Women in Leadership Conference
The Women in Leadership Conference is a yearly
networking event for undergraduate women at Bellarmine. Each March, female students are selected to participate in the conference,
which fosters personal and professional growth with each young woman in
attendance through 5 major themes:
- Mentoring: Each participant is assigned
to a prominent woman from the city of Louisville who will serve as a
small group leaders.
- Professional Development: Women gain
insight on a variety of issues including professional attire, job
search and graduate school processes, effective communication,
negotiating compensation packages and tips for successful performance
reviews.
- Inspiration: Women will be inspired by
the shared stories of panelists, mentors, and chosen participants
- Leadership Development: Expounding
upon the professional development, women participate in sessions
designed to enhance their personal leadership development, such as
discovering and utilizing personal strengths, evaluating and managing
finances and reaching life goals
- Exchange of Ideas: Throughout the
conference, women will be exposed to multiple perspectives on best
practices, tips for success, and leadership skills.
The event originated with the alignment of several
factors. Early in the 21st century, Bellarmine University had a vested
interest in developing the leadership skills of students as civic
leaders, and it was during this period that the idea for the conference
occurred. Bellarmine’s increased focus on leadership development was
met with the motivation of a graduate student from the University of
Louisville working in the Division of Student Affairs.
When the idea of giving specific focus to female
leadership development was first proposed to the campus, there was
immediate support for the concept, since 65% of the student population
at that time was female. At the first effort toward a larger
leadership development initiative, the Division of Student Affairs
decided to produce the Women in Leadership Conference by forming a
committee of ten Bellarmine students, faculty and administrators who
began planning the inaugural conference in October 2004.
In recognition of Women’s History Month, the
committee decided that the conference should occur annually during the
month of March. After five months of intensive planning by the
committee, the inaugural Women in Leadership Conference took place on
March 9, 2005, involving 25 undergraduate female Bellarmine students
collaborating with 16 professional female leaders from within the
Louisville community. The participants interacted with these leaders
through a panel discussion, mentor groups and personal and professional
development sessions.