VOA教育报道2023--Most Ivy League Schools Now Have Female Presidents

Most Ivy¹ League Schools Now Have Female Presidents

Three women started new terms as presidents at Ivy League universities in July. Their appointments mean that six of the eight highly selective schools are led by a female president.

Sian Beilock is now the first female president at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. Nemat Shafik, who was born in Egypt, is the first female president at Columbia University in New York City. And Claudine Gay is the first Black person and the second woman to lead Harvard University.

They joined Christina Paxson at Brown University in Rhode Island, Martha Pollack at Cornell University in New York, and Elizabeth Magill at the University of Pennsylvania.

The two Ivies² with male presidents are Princeton University in New Jersey³ and Yale University in Connecticut.

Are the numbers similar anywhere else?

While women lead six out of eight Ivy League schools, the story is far different at other American colleges and universities.

Only about 32 percent of college or university presidents are women. That number comes from the American Council on Education (ACE).

The organization says in its 2023 report that the data is important because of the makeup⁴ of college students in the United States.

Today, there are more women in colleges – about 60 percent of all students – and more minorities. But about 70 percent of college presidents are white, and 46 percent are white men. Only 10 percent are women of color. And most college presidents are about 60 years old.

Hiro Okahana led the research team for ACE's report. He called the news of the three new Ivy League presidents "a very exciting thing to see," but he also called it "an anomaly." An anomaly is a piece of information different from the expected result in a study.

Choosing women and minorities, he said, "sends a good message" to colleges and universities. But he did have one concern:

"It is important that they are bringing into a place where they are set up for success, and being able to thrive as leaders. So we will continue to see how their presidencies⁵ will shape up to be and lead these institutions toward the future."

ACE's study showed that some women who became university presidents felt they did not get enough information about the university's health before they took the job.

Felecia Commodore teaches higher education at Old Dominion⁶ University in Virginia. She wrote about the Ivy League presidents for The Conversation. Commodore suggests the news is important, but it would be a bigger story if large public universities in the U.S. had more female or Black presidents.

Of note, large universities such as Ohio State, Penn State and Texas A&M recently appointed female presidents.

Do students care about their presidents?

Carolyn Pippen is a college advisor⁷ for IvyWise, a company that helps students prepare for college. She said students have so many things to consider -- study programs, housing, and post-graduation -- they don't often think about the president. She gave Harvard as an example.

"I don't think there are any students that are worried that Harvard is going to be anything other than a fantastic experience and certainly going to set them up for success."

Some students, though, see women taking leadership positions at colleges as "wonderful." That is what Ava Ayala said. She will start her second year at Colorado State University this autumn.

"I think that having more women in these roles really opens up pathways to allow other people, maybe of different race or gender⁸, to step into those roles next."

Colorado State appointed a female president in 2023.

What next?

Okahana, the research leader, said colleges and universities should work to widen their search for future presidents.

If they are looking for leaders who better reflect their student population, they should consider business leaders, medical experts, and others. "We know there are many different pathways ... to rise up to the college presidency," he said.

Sometimes, that can include people who were international students.

Okahana is from Japan, and he went to college at a large university in California. He said seeing and talking with the school's president made him think about working in higher education.

And his report showed nearly 10 percent of American college presidents were not born in the U.S.

"So," he said, "there are some readers and listeners of this piece who might lead an institution in the United States one day."

Words in This Story

appoint –v. to name someone to a leadership position or a job

selective –adj. careful to only choose the best people or things

thrive –v. to grow or exist in a healthy way

institution –n. a school, university or a place where people are taken care of

graduation –n. the act of receiving a degree from a school or university

fantastic –adj. out of the ordinary, exciting

role –n. the part, job or position someone has in a society or other group

allow –v. to permit something

1 ivy   

n.常青藤，常春藤

参考例句：

• Her wedding bouquet consisted of roses and ivy.她的婚礼花篮包括玫瑰和长春藤。
• The wall is covered all over with ivy.墙上爬满了常春藤。

2 ivies   

常春藤( ivy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This is was green at a time when other ivies had pooped out. 这株常春藤在其他常春藤已凋谢时依然青翠。
• These Chinese ivies climbed upwards and covered the entire wall. 那些常春藤攀援而上，爬满了整面墙。

3 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

4 makeup   

n.组织；性格；化装品

参考例句：

• Those who failed the exam take a makeup exam.这次考试不及格的人必须参加补考。
• Do you think her beauty could makeup for her stupidity?你认为她的美丽能弥补她的愚蠢吗？

5 presidencies   

n.总统的职位( presidency的名词复数 )；总统的任期

参考例句：

• The Dalai Lama previously visited the island during the presidencies of Chen Shui-bian and Lee Teng-hui. 曾经获得诺贝尔和平奖的达赖喇嘛，此前曾在李登辉和陈水扁主政期间访问台湾。 来自互联网

6 dominion   

n.统治，管辖，支配权；领土，版图

参考例句：

• Alexander held dominion over a vast area.亚历山大曾统治过辽阔的地域。
• In the affluent society,the authorities are hardly forced to justify their dominion.在富裕社会里，当局几乎无需证明其统治之合理。

7 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

8 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。