RIT Business Class Looks at Changing Impact of Women in Leadership

MBA seminar course debuts in March

The glass ceiling is shattered, but is the sky the limit for women leaders? Business students will consider the trends during a new class at Rochester Institute of Technology—ranked nationally for excellence in business education.

Women as Leaders, a graduate-level seminar course, is open to all MBA students in RIT’s College of Business. The course debuts during spring quarter, which gets underway at RIT March 10. Mary-Beth Cooper, RIT’s vice president for student affairs, serves as class instructor.

"It’s not just focused on women’s issues," explains Cooper. "Whether you report to a woman on the job or work alongside a woman, our discussions should prove quite relevant."

Women as Leaders will explore the leadership qualities, strategies and career paths that females pursue across a variety of fields. Business leaders such as Anne Mulcahy, Xerox chairman and CEO, and Oprah Winfrey are high-profile examples of the varying styles and approaches that women bring to these roles.

The course also examines the hidden influence of other female posts. While many people ponder the possibility of electing a woman president in the near future, Cooper indicates that many former first ladies have subtly impacted issues like foreign policy.

"There is reason to believe that women have already had a great deal of influence at the executive level of our nation’s government," she says.

"Women are making significant contributions as leaders at nearly every level of industry, government and society," states Thomas Hopkins, dean of RIT’s College of Business. "This course re-enforces RIT’s commitment to breaking the mold of traditional business education by addressing nontraditional variables that strongly influence business and our community."

RIT’s College of Business offers undergraduate and graduate level programs in accounting, finance, international business, management, management information systems, marketing, and photographic marketing management. U.S. News & World Report ranks RIT’s College of Business among the top 50 undergraduate business programs in the country.