Smeal Develops New Initiative to Support Women Leaders
Pennsylvania State University’s Smeal College of Business is working on a new initiative to increase awareness of activities and events at Smeal that help develop and promote women as leaders in the business community. The plan is called The Women of Smeal Initiative, and it will create opportunities for several members of the Smeal community, from students to alumni to faculty and staff.
The new initiative has roots in an effort developed by students, faculty, and staff earlier this fall to create discussion groups to further examine the topics raised in the book Lean In, by Sheryl Sandberg. This spring, peer groups called “Lean In Circles” will form. The groups will meet regularly for discussions, and the leaders of the effort also hope the groups will encourage women leaders through mentoring and networking.
Jennifer Eury, the director of alumni relations at Smeal, will lead the Women of Smeal Initiative. She says that she heard from many alumni and students that they needed to find other women as mentors to talk about professional issues that women face. She envisions the Women of Smeal Initiative as a way to build a stronger network for these women: “Smeal already offers women so many ways that they can come together, but this initiative really helps to promote these initiatives and create new opportunities for collaboration and partnership among existing groups.”
The Women of Smeal Initiative will provide support for existing groups at Smeal, including the National Association of Women MBAs (WMBA), the Multicultural Women’s Forum (MWF), and the Women in Business (WIB). Representatives from existing groups will participate in the steering group for the initiative.
For more information about the initiative, visit Smeal’s website.
