EVENT: National Education for Women's Leadership Institute at OU
DATE: May 19-23, 2006
Undergraduate women attending Oklahoma colleges and universities as well as Oklahoma women attending out-of-state institutions as undergraduates are eligible to apply for a free, five-day summer leadership institute designed to encourage women to consider careers in politics and public service.
The fourth annual National Education for Women’s Leadership Institute will be held May 19 through 23 on the University of Oklahoma Norman campus. Sponsored by OU’s Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center, the program is part of a national training network originated by the Center for American Women in Politics at Rutgers University. The goal of N.E.W. Leadership-Oklahoma is to educate, inspire and empower women to become political leaders.
Participants will gain skills in community organizing, public speaking, leadership, team building, negotiation and conflict resolution.
“They also will meet Oklahoma women officeholders, public administrators and local activists; spend time at the Oklahoma Capitol; and attend a reception honoring women in government,” said Hannah Brenner, program coordinator.
Past institute presenters include Lt. Gov. Mary Fallin, Oklahoma Commerce Secretary Kathy Taylor, Secretary of State Susan Savage, state Sens. Debbe Leftwich and Judy Eason McIntyre, Corporation Commissioner Denise Bode, state Reps. Susan Winchester and Jari Askins, U.S. District Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange, and Arcadia Mayor Marilyn Murrell. The institute was recognized by the Journal Record’s “Women of the Year” program as a “program making a difference” for the past four years in a row.
A goal of N.E.W. Leadership is to address the historical underrepresentation of women in every area of government. The United States ranks 59th out of 181 democracies in terms of the percentage of women serving in the national legislature. Oklahoma ranks 47th in the nation in the percentage of women serving in the state legislature, and fewer than one in five Oklahoma mayors are women. Oklahoma has never had a woman governor or U.S. senator and the last, and only, woman to represent the state in the U.S. Congress, Alice Mary Robertson, served in the 1920s. Oklahoma also has very low numbers of women district attorneys and county commissioners.
About 35 undergraduate women from diverse backgrounds will be selected through a competitive process to participate in this year’s program. Students interested in politics and leadership are encouraged to apply. The application deadline is March 10. Applications and additional program information are available at the N.E.W. Leadership Web site, www.ou.edu/special/albertctr/NLO.