Last fall, The University of Toledo hosted the 20th annual conference of the American Council on Education (ACE) Women’s Network Ohio.
This year, the nationally competitive ACE State Network Leadership Award went to the American Council on Education Women’s Network Ohio.
Dr. Shanda Gore, left, and Dr. Robin Arnsperger Selzer, center, co-chairs of the American Council on Education (ACE) Women’s Network Ohio, accepted the ACE State Network Leadership Award earlier this month at the ACE annual conference in Philadelphia. They are shown with Dr. Karen Schuster Webb, chair of the ACE Women’s Executive Council and ACE Women’s Network Ohio presidential sponsor.
“I would like to thank all those on the UToledo campus who attended or volunteered to make the 20th annual conference a big success. This ACE recognition is special because this was the first time the American Council on Education Women’s Network Ohio has been recognized for this award and it is due, in part, to the success of our annual conferences,” Gore said.
“Dr. Selzer and I also presented to ACE attendees concerning best practices with network strategic planning and maintaining a successful ACE Women’s chapter,” added Gore, who is the principal investigator for the upcoming federally funded Global Minority Business Virtual Development Center.
“I am honored to present the ACE Women’s Network Ohio with the 2019 ACE State Network Leadership Award,” said Gailda Pitre Davis, director of ACE leadership. “Ohio happens to be one of the earliest active states in the Women’s Network. Activity waned in the late ’80s, but last year they celebrated 20 years of renewed and noteworthy activity.”
With an engaged executive board working actively with Selzer and Gore, four regional coordinators around the state, and institutional representatives, the ACE Women’s Network Ohio has had a significant impact on women in higher education in Ohio, according to Davis.
Last year, the ACE Women’s Network Ohio experienced its second consecutive sold-out annual conference, with more than 200 attendees participating in workshops, panel discussions, networking and professional development events. Recently, the network continued to grow its social media outlets, re-energized its institutional representative outreach, and established a secure archival system.
“ACE is setting great standards through a number of their diversity-focused initiatives, and we are contributing toward their goals through our annual conference programming and continuous support of women,” Gore said. “Our ACE Women’s Network Ohio chapter members know there’s much more to be done in the areas of equity — pay — and diversification at all levels in higher education, and we will continue to support the work.”
Gore has served on the ACE Women’s Network Ohio executive board for three years, chairing the Strategic Planning Committee before becoming the annual conference chair and state co-chair.
Dr. Angela Paprocki, assistant provost for curriculum and instruction, joined the ACE Women’s Network Ohio executive board last year and serves on the chapter’s awards committee.
