration is now open for the 2018 UWHEN Leadership Conference, which will be held on Friday, April 6, at the Salt Lake Community College South City Campus.  The Conference is applicable for all women employed in higher education, including staff, faculty, and administrators.  This year’s Conference emphasizes mentorship and feature dozens of excellent speakers on subjects supporting UWHEN’s mission to advance women’s leadership on our campuses.  Additionally, UWHEN will be presenting its inaugural Leadership Awards!  Bring your colleagues and join us for an inspiring and educational event! Download the full program here.

Seats are limited, so register early to reserve your seat early at https://2018uwhenleadershipconference.eventbrite.com! 

What is the most significant mentor-mentee relationship in your life and how did it impact you? What difference did a mentor make in your life at a critical time? What is a mentor? Why are mentors particularly important for women?  Are mentors important in areas other than professionally? Who makes the best mentor? What was the most important thing you learned from mentoring or being mentored?

As part of our initiative to celebrate mentorship at the 2018 UWHEN Leadership Conference, we want to hear your story! 

Help us recognize your mentor and celebrate mentorship by responding to any of the questions above in 100-400 words and including a photo of you and your mentor (or mentee!) or a meaningful mentoring event.

Submission Details

• Narratives should be submitted in Word format and high-resolution photos should be submitted as .jpg or .tif.
• Submissions should be emailed to UWHEN Board Member Jacqueline Russell (SUU) at jacquelinerussell@suu.edu.
• The submission deadline is March 12, 2018.
• By submitting a photo, you acknowledge you have the permission of the individual(s) pictured and, if applicable, the photographer to use for the purpose of this display (if selected).
• Selected stories and images will be displayed at the Leadership Conference on April 6, 2018.
• All complete submissions will be entered in a drawing for one of two $25 Amazon gift cards to be given at the Leadership Conference!

Do you have any questions?  Let us know!  Email info@uwhen.org.

UWHEN is calling for nominations for the inaugural UWHEN Leadership Awards to be presented at the 2018 Leadership Conference on Friday, April 6, at Salt Lake Community College (South City Campus).  The UWHEN Leadership Awards recognize those who are significantly advancing leadership and women as leaders within Utah’s higher education institutions.  Administrators, faculty, and staff are eligible to be nominated or self-nominated. Nominations are requested from the higher education community through January 26, 2018 for the following categories:

• Distinguished Service – The Distinguished Service Award is given to an individual for sustained exemplary leadership, scholarship and/or creative work, philanthropy or service which has served to advance the mission of UWHEN.
• Special Recognition – This award is given to an individual, group, or organization that has demonstrated excellence and or innovation in creating programs, curriculum, and/or projects that have had a significant impact on advancing women in higher education. For example, nominees may have provided an effective vision, devised impactful policy, created new systems, engaged in effective collaborative work, shown extraordinary courage or dedication, or achieved unique significant accomplishments with the intention of achieving positive change for women relative to leadership and advancement in higher education.  Such programs/curriculum/projects may have connected their campus with the community, positively impacted their campus, or been disseminated beyond their institution.
• Mentorship – This award recognizes an individual who has demonstrated ongoing commitment to mentoring other women in higher education. The recipient of this award should cultivate the importance of mentoring as a means of developing women in leadership in higher education. The recipient of this award should inspire and cultivate vision and leadership in others.
• Emerging Professional – This award recognizes an individual who is early-in-career in higher education and who demonstrates rising leadership potential through her work in higher education.

Award Eligibility Requirements

• Nominees must be affiliated with a Utah institution of higher education that is a member of UWHEN in good standing.
• Nominators may nominate only one candidate in each category.

Nomination Guidelines

• Obtain permission from the nominee prior to submitting materials.
• Submit all required information in the online nomination form by the published deadline.
• In addition to the justification essay on the form, please attach the nominee’s current CV.
• Please be sure to list the nominee’s name as they would like it reflected on the award and all published materials.

Additional Information

• Nominators and award recipients should expect to attend the annual UWHEN Leadership Conference and awards presentation. If the honoree cannot attend the conference, they should appoint a person to accept the award in their honor and prepare a brief, written statement of acceptance. The nominator may be asked to present the award.
• Award recipients are given a complimentary registration to the UWHEN Conference to accept their award.
• Awards will be given only when warranted at the sole discretion of the UWHEN Awards Committee.
• Special consideration may be given to candidates who have contributed time and energy on behalf of UWHEN.
• The Awards Committee, at its discretion, may hold interviews with appropriate persons from the candidate’s work environment.
• Only the required materials will be reviewed. Additional materials will not be forwarded to the evaluation committee.

See the award nomination link for details: https://rmuohp.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5uyJ8D9JnBvqBX7.  For assistance or questions, contact UWHEN at info@uwhen.org.

