WISE Leadership Certificate in UA News

The Women in Science and Engineering Program will focus on leadership development covering topics such as gender and diversity, also within the context of the STEM fields.

By University CommunicationsSeptember 25, 2009

A University of Arizona program geared toward girls and female college students that is working to improve the number of women in science and engineering is offering a leadership program. 

The Women in Science and Engineering, or WISE, program collaborated with  ATLAS Leadership Certificate Program to develop the program, which will be held at the UA on Oct. 3.

The registration deadline for the program, which is open to the campus community and also the public, is Sept. 30. 

The first such training program WISE held was in November 2008, becoming the largest certificate program that ATLAS collaborated on at the University that year, said Heather Fukunaga, an instructional specialist for WISE.

Students commented that they "loved the leadership workshops" and found the retreat "informative and interesting," Fukunaga said.

ATLAS, which stands for Applied Tailored Leadership Adventure for Success, is among the programs offered by the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership. ATLAS approaches students, faculty and staff members where they are, offering them leadership training based on their personal and professional goals. The program typically offers three certificate levels in program that may take a semester or one year to complete.

"Last year's retreat was great, and we have taken steps to make this year's Leadership Certificate even better," Fukunaga said. "ATLAS has streamlined the process so students can complete the certificate in one day and we have arranged an exciting new set of workshops."

The full-day program includes five workshops covering leadership styles, effective communication, public speaking, gender and women's studies issues, diversity and identity development, and other topics. 

Facilitators will also work with participants on honing their leadership skills. At the end of the program, participants will earn a leadership certificate.

The WISE-ATLAS Leadership Certificate Retreat, which will run 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., is open to all members of the UA community. The retreat will be held at the UA's Southwest Institute for Research on Women, or SIROW, located at 925 N. Tyndall Ave.

Those interested can register at the WISE office, located in Room 202 of SIROW. Registration covers lunch and is $10 for WISE members and $15 for all other registrants.

For UA students who participate in and complete the workshops, their certificate will be listed on their transcripts under UA Leadership and Involvement. 

Here is the original story.