Women at the Top Assemble

Two years ago, as dean of the Radcliffe Institute, Drew G. Faust invited four women presidents of major academic institutions to participate in a discussion at Harvard. Yesterday, as president-elect, she moderated it.

University of Pennsylvania President Amy Gutmann ’71, her Penn predecessor Judith Rodin, who is now president of the Rockefeller Institute, Brown University President Ruth J. Simmons and Princeton University President Shirley M. Tilghman gathered around a coffee table on stage at the American Repertory Theatre to speak about their role as women leaders and their views on higher education.

“I have arranged a tutorial for myself,” said Faust, who is dean of Radcliffe, to the audience, which was filled with a large proportion of women.

Faust listened carefully but refrained from expressing her own opinions throughout the discussion, as she prepares to become the fifth woman to lead an Ivy League university.

Though she might have been looking for tips on how to direct Harvard when she takes the helm on July 1, the four speakers said that each person must develop their own leadership style.

Simmons denied the existence of a female leadership style, declaring the idea to be “nonsense.”

As the conversation progressed, the presidents presented a more nuanced view on the topic and Simmons pointed out that women have sometimes been “socialized differently.”

Rodin and Gutmann argued that it is important for women to play up all of their skills.

“Give voice to the fullness of who you are, including the fact that you are a woman,” said Rodin, who became the first woman to lead an Ivy League University when she took the helm of Penn in 1994.

The women also drew parallels between the role of a mother and the nurturing a university president should provide.

They acknowledged the challenges that women face in attaining high positions of power, particularly in academia.

Tilghman said that success requires an determination not to be discouraged by the obstacles confronting women.

“You need an absolute inability to recognize reality,” she said.

But putting aside the difficulties, they also emphasized the pleasures of their busy jobs.

“There is nothing more compelling that the opportunity to lead a great University,” Rodin said.

Though the presidents said they had never imagined as young girls that they would find themselves in these positions of power, they recognized the importance of commitment and determination.

“I was, am, and am proud to be fiercely ambitious,” said Rodin.

In addition to discussing their roles as women leaders, they expressed concern over some of the problems looming over higher education today.

Gutmann drew attention to the “increasing gaps” in opportunities for different socioeconomic groups.

“Our challenge is to move forward on, you know, gender and so on, but it’s not to lose sight of the huge amount of work that still has to be done for people who are economically disadvantaged,” Gutmann said.

The other presidents agreed and Simmons highlighted the importance of improving the earlier stages of schooling and the “continuum of education.”

The presidents also stressed the importance for leading universities to stay on the cutting edge of innovation by making the best of globalization and internationalization.

“We have to try and regain some measure of credibility on the world stage,” said Simmons.

Tilghman expressed pessimism over efforts of the federal government to extend its power over institutions of higher education and to “standardize learning and learning outcomes.”

Though the presidents did not provide solutions to all the problems they mentioned, they agreed on the importance of finding the best possible people to take on positions of leadership.

“If we always hire the best person I will guarantee you that we will have more women and more minorities moving forward,” Gutmann said.

—Staff writer Claire M. Guehenno can be reached at guehenno@fas.harvard.edu.