May 2005

Women’s Leadership Program Flourishes

Interdisciplinary Program at Mount Vernon Campus Prepares Top Students

By Jamie L. Freedman

Leadership is the name of the game for 85 freshman women enrolled in a unique academic residential program at GW. Launched in 1999, the Elizabeth Somers Women’s Leadership Program (WLP) is a year-long, interdisciplinary living-and-learning option designed around four areas of study: arts and culture, international development, politics, and science and medicine. Based on the Mount Vernon Campus on Foxhall Road, the program attracts bright, motivated women eager to hit the ground running at GW.

WLP students live together by cohort in a designated residence hall, along with a graduate teaching assistant, and take at least two courses together each semester — a writing-intensive humanities seminar in the fall, a required University writing class in the spring, and two discipline-specific courses. A cornerstone of the program is a weekly symposium series that explores the meaning of leadership through guest speakers, special events, and field trips that bring participants face-to-face with some of Washington’s prominent women leaders and rich political, economic, and cultural resources.

“The Women’s Leadership Program is designed to provide participants with the knowledge, skills, and opportunities to take charge and develop their own leadership styles,” says Rachelle Heller, associate dean for academic affairs at the Mount Vernon Campus and director of the Elizabeth J. Somers Women’s Leadership Program. “We have definitely become a national model for empowering young women.”

All four WLP offerings address the intellectual and professional development of women, while easing their transition to college life. The International Arts and Culture Cohort, coordinated by Assistant Professor of Dance Mary Buckley, offers an academically challenging, interactive, creative experience for women interested in the various art disciplines. Economics is at the core of Women in International Development, coordinated by Assistant Professor of Economics Dana Stryk, where students explore a wide range of important issues related to international affairs. Women in US and International Politics students, led by Assistant Professor of Political Science Zsuzsa Csergo, examine the roles women leaders play in the political arena and in the formation of public policy in the US and around the world. Women in Science and Medicine, coordinated by Assistant Professor of Chemistry Laura Eisen, introduces students to the myriad ways women contribute to scientific and technological fields and prepares them for advancement and success in the sciences and medicine.

Building the Science Base
“The Science and Medicine cohort provides young women with an interest in or passion for science with access to high level, academically challenging science experiences, as well as an introduction to women who hold leadership positions in the science and medical world,” says Heller. “Many of our students are not science majors, but realize that as residents of the 21st century, it’s necessary for them to understand science and technology in order to make informed decisions and to be educated world citizens. Both groups — those considering a career in science and medicine, as well as the non-science majors — receive a very strong base by participating in the program.”

This year’s cohort of 15 students benefits from its own WLP chemistry class and lab, taught by Eisen, in the newly renovated, state-of-the-art Acheson Science Building on the Mount Vernon Campus. “The new labs are designed for innovative teaching and collaborative learning — exactly the type of education that our program offers,” says Eisen, a physical chemist who was involved in planning the $3.5 million renovations. “There’s pretty convincing evidence that women learn best when they work together, and that’s what WLP is all about.”

A great deal of learning also occurs outside the classroom through a wide range of extracurricular activities. Women in Science and Medicine participants, for example, recently visited Washington’s Koshland Science Museum, part of the National Academy of Science, to view interactive exhibits exploring the relationship between science and policy. “Most of the 85 Women’s Leadership Program students, representing students from all four cohorts at Mount Vernon, joined us for the trip,” says Heller. “It was a wonderful opportunity to engage in science.”

Other recent highlights included a visit to the National Library of Medicine for a private tour of the history of women in medicine exhibit, theater trips to the science-related shows “Copenhagen” and “Inherit the Wind,” and meetings with prominent woman scientists, including acclaimed genomics researcher Claire Fraser, president and director of The Institute for Genomic Research, and noted journalist and naturalist Sy Montgomery.

“I got involved with the program because I believe that women, without question, can succeed in science and we want to do our best to inspire them,” says Eisen. “It’s wonderful to see how well informed and interested our students are, and how well they bond with each other. They truly have their own small community within a large university, and I’m glad to be a part of it.”

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