First female chancellor at UM-Morris to speak on 'women who lead'

• Jacqueline Johnson

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Chancellor Jacqueline Johnson of UM-Morris, will be the guest speaker at the Ann Lydecker Lecture Series on Thursday, April 26, at UW-River Falls. She will speak on “Leading Ladies: Reflections on Women, Work, Identity and Leadership," from 10:30-11:45 a.m. in the Kinnickinnic Theater of the University Center on campus.

In Johnson’s words, “This presentation considers what it means to be a woman who leads -- a "leading lady." I chose the concept of 'leading lady' because of the images it evokes for me: Images of powerful women; independent women; women who are forces unto themselves in their own right, leading from their feminine strength through grace, wit, intelligence, and humor."

"These are women who take what they have, who they are, their femininity, and use it to shape situations, others, and the world around them," Johnson says. "Throughout the lecture I employ analytical concepts from my discipline (sociology and social psychology), I draw from my own experiences and relationships, and I incorporate data about women in leadership positions in higher education. I hope at the end of my remarks that I will have provoked others in the room--men and women--to examine their own capacity and style as leaders and, if they haven't already, to 'read for the part'."

Johnson currently serves as the fifth chancellor of and the first female chancellor of the University of Minnesota-Morris, a position she has held since August 2006.

Led by students seeking change, she and colleagues at the University of Minnesota Morris are working to achieve carbon neutrality (through a combined heating and power system of renewable energy sources) and achieve fossil fuel energy independence on a campus that serves as a demonstration platform for sustainability and environmental stewardship.

The lecture series was created in the memory of the late UWRF Chancellor Ann Lydecker and features a speaker on the issues facing women leaders in many contexts, both in academia and beyond. The series is made possible by Bill Lydecker, Ann's husband, through the Ann Lydecker Lecture Series Fund of the UWRF Foundation.

The lecture is free and open to the public. For more information, contact the UWRF Provost’s Office at 715-425-3700.

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