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| Learning About Leadership
Takes Women Into Internship
Date: June 2, 2000 By: Eric Lose Photo by: Dottie Stover Archive: Campus News Last fall the UC Women's Leadership Program planted a few progressive seeds; after a lot of hard work those kernels of knowledge are seeing daylight this spring. Back in November the Women's Leadership Program announced two new programs designed to help women faculty and administrators reach the top of their academic ranks. One program was a series of six workshops focused on leadership, professional development and issues in higher education. The second program was an administrative internship for women with paid release time. These profiles focus on three of the interns selected for spring quarter. Regina Sapona Sapona has been serving her internship with Dean Barbara Bardes at Raymond Walters College. "I wanted to learn how effective leaders support and encourage the programs, divisions and committees they work with." Sapona continued, "Dean Bardes has allowed me to sit in on meetings and put me in touch with colleagues at her college who have effective leadership styles, whether it be with a committee or a department." Sapona said she learns most about the different leadership styles by observation and interviewing. The university structured the program in ways to make it possible for interns to participate. Sapona said, "There was a budget set aside. A faculty member could ask for course relief, and for money for someone else to teach a course for her. That freed up time for them to participate" Sapona said she taught more during autumn and winter quarters in order open up her spring schedule. "I'm doing mostly research, which allows me some flexibility. It allows me to be available for more meetings and things that Dean Bardes might suggest would be good for me to attend." Interns meet regularly with each other to network and provide support and encouragement. Sapona said, "We also meet with the Steering Committee. They help us set our goals and figure out how we are going to assess our meeting of those goals. There's all kind of layers of support." Sapona felt it was a real plus for the university to offer the program. "It is quite an opportunity for women. It is a wonderful program that encourages women to look at different kinds of leadership positions and gain experience." Dorothy Air After 28 years at UC you'd think she would slow down a bit, take it easy.
Dorothy Air doesn't have time to take it easy. One thing has led to another, then another; and she is still taking on more.
Air is assistant dean for student affairs at the College of Medicine and one of four women participating this quarter in the Women's Leadership Intern Program.
Air's internship is with Donald Harrison, senior vice president and provost for health affairs at the Medical Center. Harrison felt that the internship program was very important. "One of the issues we face is how to develop more leadership positions for women in the university," he said. "This is way for them to gain experience and get a taste for what kind of roles they can fill." Air has been assistant dean for 12 years and has had a longstanding interest in leadership issues. "I initially got involved developing a leadership program for medical students," said Air. Why is she interested? "We're beyond students just learning all the content. They need to be able to take leadership roles in some of the directions that health care is going. I had a strong interest in it from that perspective." The program Air developed involved workshop sessions and a leadership project. This led to her being invited to do workshops on different topics for residency programs. Because of her participation, continued involvement and hard work, Air became a facilitator for a course on the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Air decided that if she was going to talk about leadership, she wanted to have more credibility and credentials. "So when this leadership program came along I was really interested in participating." Interns chose where they wanted to work based on what they wanted to learn. Air said she selected the provost's office because, "My main interest is in the Medical Center. I wanted to do something to help me to grow in whatever roles I have here." Harrison was eager to get involved in the program and opened his office to Air. "There are other programs like this nationally that I have participated in," he said. "The Academic Health Center Organization has had a program for several years for women in leadership roles. I was a mentor for the two years I was on the board and the year I was chairman, so this was sort of a natural thing for me to want to do." The program was intended to last one quarter, but Air said she would stay with it longer. "I decided that to really gain something, a quarter isn't very long. If I wanted to get involved in any project of substance I needed to make a longer commitment, so I chose to do spring, summer and fall quarters." Harrison said he believes in doing, not just observing. "Dorothy's only a month into being with me, but she's already been assigned two major projects," he said. "She gets assigned projects that become her area of responsibility just like the other people in my office. That gives her access to me and to others she needs to work with. "She said it's like jumping from the frying pan into the fire because of the kind of assignments I'm giving her, but she's really muscling up to them and doing a great job." Air said the internship has provided her with an opportunity to develop her strengths and talents. "It's also good to have a chance to work with people in different areas, to pay attention and learn about Dr. Harrison's leadership style and the qualities that make him an effective leader." Air felt that the leadership intern program was a big statement on the part of the administration of the university. "I'm really glad to see there's interest in helping women to develop into leadership roles," she said. "I'm very pleased about that." Gigi Meyer Escoe Some roads lead to new adventures, others lead you to familiar territory.
Gigi Meyer Escoe has walked down both pathways and each one brought her to UC. Escoe's family tree is firmly rooted in UC soil. She is the fifth member of her family to attend UC and the third generation to teach here. Escoe is an associate professor and director of the undergraduate program in economics in the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences.
"My grandfather was a student here, then taught traffic law, and my father graduated from UC and was faculty here," said Escoe. "My brother, sister and myself were all UC undergraduates. My brother played football; my sister was homecoming queen and got her master's here. I've got a lot of family ties at UC." After Escoe received a bachelor's in physics from UC and a PhD in economics from Ohio State, she conducted a national job search. She said she was open to going anywhere, but "the search led right back to Cincinnati. UC offered just what I was looking for." Escoe decided she wanted to advance her career and learn more about educational administration. "I got information in the mail about the Women's Leadership Intern Program," she said. "It sounded like a great chance to learn about administrative opportunities and I wanted to take advantage of it." Cynthia Berryman-Fink spearheaded the internship program in an effort to get more women into higher leadership positions at UC. She said the program is structured to provide women with "an opportunity to learn about leadership by working in an entirely different function under a new leader or mentor without losing you current position." Escoe said she wanted to serve her internship with Dean Joseph Caruso in Arts and Sciences. "It was the next logical step for me. I have very strong interest in A&S and seeing what the future of A&S is likely to be at UC. I wanted to get a feel for the way things are done, what priorities are there, what kinds of strategies and longterm plans exist." Berryman-Fink said the program has been well received by university administrators; many have participated in the lecture series and the internship program. "We've had some administrators come to us and say they would very much like an intern and in a few cases we weren't able to provide one. There's been more interest in having an intern than what we've been able to supply." Duties of the interns are negotiated between the intern and the supervisor of the site of placement. According to Berryman-Fink, interns are urged to get involved and take responsibility for a project and not just shadow a person. Escoe said that her internship for spring quarter has led to other opportunities for involvement. "I know that in my case, and for a few of the other women involved, there's already been a little more activity. People have called and asked us to serve on committees and to get involved in things. "It's a novel program and I appreciate being able to participate. The number of administrators who took time out to interact impressed me. It has turned out really well for me." |
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Sapona said the steering committee for the leadership program suggested using the internship as an opportunity to explore other job possibilities. "They suggested we design some personal goals for the internship and then use the internship to meet those goals."
