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Commentary: Amazing progress for women’s leadership in higher ed

Exciting things are happening in Utah in terms of gender and top leadership in higher education. Four of the eight public colleges and universities in Utah are now headed by women (once the new president of Utah Valley University arrives in September).

About nine months ago, I published a research and policy brief for the state of Utah titled, “The Status of Women Leaders in Utah Education: A 2017 Update,” and the stats have already changed.

Utah has always been behind the national average in terms of the percentage of women presidents. In 2014, when we published our first educational leadership report, one in eight presidents were female (12.