Welcome
Oregon Women in Higher Education (OWHE) welcomes you to our Website. We hope you will take time to learn more about us and our annual conference.
OWHE is always pleased to see women who are passionate about and dedicated to higher education relocate or return to our state. As you may have already discovered, there is a lot going on in higher education in Oregon - and much to be proud of. Did you know that there are 40 higher education institutions in Oregon, 10 of which have female presidents and another 15 that house thriving women's centers.
There are great opportunities for women in higher education in Oregon, and always more challenges for us to tackle. Taking part in the OWHE Conference is a great way to meet the strong and diverse women who comprise our state's higher education community. Please peruse the Website to get a feel for the upcoming conference and what it has to offer, and be sure to join our mailing list.
Mission
OWHE was founded in 1980 and is affiliated with the American Council on Education’s Office of Women in Higher Education. OWHE meets annually as an educational forum of female administrators and faculty. Our goal is to provide Oregon women in higher education the opportunity to meet and share professional knowledge and skills.
History
In 1977, Donna Shavlik of the Office for Women in Higher Education asked JoAnne Trow at Oregon State University to convene a group of women who had an interest in moving into higher level administrative positions in higher education. Initially, four women met with Donna at Lewis & Clark College. The group met informally for years and focused on building networking and leadership skills. In 1980, the group formalized becoming OWHE under the auspices of the National Association of Women Deans and Counselors and the American Council on Education National Identification Program. OWHE’s first annual conference was held in 1981.