Women in Leadership

The number of women faculty and senior administrators in theological education is growing, although their percentage remains smaller than the percentage of women students. In this targeted area of ATS work, the Association provides educational support for women faculty and administrators and assists schools in their efforts to include more women in leadership positions. A recent survey study of participants—generously funded by a grant of $150,000 from the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation—in past Women in Leadership (WIL) programs regarding their experiences and a survey study of women currently in faculty and/or administrative roles regarding perceptions and opinions about their work in theological education, yielded findings that will guide future programming for women in leadership.

The 20-year history of ATS work with women in leadership—celebrated in February 2018—includes a broad spectrum of support and advocacy for female faculty, students, and administrators. The comprehensive four-year WIL program, funded by the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation in 1997, enabled fall and spring gatherings of women at varied stages of their vocations. In addition to Engage ATS (an online community for those who work at ATS member schools to network and share resources), the WIL program traditionally hosts two conferences: an Advancing Women in Leadership Conference in odd numbered years and an Emerging Women in Leadership Conference in even numbered years.

The Association has continued its educational support for women administrators and faculty members through annual fall conferences, periodic preconferences for women presidents and deans, and occasional preconference sessions for midcareer women faculty. More recent programming includes a mentoring program and newly developed fall and spring virtual summits.

2022–23 ATS Women in Leadership Webinar Series

Watch the recordings:

Emerging Women in Leadership Conference

This conference focuses on emerging and advancing professional development, including attention to the distinctive skills needed by women to function effectively in theological schools. It provides a focused educational setting as well as the opportunity to network with other women. Participants from ATS schools are selected on the basis of letters of recommendation and applications, with preference given to women who have not attended this conference in the past.

Advancing Women in Leadership Conference

This conference is designed for women currently serving as presidents or deans in member schools. These are the most influential roles in ATS schools, and they bring both the greatest opportunity to guide the course of an institution and the greatest amount of stress. The conference precedes the Presidential Leadership Intensive Conference and the Academic Officers' Conference, and they are designed to provide time for networking, reflecting, and strategic thinking.

Mary H. Young

412-788-6505, ext. 228

young@ats.edu

Mary H. Young joined the ATS staff in June 2017 as director of leadership education. She was responsible for planning and implementing leadership education programs for administrators in ATS member schools, including conferences and workshops for academic officers, development personnel, financial officers, and student personnel administrators as well as the programs for Women in Leadership (WIL) and the Committee on Race and Ethnicity (CORE). As director of CORE and WIL programs, she will continue to oversee the work for those two initiatives on a part-time basis for the 2022–2023 academic year.

Young came to ATS after 23 years in service to Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology of Virginia Union University in Richmond, Virginia, most recently as assistant professor of Christian education, and director of the Master of Arts in Christian Education program. She also led the seminary in institutional effectiveness, accreditation preparedness, data collection, grant reporting, and program evaluation. Having guided the seminary in discussions around online learning, she also completed a Wabash Center program on online teaching for theological faculty.

Ordained in The American Baptist Churches, Young has served as minister of education at several churches in the Richmond area and written church school curricula for the denomination. She brings to ATS her experience as a pastoral leader, workshop facilitator, and consultant in Christian education for churches and other organizations.

Her publications include sermons in Preaching Funerals in the Black Church: Bringing Perspective to Pain (Dr. Peter M. Wherry, author/editor, Judson Press, 2013), and Those Preachin Women, Volume 4 (Dr. Ella P. Mitchell, editor, Judson Press, 2004). She is coauthor of “Small Investments Yield Big Rewards: How One Seminary's Faculty, Staff, and Students are Working Together to Put a Dent in the Debt Crisis," an article in the Theological Education journal. Forthcoming publications include “Religious Education and Communities of Learning: Inspiring Religious, Social, and Public Political Activism" in From Lament to Public Advocacy: Black Religious Education and Public Theology.

A graduate of Virginia Union University in mathematics, Young earned her MDiv from Virginia Union and her EdD from Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian School of Christian Education.