Institutions across the nation celebrate Women’s History Month by honoring generations of women who refused to accept barriers, led with courage and dedicated their careers to improving their world. And they did all of this while working to inspire and prepare those who would come after. This is a saga that is definitely true for those of us in higher education, especially in the community college world where we serve an open access mission. While our community college world embraces many committed men and women professionals, it is community college women we celebrate today. Not only do we care about giving other women the skills and opportunities to break through the glass ceiling, we want them to leap right over it!
Fostering leadership is not just about holding positions of power; that challenge is about making a fundamental difference in the lives of those we serve. As our good colleague Martha Kanter reminds us when she speaks about the incredible College Promise phenomenon that she has helped to lead across the country: “We have promises to keep!” In our profession, our charge must be to achieve nothing less than 21st century, cutting-edge currency in everything we do: curriculum, facilities, equipment, institutional systems and faculty/staff expertise. We do not need rooms full of million-dollar consultants – even if we could afford them – to get the job done when we already have rooms full of dedicated women who have long been innovators, disruptors and leaders of change.
The month of March always reminds me of my own immersion into the world of women in community college leadership roles. In 1987, I spent a week in Phoenix, Arizona at a Leaders Seminar hosted by the American Association of Women in Community Colleges (AAWCC). In the presence of impressive women serving as community college presidents and deans, we acolytes were privileged to sit at the feet of talent, wisdom, and inspiration. I was inspired then, and I am inspired still, as decades later AAWCC chapters at community colleges across the nation – including a newly reenergized one at CCBC – reflect on the impact of women challenging, guiding, and nurturing the next generation of community college women leaders.
The legacy of women in higher education is one of resilience and transformation. We continue to step up not only as administrators and faculty but as mentors, advocates and champions for all students, those who rise to the challenge on their own as well as those who might otherwise be overlooked. Leadership is not about prestige – it is about purpose: meeting students where they are; breaking down barriers to success; and ensuring that higher education remains a pathway to opportunity for all.
Given our open-door mission; given the populations we serve; and given that community colleges are institutions that do more than many to enrich the lives in our communities, we continue to strive to empower our women leaders of tomorrow. That spirit drives community colleges forward today. And so, I say to our young professionals – both men and women – when we veterans look at you, we look into a glass that has become larger by the decade. We who make up today’s leadership level of community colleges are inviting you in, holding wide our “open-door” to invite you in to take our places.