Women in leadership can be seen everywhere at Colorado Mesa University (CMU).
The Board of Trustees for the university has its first executive board made entirely of women with Alison Griffin as the Chair, Amy Lentz as the Vice Chair, Lori Buck as the Treasurer and the first woman to become the Student Government President at CMU Kasia Iwaniczko MacLeod as the Secretary.
The Board seats are appointed by the Governor of Colorado and confirmed by the Colorado State Senate. The president of the university is appointed by and answers to the Board. CMU is not the first college in Colorado to have an executive board of entirely women, but does have the only current one in the state.
Out of the 10 names listed under “University Leadership” on CMU’s website, five are women. At the administrative level, there is equal representation of both genders.
“I’ve seen them [CMU administration] make really good hiring decisions based on the most qualified person for the job regardless of gender,” CMU Chief of Staff Liz Howell said.
President John Marshall has stated that seeing women thrive on campus has been a main goal as there are young women on camIpus who get to experience amazing role models. Marshall spoke on the Board Officers, his administration team and other women on campus who are making great changes.
This includes Brenna Wilkerson as the Director of IRIS, Ta’Lor Jackson as the Coordinator of Inclusion, Media Relations Manager Kelsey Coleman and Shanae Mundee as the Director of Student Life.
“Here [at CMU], we have a really good support group. I’ve talked to other colleagues at other universities and they’ve talked about how difficult it is to become a director as a woman and they’ve asked me if I felt the same thing and I’m always saying, ‘Nope, most of our directors in Student Services are women, which is really empowering.’ I feel supported in that way,” Mundee said.
Mundee went on to describe how she has always felt supported at CMU by administration and other faculty and staff. When discussing what she would recommend for young women on campus to succeed, Mundee stated that they should support and lift each other up.
“Don’t look for people to be tearing you down. I think sometimes, people are always looking through the lens that the world is out to get them. That’s not usually the case,” Mundee said. “There definitely are those instances, but go in with the lens that everyone’s there to support you. With that positivity, instead of going in ready for a fight or something, go in thinking collaboratively. I think it has been the most rewarding for me and this has helped me in my career.”
Vice President of Student Services Jody Diers talked about her experience with her colleagues at CMU as well. Diers expressed thankfulness for the support she has all around campus and stated that she has found friends in the people around her. She also commended all the young parents she has seen that have thrived on campus and at home.
“There are so many strong women across the board on campus that are moms as well as leaders in our community. There are lots of dads as well. It is amazing to watch these people become role models all around,” Diers said.
Vice President of Finance and Administration Laura Glatt stated that her time at CMU has been wonderful. As a woman in the world of finance, she stated that she had her fair share of struggle in the field but has seen massive change and is happy to be a part of that.
Glatt continued to talk about her own experience as well as encourage every student to work toward their goals in life. She stated that a personal goal of hers is to help as many students as possible.
“My biggest goal in coming here, other than to just be helpful to the institution, was to create and mentor the next group of leaders. That may mean they’re not vice presidents tomorrow, but I not only want to leave the [university] in a better place, but those I mentor in a better place,” Glatt said.
Leadership across campus is always available to listen to students and the overwhelming consensus from them is that their goal is to empower every student.
