Another 'first' for females in academia

It was a University of Pennsylvania woman who made the first major stride for women presidents in academia, and now another Penn woman is making the next one.

Former Penn President Judith Rodin made history as the first female president of an Ivy League school, and, with the appointment of Drew Faust as Harvard's first female president last Sunday, professors, administrators and professionals are heralding her appointment as the next big step for women.

"Drew's appointment was another huge, very important step," said Dennis Barden, director of the executive search firm Witt/Kieffer. "These barriers don't get blown away with dynamite - they're chipped slowly over time."

Demie Kurz, co-director of the Women's Studies Program at Penn, said that, when Rodin came to Penn, she faced the extra pressure of being the first female to lead the school, and professionals expect the same treatment for Faust.

"When you're the first, you're under more scrutiny," Kurz said.

Carol Scheman, the vice president of government, community and public affairs under Rodin, added that the future of women presidents was, at the time, riding in part on Rodin's achievements.

"If Dr. Rodin had messed up in any small way, it would have been blown up to be a big thing," Scheman said. "I suspect that she had to be more perfect. I know that there are other women - me included - who were very interested that there be no mistake and missteps because she was the first," she added.

And in part, it is Rodin's successes - tripling Penn's endowment, attracting top academics, revitalizing campus and propelling Penn up the U.S. News rankings - that paved the way for other female presidents, including those at Brown and Princeton universities.

"She was the first female president of Penn and in the Ivy League and so people were paying attention," School of Arts and Sciences Dean Rebecca Bushnell said.

Still, while half of the Ivy League schools are led by women, only 15 percent of research universities have female presidents, and experts predict that Faust's appointment will have the same door-opening effects as Rodin's did.

"I think that the impact is going to be to open up leadership roles across a wider group of American universities," said Harvard music professor Kay Shelemay.

Still, some say that Faust's gender ought not to be the most noteworthy characteristic of her presidency.

"The fact that she is a woman should not define this presidency as if it is somehow different," said Homi Bhabha, an English professor who worked as the humanities director of the Radcliffe Institute under Faust.

"One should acknowledge that she is the first female president, but also . that she is the leader of a large, complex and integrated community."

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