Inaugural UMAC Women’s Symposium provides forum for promoting female leadership
ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) hosted its first-ever Women’s Symposium, titled “Creating a Game Plan for Expanding your Influence,” Thursday on the campus of Northwestern College in St. Paul, Minn. Attending the event were over 65 female administrators, coaches, staff, and student-athletes from around the conference with each of the eight member institutions represented.
The event included two nationally recognized keynote speakers in Kathy Turpin, Director of Collegiate Drug Testing for the Center for Drug Free Sport, and Kathy DeBoer, Executive Director of the American Volleyball Coaches Association. These women, who together tally over 50 years of experience in intercollegiate athletics, focused on topics such as women in leadership, career advancement and professionalism, the decline of women as athletic administrators, and solutions to gender differences in the competitive workplace.
“I loved the fact that we had three generations in the room to discuss women’s issues in sport, how far we have come, and what choices we have to continue in a career that we are passionate about,” Heather Pennie, Senior Woman Administrator and Head Softball Coach at the University of Minnesota, Morris said. “I think my favorite part of the day, however, was our van ride home listening to the athlete’s discussions that were stimulated by the topics of the day. I believe they were enlightened!”
The symposium also included a panel of female Division III administrators from around the Midwest. They responded to participant questions centering on work/life balance, Title IX and professional development.
In addition, the day-long experience allowed time for networking and discussion between participants who usually only see each other in the competitive arena. Northwestern Senior Woman Administrator and Head Volleyball Coach Beth Wilmeth especially appreciated this part of the day.
“I was able to take a lot of practical things away, particularly to the SWA role on our campus,” Wilmeth said. “Plus, it was encouraging to connect with other women in our conference outside of the scope of competition.”
Funded entirely by the NCAA Division III Strategic Initiatives Grant, the event provided attendees with an intimate and easily accessible professional development opportunity that gave them the necessary tools and resources to advance and shape their careers in a male-dominated field.
“Today represents a starting place and a key piece of the puzzle that hopefully provides a solution to significantly increasing female representation within both administration and coaching,” UMAC Commissioner Corey Borchardt said. “It is my desire that the conversations that took place today, along with the insightful sharing from our speakers and panel members, will ultimately be viewed as the initial building blocks for changing the culture and landscape of female leadership within the UMAC.”