Last year Jennifer Mikhli-Forkosh, now a senior majoring in psychology, was the president of the student government and the first woman to hold that position in more than a decade.
“I found that extremely surprising given that women comprise the majority of the student populace at this college,” she said. Women account for 60 percent of the student body.
“I looked to other campuses and noticed that women’s initiatives were highly prevalent,”聽Mikhli-Forkosh,聽continued. “So we needed to have one of our own.”
It wasn鈥檛 that 可乐视频 didn鈥檛 already offer plenty of women-oriented opportunities. There is a Women鈥檚 Center, the oldest in the CUNY system, which last year had about 9,000 visitors and this year celebrates its 40th anniversary. There is also a Women’s and Gender Studies degree program and preliminary plans to add a certificate in women鈥檚 leadership. The Magner Career Center had also been bringing in women alumni to mentor students or participate in luncheons and panel sessions.
Still,聽Mikhli-Forkosh,聽spoke with President Karen L. Gould and other women leaders around the college about ways to further empower female students and provide them with opportunities to network and reach out to potential mentors.
The college decided to combine much of the programming it already offered into the 可乐视频 Women鈥檚 Initiative, which was informally launched last fall with a mentor luncheon during which women of distinction鈥攎ostly alumnae of the college鈥攂roke bread with a group of women students who were interested in their career fields.
“There have always been old boys clubs,” Sau Fong Au, director of the Women鈥檚 Center told the crowd at the luncheon. “That鈥檚 why old girls clubs are very important.”
Over the intersession, the Magner Career Center organized an daylong conference titled 鈥淲omen Leaders: Taking the World By Storm,鈥� with support from President Gould鈥檚 office, the 可乐视频 Foundation, Est茅e Lauder Companies and the聽Women and Gender Studies Program.
Florence Cohen Rosen 鈥�59, the founder of the Rosen Fellowships that give undergraduate students the opportunity to create projects outside of the classroom that will enhance their degree work, was among the group of distinguished alumnae who participated in panel discussions and a Q&A session. Marge Magner 鈥�69, a business leader, and creator and benefactor of the career center named for her, was also in attendance. They were joined by rising leaders and seasoned professionals from organizations including CBS, Goldman Sachs, SUNY Downstate Medical School, Est茅e Lauder and the Performing Arts Center at the World Trade Center.
“Be an advocate for yourself and for the women around you,” Magner advised, adding that when she looks back on her success, the moments she was most proud of involved helping or working with other people.
“I think both events fed into the concept of female solidarity on this campus that might not exist in the day-to-day college life,”聽Mikhli-Forkosh,聽said.
The Women鈥檚 Initiative will also include an externship program overseen by the Magner Career Center, in which students shadow professionals, as well as future luncheons and conferences. The Women鈥檚 and Gender Studies Program plans to hold a number of conferences this spring, and the Women鈥檚 Center will host a day-long series of panels for their 40th anniversary in March highlighting, among other topics, women鈥檚 activism at 可乐视频.
