Female trailblazers: Kathy M. Mangels

Kathy M. Mangels

Vice president for finance and administration at Southeast Missouri State University

1. What's your passion in life?

Very simply, my passion is my family and my career. I have three beautiful, bright daughters who all have different interests at school and in their personal life. I haven't given up being involved in my children's activities because I chose to have a career. Granted, on more than one occasion it meant I was running late for either a meeting at work or a school activity, but I managed to participate in both.

My parents instilled in me a hard work ethic and the belief that you earn your paycheck, not that you're entitled to it. As a leader, I believe you earn respect through your actions and I hope those that I work with see my commitment of time and energy to the university. One of the greatest satisfactions of my job is being able to help a family who is struggling to find a way for their son or daughter to stay in school.

2. It's been 90 years since women earned the right to vote. How have the lives of women changed in your lifetime, and what do you see for women in the future?

One of the most noticeable things I see is the number of mothers who work and have careers when their children are young. My mother stayed at home until my youngest brother started school, and I think the same was probably true for most of my friends when I was young. Now I see women, myself being one of them, who have children while they are working and attempting to advance their career. I'll be the first to admit it's not easy to balance children and a career at the same time. I could not have done it without the support of my husband and two very strong women who thankfully lived nearby – my mother and mother-in-law.

3. With your background at the university, what do you see as women's biggest concerns? What are you doing to address those concerns?

One of the concerns I see is the balancing of time commitments between career and family. A personal support system – a spouse, siblings, grandparents – can help to relieve some of the pressures of being available to both your employer and your family, but not everyone is lucky enough to have that kind of support. We do have periods at the university where the workday is shortened hours and additional days when offices are closed between holidays, that allow more time with family.

4. How is Southeast Missouri doing well when it comes to quality of life for women? Where are we falling short?

For women who are also mothers, I think the university provides some benefits that help address family issues, such as a university daycare program and benefit dollars that can be used towards dependent care. The university also provides a significantly reduced tuition rate for employees to take courses and further their education. With more online courses being offered, it gives employees the flexibility to pursue a degree within the time constraints of their job and family commitments. I also think the university provides ample professional development and promotional opportunities for women. We have women in leadership positions in all areas of the university – from the director of facilities management to dean of academic colleges.

The area we're currently falling short with all of our employees, not just women, is compensation. Being a state institution, state appropriations make up a significant part of our budget. With the budget challenges at the state level and the reduction in our university appropriations, we have not been able to keep pace with salary increases for our employees. This is something the university has acknowledged and made a commitment to address in their five year budget plan.

5. What advice would you give to young women who are just starting their career?

For those young women starting their careers who are also mothers, I would suggest they set their own picture of what "normal" family life will be. My daughters are involved in many more school and extracurricular activities than I had the opportunity to be in when I was young. So while my mother may have caught up on my day at the dinner table at night, I frequently catch up with my daughters on a car ride to and from sports practice or a school event. It doesn't mean our family life is better or worse than the way I grew up; it's just different. Set your own expectations of what a balanced career/family life is, but make sure that includes some time for yourself!