UWHEN is accepting presentation proposals for the 2018 Leadership Conference, which will be held at Salt Lake Community College (South City Campus) on Friday, April 6, 2018.  Our theme is Mentorship Matters and we’ve provided below some topics to spark your ideas (and you’re welcomed to use these, too!).  Submit your proposal by Friday, January 12, 2018.  See the proposal submission link for details:  https://rmuohp.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8qvPEUIjROx98xL.  For assistance or questions, contact UWHEN at info@uwhen.org.

• Mentor Mystery:  What Qualities Should I Seek in a Mentor?
• Lit Review:  Evidence-Based Mentorship (Best Practices in Mentorship)
• Faculty Mentoring Models
• Investing in Mentorship:  Developing a Mentorship Program in Higher Education
• Mentoring Measurement:  How Do You Measure the Impact of Mentoring in the Workplace?
• Power Mentoring:  Book Review (*Or Other Book Discussion)
• Barriers to Advancing Women in Leadership Positions:  Mentorship as a Solution
• Men-Toring:  Working with Male Mentors to Increase Gender Diversity & Equity in the Workplace
• Case Studies in Mentorship:  Successful Leadership Development Programs
• Becoming a Mentor:  Strategies for Improving Your Own Effectiveness as a (In)Formal Mentor
• Finding Your Voice:  How to Receive Mentorship
• Using a Mentor to Create Opportunities

Friday, November 3 | 1-4PM | Southern Utah University | Sharwan Smith Student Center (Starlight Room), 351 W University Blvd

Attendance is FREE for UWHEN member institutions. Register online at https://suu2017.eventbrite.com.

Do you know your strengths and weaknesses? Do you know what you bring to the table when you show up to work each day? Do you know where you want your career to go and how to get there? Join a conversation with Mary Weaver Bennett who spent over 25 years as a legislative and regulatory policy expert in Washington, DC, Ms. Bennett will share insights and experience on how she thrived and was successful in a demanding and male-dominated environment. This event will help you gain tools to explore your individual strengths and weaknesses and create your strategic advantage.

Mary Weaver Bennett most recently served as president of Red Ridge Consulting, LLC, and as an expert advisor for Blackline Advisory Group in Nashville, TN. She is a specialist in legislative and regulatory policy matters for the financial services industry, including electronic payments, government relations, advocacy, and communications. Prior to moving to southern Utah in 2014, she was Director of Government and Industry Relations for the Electronic Transactions Association in Washington, DC, where she led federal and state public affairs strategy, lobbying, and outreach initiatives. Ms. Bennett’s professional experience spans over 25 years in a range of Washington, DC, institutions including the US House of Representatives, the US Senate, The Washington Campus, and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) under the US Securities and Exchange Commission. During this time, Ms. Bennett spent nearly ten years on Capitol Hill, working as professional staff member for several House committees and as a senior aide to Senator Richard Bryan (NV). Ms. Bennett then started her government relations career as an Associate Director at the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, a regulatory body overseeing auditors of public companies. Ms. Bennett has also worked as a public affairs television writer, created Washington-based political education programs for business executives, and is a veteran of several congressional and presidential campaigns. She is a graduate of The Pennsylvania State University where she majored in Political Science. She is enjoying the adjustment to western life in Ivins, UT, where she spends free time with her husband Doug, works with wild mustangs at Windhorse Relations, and supports the Kayenta Arts Foundation.

The American Council on Education Women’s Network noticed UWHEN’s recent initiatives towards mission fulfillment and asked the Network to blog about strategies other state networks may consider towards the network’s development. The article, written by 2016-2017 UWHEN Board Chair Dr. Jessica Egbert (Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions), is entitled “Building Momentum: Lessons Learned & Success Strategies of the Utah State Women’s Network” and may be found at HigherEducationToday.org via https://www.higheredtoday.org/2017/09/13/building-momentum-lessons-learned-success-strategies-utah-state-womens-network/.

Friday, October 6 | 1-4:30PM | Western Governors University | Big Cottonwood Conference Room, 4001 S 700 E, Salt Lake City

Attendance is FREE for UWHEN member institutions. Register online at http://2017wgu.eventbrite.com.

Join leaders for an interactive and insightful afternoon of learnings, lessons, and actionable activities that will support your goals for success.

Lauren Carris is a higher education and learning leader with over 15 years of curriculum and program design experience in diverse institutional settings. She seeks to inspire her teams and institutions to solve complex challenges in design and delivery. Lauren entered higher education through language learning program development in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) at UCLA, where her career advanced to focus on faculty and staff development, high stakes performance assessment leadership, cross-institutional curriculum alignment, and higher education leadership in public, private, for-profit, and non-profit institutions. Today, she applies her leadership and drive for innovation to the increasing demand for affordable, attainable, personalized, quality higher education at Western Governors University. There, Lauren leads teams within Academic Programs to support the advancement of WGU’s competency-based learning experience at scale. She relies on the latest research in learning science and user experience and design to facilitate collaboration among thought leaders, policy makers, industry experts, institutional leadership, and learning design professionals to reimagine the definition of exceptional learning experiences.

