When I tell my friends that I am pursuing two Masters degrees at the same time, they often think I'm crazy. Pursuing one Masters degree is challenging enough never mind two. As a dual degree candidate at Simmons Gender/Cultural Studies (GCS) and Communication Management (MCM) Programs I have learned a great deal, most of how to balance my workload and ensure that I stay same when finals time come around.
Earning an MBA in sixteen months is no mean feat. Deadlines for projects and papers come and go quickly, and before you know it one semester is winding down while another is about to begin. In the fast-paced environment of the full-time program, weeks and months pass in the blink of an eye. I was recently surprised to find myself nearing the halfway point of my time in the SOM. Is it really almost May? An id the answer is yes (I'm afraid it is), how does my experience compare to the expectations I had when I stepped foot on campus in September?
In April, the Center for Gender in Organizations with Business and Professional Women Japan hosted Japanese Women's Leadership Initiative forums in Wakayama and Yokohama, Japan. The keynote speaker was Mari Kuraishi, CEO of GlobalGiving, a micro fundraising website that is highly valued for its innovative social business model; CGO Director Patricia Deyton and College Trustee Atsuko Fish also made presentations. These workshops, attended by 370 people from a variety of businesses and NGOs, were designed to promote leadership development in the nonprofit sector and inspire women to create social change. This project is funded by the United States-Japan Foundation; other collaborators the Japanese government's Department of Equal Gender Participation, the Fish Family Foundation, and the city of Yokohama.
Through a renewed grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Center for Gender in Organizations continues to work with the leaders of gender equity efforts in five Sub-Saharan African universities. In April 2012, CGO hosted a meeting of the African Universities Gender Resource Network (AUGERN) in Boston where members shared updates on gender mainstreaming at their respective institutions and received further leadership training. While in Boston, the members were special guests at the Simmons College Leadership Conference. The AUGERN project is headed by Patricia Deyton, Director of the Center for Gender in Organizations at the School of Management assisted by CGO Coordinator, Sabitha Salzmann. SOM faculty members, Stacy Blake-Beard, Mary Shapiro and Spela Trefalt, provided workshops to the Network scholars during their week at the SOM. The Network is planning extensive publishing covering their 10 year journey toward gender equity.