STROUP AT EVENT WITH FIRST LADY

Southeast Missouri State University President Kala M. Stroup was among about 200 women presidents who attended a summit in Washington, D.C., earlier this month and met with First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The Women Presidents' Summit, held June 2-4, included a visit to the White House as guests of Mrs. Clinton.

Stroup said the first lady spent two hours with the group, during which she discussed leadership roles for women in all phases of government. Each of the women presidents also had an opportunity to meet individually with Mrs. Clinton, Stroup said.

Invitations to the summit, which was sponsored by the American Council on Education (ACE), were issued to all current and recent women college and university presidents of accredited U.S. institutions, and women rectors from educational institutions abroad. The first Women Presidents' Summit was held in 1990, Stroup said.

Currently, more than 380 women head U.S. colleges and universities and about 350 serve as rectors and in top positions in other nations.

During the summit, participants met in small groups to develop strategies to be incorporated in an agenda-setting document to be titled "A Blueprint for Leadership: How Women College and University Presidents Can Shape the Future."

Stroup said the summit resulted in a "commitment to encourage women to be leaders across a broad spectrum," including at state and national levels, and on global issues.

"Our vision is that the 1993 summit will result in an action agenda that women presidents worldwide will promote over the next several years," said Donna Shavlik, director of ACE's Office of Women in Higher Education.

Among the speakers at the conference were Madeleine Kunin, deputy secretary of education in the U.S. Department of Education and former Vermont governor; and Donna Shalala, secretary of health and human services.

Held in conjunction with the summit was the Ninth National Conference of College Women Student Leaders on the campus of George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

Two Southeast Missouri State University seniors Haley Morrison of House Springs and Jennifer Layton of Perryville participated in the conference, which was sponsored by the National Association for Women in Education. The students were nominated by Stroup to attend the conference and were among nearly 500 students participating.

Morrison, a public relations major, said the conference "was very interesting. It really made me realize that the women's movement went so far and stopped. There still is a lot that we have to go up against."

Layton, a speech communication major, said the conference "opened my eyes to women's issues that are out there."