Melissa Flores (Facilitator) serves as the VP State Operations and Partnerships for Western Governors University (WGU). Flores develops strategic initiatives with WGU State Chancellors, elected officials, business and community leaders to expand access to post-secondary educational opportunities by providing a means for individuals to learn, independent of time or place, and to earn competency-based degrees that are credible to both academic institutions and employers. As part of an extensive career in higher education, Flores has served in a variety of roles. She had responsibility for 29 schools, 15,000 students and 1,800 employees as a Division President for Corinthian Colleges, Inc. Prior, she established School Analytix, and consulted with post-secondary, for-profit, higher education institutions. Flores was also the Chief Operating Officer for a start-up university, establishing all activities associated with campus operations and accreditation. Flores was an 11-year veteran of Apollo Group/University of Phoenix moving through positions of increasing responsibility at a state, national and international level. As the Vice President of International Operations, she was instrumental in starting international campus activities and gaining regional accreditation through the Higher Learning Commission. As Vice President of Business Development and Integration, she implemented a national online distribution system for curriculum and initiated the pilot for a blended delivery model combining online and campus-based learning. Melissa is passionate about expanding opportunities and experiences for others. Within non-profit organizations, she served as Director of Vocational Services for a health-care organization. She currently serves as a committee member for the National Ability Center which is committed to helping people of all abilities develop lifetime skills through both affordable & adaptive sports and recreation. Melissa received her undergraduate degree from California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo and her masters from University of Phoenix. Melissa was born and raised in Southern California but has called Park City, Utah, home for 14 years. She is married and has a 15 year-old daughter.

Stacey Ludwig Johnson has spent 26 years serving individuals and families in capacities relating to before and after school and alternative programs for high-risk youth, Department of Corrections programs for juvenile offenders, distance learning certification programs for adults, and most notably, almost 20 years as a pioneer in competency-based education leading and inspiring teams at WGU. Dr. Johnson was drawn to WGU because of WGU’s mission and she has enjoyed the opportunity to innovate and deliver student support services that improve the quality and expand access to higher education for a primarily non-traditional, under-served population of adult learners. She is most excited about her new role as the VP of Academic Operations because it provides the opportunity to collaborate with talented colleagues as they lead the largest Teachers College in the nation.

Lisa Raisor has over 15 years’ experience in the private higher education arena. She currently serves as the Director of Curriculum and Interim VP of Academic Programs for Western Governors University, College of Information Technology. In these roles, she provides leadership and vision to the ongoing design, development, delivery and evaluation of the IT programs, utilizing student performance data as well as feedback from students, faculty and employers to inform continuous improvement efforts of the IT programs and student experience. In addition, she collaborates with industry experts to ensure programs meet industry need, and works with university stakeholders to ensure processes and procedures surrounding curriculum design, development and delivery effective. Prior to joining WGU, Lisa served as the Director of Product Development for ECPI University, where she was responsible for the curriculum design, development and deployment of all university programs for online, hybrid and residential delivery, as well as faculty/staff training initiatives. Lisa holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Mathematics from Western Michigan University, and a MS in Education, Instructional Design for Online Learning from Capella University. She is also a United States Distance Learning Association member.

Kacey Thorne is the Director of Assessment Design and Development at Western Governors University. As the Assessment Director, Kacey leads cross functional teams in the design, development, and evaluation of all assessments delivered at WGU. She is passionate about the design and development of authentic and reliable assessments for WGU students. Kacey began her career in education 14 years ago as a Health Science classroom teacher in both traditional and online settings for secondary and post-secondary students. Her passion for students and a desire to expand access to higher education brought her to WGU 5 years ago. Kacey holds a MEd in Instructional Design from Western Governors University.

Tracey Wheeler is the Director of Curriculum for Teachers College at Western Governors University. She received her doctorate at Utah State University in Curriculum Design and Instruction with emphasis in Instructional Leadership and has a BA degree in Chemistry from California State University, Long Beach. She has over 16 years of experience in higher education leadership in areas related to accreditation, state licensing, programmatic development, curriculum and assessment at department and institutional levels. Wheeler’s current role as Director of Curriculum includes building collaborative teams, ownership, mentoring future leaders and making strategic decisions related to competency-based education, program development processes, use of innovative technologies, program priorities, and working with external agencies to meet state and accreditation requirements. Tracey’s additional experiences include; Site Visitor for CAEP, Director of Secondary Education, Director of Accreditation and Assessment for the Education Department, Institutional Accreditation Assessment Coordinator, instructional designer consultant for Mager Consortium, grant awards, scholarly productivity, and member of external advisory committees (e.g., NSF State of Nevada Epscor grant, STEM education, online/ blending digital environments, etc.). She was a professor for over 13 years, received full rank advancement, designed/ taught courses in Teacher Education through different delivery formats (e.g., face-to-face, blended, online), received grant awards, served on institutional committees and has presented at international and national conferences on research-based innovative technologies, online curriculum design and learning theories. Tracey has a passion for her profession in the field of education and believes her most important contribution is creating future leaders and teachers and are caring, effective and be positive role models for future generations.