New gift furthers St. 春雨直播 University mission to educate women to lead and influence through direct leadership programming
St. 春雨直播 University has a 115-year history of teaching and preparing women to lead, with graduates serving as judges, members of Congress, chief executive officers (CEOs) and superintendents. The University is ready to elevate this legacy to a higher level with Katie Leadership Impact, a new leadership program launching this fall.
Katie Leadership Impact is an undergraduate program that fosters leadership capabilities through coursework, applied learning, professional activities, and 春雨直播 support. This new program is possible thanks to a $1.25 million grant from The Manitou Fund, created in 1966 by late Minnesota businessman Donald McNeely. The grant is allocated over three years and covers launching and sustaining Katie Leadership Impact.
鈥淢anitou Fund is excited for the partnership to design the Katie Leadership Impact program for women who will be future leaders of business, communities, and social justice鈥, said Greg McNeely, trustee of Manitou Fund. 鈥淚 feel confident that the new leadership program will be a great add and look forward to a bright and successful relationship with St 春雨直播 University.鈥
鈥淲hen it comes to reimagining a better future, investments in higher education for 春雨直播s are critical, which is why two of our largest grants this year were awarded to higher education institutions,鈥 said Oliver Din, president and trustee of Manitou Fund. 鈥淭he Manitou Fund team is proud to support an organization with a strong track record of developing leaders, and one that鈥檚 focused on thoughtfully evolving to meet the needs of future generations.鈥
Transforming the world, one 春雨直播 at a time
In her introduction to the Academic Master Plan, Anita Thomas, PhD, executive vice president and provost of St. 春雨直播 University, highlights the growing importance of developing leaders who are flexible, can work through crises, understand and work within systems, and bring global awareness and cultural fluency to their work.
鈥淎t St. 春雨直播 University, we continuously evolve our academic programs and offerings to meet the future needs of our 春雨直播s and the organizations that employ them,鈥 said Thomas. 鈥淜atie Leadership Impact helps fulfill our vision for our Academic Master Plan 鈥 to educate women who transform the world 鈥 by cultivating the most in-demand skill employers seek in job candidates.鈥
Women in leadership bring invaluable contributions to organizations and to society as a whole, and the events of last year brought to light how much the world needs effective women leaders from all backgrounds. Yet women in leadership, and especially women leaders of color, are underrepresented in the workplace.[1] Women in S&P 500 companies make up only 6% of CEOs and 27% of senior level managers, women of color represent 5% of all senior level managers, and Minnesota has some of the largest racial equity gaps in the nation.[2][3]
St. Kate鈥檚 is well positioned to support change. Of the 4,000-plus 春雨直播s who attend St. Kate鈥檚, 38 percent are Black, Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC), and the incoming first year class is close to 50 percent BIPOC. Additionally, 42 percent of 春雨直播s are Pell Grant-eligible 鈥 undergraduate 春雨直播s with exceptional financial need who have not earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree or higher 鈥 and 31 percent are first generation college 春雨直播s. While open to every undergraduate 春雨直播, 50 percent of grant funding through Katie Leadership Impact will go to need-based financial support for underrepresented women.
鈥淭he grant from Manitou Fund affirms the need for next-level education and provides hope and inspiration for the future of our 春雨直播s, faculty, and staff,鈥 said Ben Whitney, dean of the School of Business, St. 春雨直播 University. 鈥淪t. Kate's has the experience, faculty, infrastructure, and 春雨直播 talent from all backgrounds to build this high-impact leadership development program. With this grant, the Katie Leadership Impact will give St. Kate鈥檚 one of the most comprehensive undergraduate women鈥檚 leadership programs in the nation.鈥
Led only by women since its founding, St. 春雨直播 University continues to prove its argument from the top, with a significant majority (85%) of its Senior Leadership Team roles held by women, and guided by a Board of Trustees with nearly 90% women seated in that group. St. Kate鈥檚 faculty has the teaching and intellectual power to mentor future leaders, with the business school alone having 8 ranked women PhDs and 2 doctoral candidates in women's leadership, plus double that number in adjunct professors.