May 30, 2007

Two selected for prestigious institute for women

by Christi Mathis

CARBONDALE, Ill. – An administrator and a faculty member of Southern Illinois University Carbondale will participate this summer in a prestigious program for current and future higher education administrators. Yvonne Williams and Linda McCabe Smith will attend the Summer Institute for Women in Higher Education Administration June 23-July 18 at Bryn Mawr College in Philadelphia.

Williams is the associate director of the SIUC Center for Academic Success. She began her career at SIUC in 1982 in a temporary advisement position with human resources and a year later moved to the Center for Academic Success, previously called the Center for Basic Skills. Williams earned her bachelor's degree from Dillard University in New Orleans. She earned both her master's degree in educational psychology and counseling and her doctorate in educational psychology with emphasis on human learning from SIUC.

"I was ecstatic to be chosen to attend the conference," Williams said. "It's quite an honor and a great opportunity. It's an opportunity to learn and work with women from all over the world. I hope to improve on what I already know and learn from the other women there. I want to see what's going on in education other places and gather information and ideas to improve and enhance what we already do here."

McCabe Smith is an associate professor in the Rehabilitation Institute- Communication Disorder and Sciences Program. A 12-year employee of the University, Smith completed her doctorate at SIUC. She earned her undergraduate degree in elementary education and her master's in communication disorders and sciences at North Carolina Central University in Durham, N.C.

"I am honored and humbled," Smith said of her selection for the institute. "The program will provide a great learning experience and training for an administration position in higher education. I look forward to the challenge at the institute."

The Summer Institute for Women in Higher Education Administration began in 1976, initially funded by the William H. Donner Foundation, and the goal is improving the status of women in middle and executive levels of higher education administration. Participants come from across the globe and represent institutions of higher learning of varying enrollments and types. The curriculum for the four-week residential program is intensive with emphasis on peer interaction, college and university management and governance, energizing career goals and the growing diversity of the student body and work force.