MSMU RSWG 2023 final - Flipbook - Page 13
FROM THE DIRECTOR
Welcome From
the Center for the
Advancement of Women
As I reflect on the theme of this year’s Report, on leading with purpose and meaning, I think about the
step forward that Los Angeles recently made. Here, where I live, Karen Bass became the first Black
woman — indeed, the first woman at all — elected as mayor of the nation’s second-most populous city.
Mayor Bass carries on a rich tradition of Black women who advance equity in ways that authentically
reflect their sense of purpose. History tells us about this tradition’s deep roots, which date back to
groundbreaking pioneers like Maria W. Stewart and Anna Julia Cooper
— women who made unlikely strides for abolition, women’s rights, and
WE NEED
women’s education in the 19th century. Women we should all know
better today. Women who made the pursuit of equity their purpose
SHARE OUR
in life.
Meaning and purpose. I have studied these concepts in nearly all of
my research. My students can attest that I enthusiastically bring these
conversations into the classroom, too. I have written a book about
purpose-based decision-making. I also host a podcast called “Leadership
Purpose with Dr. Robin” that helps women find, or stay aligned with, their
leadership purpose.
ALLIES WHO
COLLECTIVE
PURPOSE. AND WHO WILL
COLLABORATE WITH US TO
ERADICATE THE GENDER
INEQUITIES THAT PERSIST IN
OUR WORLD TODAY.
Everyone’s purpose is uniquely their own. It is there for each of us to
discover. To find clues to that discovery we only need to express the
parts of us that live deep down within ourselves — that shape who we are — and we can do that by
exploring our passions, our values, our natural abilities. Once we have a sense of what those are, we can
begin to use them in service to a cause beyond ourselves. That is when we find our purpose.
My own pursuit of purpose has led to my current role as interim director of the Center for the
Advancement of Women here at Mount Saint Mary’s University. The Center is a vibrant hub for research,
leadership development, and advocacy. It supports a growing community of women leaders from across
our state. And it offers resources that allow us to explore topics that include advancing equity through
leading with meaning and purpose from a data-driven, real-world perspective.
I hope that you will join us in our work. We need allies who share our collective purpose. And who will
collaborate with us to eradicate the gender inequities that persist in our world today.
To leading with purpose,
Robin L. Owens, PhD
Interim Director, Center for the
Advancement of Women
Associate Professor of Religious Studies,
Mount Saint Mary’s University
13
