Quinnipiac University”™s School of Business in Hamden has created a new center dedicated to addressing the leadership and professional needs of women.
The Center for Women & Business, according to the university, “will aspire to enhance women”™s business acumen, their presence in leadership and decision-making roles, and their overall experiences as professionals.”
Rowena Ortiz-Walters, business school professor and chairwoman of management, and Kathleen Simione, associate professor of accounting, will serve as co-directors of the center. The two began the Business Women in Search of Excellence initiative, which would eventually lead to the center”™s formation, in 2007.
Women make up 56 percent of college students, the university”™s statement announcing the center said, citing the Digest of Education Statistics. The statement also said, “Further, the U.S. Department of Labor reports that women comprise 47 percent of the total U.S. workforce and are projected to account for 51 percent of the increase in total labor force growth between 2008 and 2018. Despite the statistics, professional women earn less than men, hold fewer top-level leadership positions, have limited access to networks of powerful decision-makers” and their ventures are less successful than those of men.
The co-directors quickly weighed in on Hartford-based insurer Aetna”™s latest appointment of a female chief executive.
“The appointment of Karen Rohan as president of Aetna is very exciting and promising news particularly among one of the largest health insurance providers,” Ortiz-Walters said.
“Aetna clearly understands the business case for gender diversity,” Simione said. “They recognize women influence 80 percent of purchasing decisions today and the need to have a workforce that is representative of its expanding female clientele base.”
The center”™s goals include executive education, professional development, networking, professional support, mentoring and research while also establishing partnerships with the external business community.
“To remain competitive, a top business school like Quinnipiac”™s needs to have a center that examines female leadership issues in the workplace,” Ortiz-Walters said.
Throughout the academic year, the center will run educational programs and professional development seminars and host networking events showcasing successful businesswomen from varying fields, backgrounds and career stages. The center will also serve as a conduit to connect women in the for-profit and nonprofit sectors with each other and with the university community.
Ortiz-Walters, who joined Quinnipiac in 2004, received a Ph.D. in management and bachelor”™s degree in chemistry from the University of Connecticut and an MBA from the University of New Haven. In the area of professional service, she has served as president of the PhD Project, an association supporting minority graduate students in achieving their doctorates.
Simione, who joined Quinnipiac in 1989, earned her MBA from Quinnipiac and a bachelor”™s degree in accounting from Bentley University. She holds a registered CPA certificate in Connecticut.
