August 19, 2004

Sermersheim participates in summer institute

by Paula M. Davenport

CARBONDALE, Ill. --Katherine L. "Katie" Sermersheim, director of student development at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, participated in a summer institute for women in higher education administration at Bryn Mawr College, a renowned women's college in Pennsylvania.

She joined more than 50 peers from 29 states and Nigeria at the month-long residential program.

The summer institute, established 29 years ago, strives to improve the status of women in middle and executive levels of higher education administration.

Bryn Mawr College and the Higher Education Resource Services, Mid-America (a University of Denver-based group devoted to bolstering the status of women in higher education) co-sponsored the program.

Participants polished critical skills and picked up the latest information on managing and governing colleges and universities. In addition, they forged a network of female administrators committed to expanding opportunities for one another by working together and providing mutual support.

The faculty included men and women from government, foundations, professional associations and academia.

They discussed the academic environment, from strategic planning to student and faculty development; the external environment, including the political, social and economic trends in higher education; the institutional environment, from budgeting to accounting, staffing and resource allocation; and professional development, focusing on finessing leadership skills, public speaking and establishing professional networks.