In addition to the brunches hosted by the WBA, a lot of admitted students also came to campus for the annual Day at Kellogg (DAK) events, which are actually full weekends in February and April designed to welcome admitted students in Rounds 1 and 2, respectively. On the Thursday night that DAK kicked off, WBA hosted a “Welcome to Evanston” happy hour, giving female admits a chance to meet the women who lead the WBA and ask any questions. “It was a nice way for them to loosen up before they start the weekend, and the feedback was really positive,” Sholiton says.
WBA members—including some 25 men who are part of the organization—continued to play a role throughout the DAK weekends, sharing what it’s like to be a woman on the Kellogg campus and demonstrating that Kellogg men and women recognize the importance of being champions for each other. “All of those efforts I think really, really helped us in increasing female enrollment this year,” Sholiton says.
Expanded Programming for Women at Kellogg
Beyond efforts geared specifically toward admits, the WBA is also working to create lots of programming for women at Kellogg. When students arrive on campus in a few weeks, the group will help host a Women’s Welcome Event, which Dean Blount will kick off and which will be attended by all the women leaders of clubs and women faculty members. “This is really an opportunity to see the community and what it looks like at Kellogg.”
Sholiton says she is inspired by having a female dean at Kellogg. “I think she has given an incredible amount of support,” she says. “I think if you look even beyond Dean Blount we have a lot of female leadership, and I think that provides a key clue that we are a great place for women,” she adds. The inaugural Women’s Welcome Event will bring all of that leadership into one place, she continues.
Also on tap later in the fall is a new Women’s Preview Event. The WBA and Office of Admissions will partner for this event, taking place on October 9th, during which prospective female applicants are invited to spend the day getting to know Kellogg’s campus and culture. There will be mock classes presented by two premier faculty members, a Q&A session with the Career Management Center and opportunities to speak with current students, alumni and admissions team members to learn more about student life and the application process.
And in the spring, Kellogg will roll out a new course for graduating women taught by Victoria Medvec, executive director of the Kellogg Center for Executive Women, which will include lectures, panels and guest speakers directed at women who are about to graduate and move forward with their careers.
These initiatives add to several longstanding efforts at Kellogg, including partnership with the Forte Foundation and its MBALaunch and Women’s Scholars programs. Kellogg will also this spring host its 10th annual Women’s Leadership Workshop, a unique event that targets young women out of college—many of whom are working outside the more traditional business fields of finance and consulting. The goal of this event is to show the possibilities an MBA can present—even to those who may never before have considered such a path for themselves.
Kellogg’s greater emphasis on growth has been good, says Sholiton, especially in that it better communicates what she feels has been the Kellogg culture all along. When she speaks as part of the Women’s Welcome Event in a few weeks, she herself plans to talk about how women at Kellogg should push themselves to look at business school as a development opportunity. “The great thing about business school applications is that it’s a time to really reflect on yourself—what kind of person do I want to come out of this experience as in two years,” she says. “My message will be just to reinforce that process when people get to school.” The WBA, too, is reframing how it will message its regular events throughout the year. For the first time this year, the theme of the winter quarter will be balance—encouraging WBA members to be sure they are taking time to self-reflect and look at their growth and their priorities.
Tidmarsh, for her part, is excited to see even more positive changes as even more women arrive on campus. “In many ways Kellogg already has a lot of momentum in this direction, so we will be excited to see what this year’s applicants bring.”
“The WBA should be very proud of the success some of their initiatives have had this year,” Tidmarsh says. “We will be repeating a lot of them with the mindset of continuous improvement—to make the applicant experience better and to convey authentically what the Kellogg experience can offer.”
*Opening photo courtesy of Kellogg School of Management.
