Advice From Women at the Top

A panel of female university presidents were handing out some sage advice to women in academia at the Fourth Annual Forum on Women in Leadership this week, says The Chronicle of Higher Education's Jack Stripling. The gist of their recommendations was to: "Be on powerful committees that control money. Avoid petty disputes. And always have the last word." The presidents warned that women are often lured into positions on committees that won't help them advance their careers, putting them on the track to obscurity, Stripling says. Catharine Bond Hill, president of Vassar College, advised women to be on both the finance committee and the child-care committee. Teresa Sullivan, first female president of the University of Virginia, said women should learn to speak up during meetings and not be afraid to have the last word.