Provost’s group seeks to foster women as academic leaders

Kathleen Holgerson recently learned first-hand what it is like to walk in the shoes of one of the highest administrators at the University.

Holgerson, director of the Women’s Center, accompanied Provost Peter Nicholls for a week as he engaged in his day-to-day tasks, in a pilot “shadowing” program organized by the Provost’s Commission on the Status of Women (PCSW).

The creation of a shadowing program was one of the recommendations of the PCSW leadership subcommittee, which, at Nicholls’ charge, issued a report that explored strategies for advancing women in leadership positions at the University.

“The University is committed to ensuring that more women are involved in the administration at all levels within the institution,” Nicholls says.

“My office is committed to improving the climate and providing resources for women’s leadership development.”

Nicholls volunteered to be the first administrator shadowed.

Holgerson attended meetings, stayed in Nicholls’ office while he worked on correspondence, and accompanied him on a visit to the Avery Point campus. They had discussions after each meeting.

Nicholls says the experience was “mutually beneficial. I learned a lot from Kathleen’s observations.”

Holgerson says she asked questions about what was behind some of the decisions that were being made, and about the contexts for different conversations: “I was able to provide the perspective of what, if any, were the dynamics around gender or race.”

She says her role was “not only to shadow, but for both of us to take the experience and see what kind of program could be put into place.”

She and Nicholls will discuss the program’s future with members of the subcommittee.

“We want to be sure that whatever we do, we have the maximum impact,” Nicholls says.