HERS Institutes: Curriculum for Advancing Women Leaders in Higher Education

The Problem. At this critical time, higher education needs more women prepared to assume senior leadership roles, both to fill the openings from anticipated presidential retirements and to provide higher quality decision making through more diverse perspective at all levels of leadership. The Solution. Higher Education Resource Services (HERS), founded in 1972, has provided leadership development opportunities for more than 4,300 women faculty and administrators sponsored by 1,100 institutions in the United States and abroad. HERS has recently implemented significant revisions of its signature HERS Institutes to address the new circumstances and challenges women leaders will face in guiding institutions in the decade ahead. This article examines the historical development of HERS, recent revisions, and future plans for expanding programs. The Stakeholders. Revisions to HERS Institutes suggestimplications for those developing women in HRD, conducting research on leadership development, or concerned about higher education as a new leadership cadre faces the demands of the future.