“I’m closing out my career with working to promote women and minorities as leaders,” Jan Twomey, a member of the Women’s Leadership Initiative, said.

Jan Twomey, a professor in the Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering Department, has been with Wichita State for 25 years. 

When Twomey first entered the faculty as an assistant professor, she was given a book called “Mentor in a Manual,” and that was the extent of her initial experience from a mentor. The Women’s Leadership Initiative is a way to help other women have a better experience and more support with their careers at WSU. 

Thanks to the ambition of Teri Hall, vice president of Student Affairs, and Shirley Lefever, executive vice president and provost of the Office of Academic Affairs, the Women’s Leadership Initiative has been made available to the faculty, staff and students of Wichita State. 

The mission of the Women’s Leadership Initiative is “to advance gender equity in leadership.” Meetings, named Wednesdays are for Women, are held to help women connect and collaborate on new ideas and to foster mentorship among women who recently began their careers at WSU. 

At the meeting on Sept. 6, women of this initiative had round-table discussions, brainstorming and considering advancements in professional development, social connection, and networking and mentoring. 

Just a few ideas presented were a possible public speaking class for staff and faculty, civic engagement and presentations on topics such as mental health and women’s health.

In addition to Twomey, Mercy Umeri, an assistant teaching professor at the Hugo Wall School of Public Affairs, also commented on how many powerful women leaders were present at the meeting. 

Umeri added that before these meetings were brought to fruition, some women in entry-level positions would ask women in leadership positions out for coffee for advice and mentorship. 

Now, Wednesdays are for Women’s meetings provide a space for all of these women to be in one room. It gives the opportunity for mentor-mentee relationships, for women to support each other and the opportunity for open discussions of more resources. 

The next Wednesdays are for Women will be an introduction to golf, held on Oct. 11 at 4:30 p.m. at Willowbend Golf Course. The WSU Women’s Golf Team will be there to teach members of the Women’s Leadership Initiative how to golf. 

Hall said that if you’re nervous about attending, rest assured, there will not be much golfing. It will be purely informational. Those interested are asked to fill out an RSVP form online by Oct. 4.