From the President’s Desk: Welcome to my new blog!

Brenau President Anne Skleder and Women's Leadership Colloquium

Greetings, Brenau community!

This week I’m excited to share with you a new activity that will be a first for me – blogging! This is the first edition of “From the President’s Desk,” a periodic series designed to keep you updated on what’s going on at Brenau.

We’re nearing the end of March and that means we’re more than halfway through the semester. April always is a busy month to finish out spring semester, but I’ll write more about that in my next blog post.

Brenau President Skleder at New York City alumni event
I enjoyed meeting Brenau alumni and friends at the New York City gathering.

It was fantastic to start Women’s History Month in New York City surrounded by many wonderful graduates and current students, including two cohorts from our Executive Women’s MBA program. We are fortunate to have alumni and friends of the university who are excellent role models, who exemplify Brenau and its ideals, and who are leading in their fields. To see more photos from the trip, check out my Twitter feed.

I also had a great time and learned so much at the Women’s Leadership Colloquium hearing from our keynote speaker Dr. Belle Wheelan, president of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, who used great humor to teach us about leadership and life. Joining Wheelan as speakers were Brenau trustee Robin Dudley, WC ‘78, and Cay M. Drew from IBM. What powerful and thoughtful women!

I’m grateful to all three speakers and to everyone who made this event a success, especially Women’s College Dean Dr. Debra Dobkins, who lived, ate and breathed colloquium for months. If you missed it, watch the recording and mark your calendars for next year’s event on March 24, 2023.

President Skleder hugs Belle Wheelan
It was such a joy to hear words of wisdom and humor from Dr. Belle Wheelan.

I mentioned above that we welcomed the president of SACSCOC for the colloquium; we also will have a committee representing that accrediting body on campus next week.

Accreditation is an important process that ensures an institution provides high-quality education. Our accreditation shows students that their investment in money and time will be well-placed in earning a Brenau degree, but it also demonstrates that the entire university community is committed to the mission and vision of this institution.

I’m confident this on-site visit and the information we have submitted, including our recently completed Quality Enhancement Plan or QEP, will result in the successful 10-year reaffirmation of our accreditation. I appreciate the many months of hard work contributed by so many across the university – and none more than Emily Zank and Provost Jim Eck. I am grateful for their contributions to the success of the institution and our former, current and future students.

Until the next post, please be sure to follow me on Twitter and LinkedIn for more of what’s happening at Brenau.