UND Today

University of North Dakota’s Official News Source

Voices of strength

Women’s Leadership Series fills a need while meeting UND strategic goals

Dara Faul and Casey Ozaki
Casey Ozaki (right), a faculty fellow for inclusive excellence and associate professor in the UND Department of Teaching & Learning, alongside Dara Faul, assocaite director of the UND Teaching Transformation and Development Academy (TTaDA) engage in discussion during a recent TTaDA meeting on campus. The leadership of TTaDA has developed the Women’s Leadership Series, a slate of informational events to help and support working professional women on campus. Photo by Dima Williams/UND Today.

Anne Kelsch and Carrie Herrig are strong believers in finding ways to support others.

“When so many people have supported you, you want to pay it forward,” Kelsch said.

That’s why the director of faculty and staff development at the Teaching Transformation and Development Academy, along with Carrie Herrig, launched the Women’s Leadership Series.

“There is a need for this,” said Herrig, staff career and personal advancement coordinator at the Academy. “We took a group to the North Dakota Women in Higher Education Network conference last year, and people wanted a program like this at UND.”

So Kelsch and Herrig pulled together a series last spring in just three months with sessions on “Respectful Engagement: Cultivating a Climate of Respect,” “Exploring the Impact: Gendered Experiences and Our Campus Climate,” and a panel discussion titled “Finding Your Voice: Insights on Communicating Assertively and Effectively.”

This fall, from seminars to a book study and the opportunity to participate in a statewide conference, the ongoing Women’s Leadership Series is designed to bring women together across the University and the state. The first session to kick off the series this fall was “Managing Up: Increase Cooperation and Collaboration.”

“This series will benefit everyone as we support the University as it does things differently,” said Herrig. “It takes all of us to make change.”

“This is important,” said Herrig. “We as women are busy professionals. We need to take time to focus on ourselves, to network, to find support systems that build us up and give us skills to grow our confidence and strengthen our voices. I think that at this time in higher education, women are finding the footing to be key leaders and make change.”

For everyone

The series is open to women and men, faculty and staff, across campus.

“This will benefit the whole university,” said Kelsch, who serves on the state board of the North Dakota Women in Higher Education Network (WHEN). “Everyone is welcome including men. Staff, faculty and graduate students are all welcome. We want to bring faculty and staff together. We are too often ‘siloed.’”

Kelsch and Herrig said the Series is tied to the One UND Strategic Plan.

“All events will strengthen UND to meets its strategic goals,” said Kelsch. “I strongly believe we need different voices in the conversation. We are facing a lot of changes in higher education, and the ways we have always done things are not always adequate. Allowing people who do much of the work on the ground to guide the work is important.”

Lynette Krenelka and Anne Kelsch
Anne Kelsch (right), director of the Transformation Teaching and Development Academy, and Carrie Herrig (not pictured) pulled together the new UND Women’s Leadership Series last spring in just three months. Photo by Jackie Lorentz.

Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance

A fall book study launched this week, featuring Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth. It runs through Nov. 19 in six facilitated groups with over 85 participants at locations across campus. TTaDa intern Morgan Matson, a senior majoring in Communications, has been instrumental in planning and developing the book study.

The longtime New York bestseller is a master class in the components of grit: the combination of passion and perseverance that is common to many successful people. From studies of spelling bee champions to Olympic athletes to her own life as a researcher and mother, Duckworth takes the reader through a fascinating landscape of experiments and experiences, examining the psychological aspects of success.

This book study will examine the role of “grit” and what is involved in “gritty” habits. And perhaps most importantly, how to build a culture of “grit” at UND.

“I like the idea of being ‘gritty,’” said Herrig. “We will look at determination and perseverance, success and talent, and talk about establishing ‘gritty’ habits.”

“We want to help others persist in pursing their passion, and hope faculty will join us to help students develop grit,” said Kelsch. “I’m very interested to see what faculty do with that.”

Sessions will be facilitated by Chelsea Lupien, Dr. Gail Ingwalson, Dr. Anne Kelsch, Anna Kinney, Dr. Adrienne Salentiny, Carrie Herrig, and Morgan Matson.

N.D. Women in Higher Education Network

On Nov. 2, TTaDa will sponsor a group to attend the all-day ND WHEN Conference in Minot. The conference theme is “Transition & Transformation for Women in Higher Education” and topics include pursuing career advancement, navigating salary negotiations and campus politics, alternative work schedules and modalities (traditional, online, hybrid), and policy and practices to advance women in higher education.

Register for the conference here.

Advocating for Oneself

“Advocating for Oneself: Exploring the Power of Influence and Persuasion,” will be held Monday, Nov. 5, 2:30 – 4 p.m., in the Memorial Union River Valley Room.

Why do so many women feel uncomfortable advocating for themselves? Gender stereotypes play a role. Many women hesitate to speak up and advocate for themselves out of concern for being seen as aggressive or overly confident. Women also tend to suffer from self-doubt and imposter syndrome – making them more likely to underestimate the value they bring.

This session will share ideas about effectively advocating for yourself and navigating your career path though the power of influence and persuasion.

Discussion topics include: Finding your voice and confidence, essential skills to getting positive attention from the top down, ways to champion yourself and others, and picking yourself up after set-backs.

Participants will have the opportunity to apply their inspirations from the talk to engage with one another and create personal action plans that enhance their self-advocacy. Anyone looking for inspiration to speak up, fully express their gifts, and do what fulfills them will benefit from participating in this program.

Register for the program here.