You Are Awesome!

Read Susan Gallagher's enthusiastically received presentation to the membership on "A Leadership Mindset" at our Annual Meeting. It is in Powerpoint format. [download]

Award Recipients

UCWBG Distinguished Service Awards

The outstanding leadership, sustained service, and demonstrated achievements of UCWBG members are honored with the presentation of the Distinguished Service Award. All members, including past Advisory Board members and Board of Directors members, are eligible for this award. The criteria and process are set forth in our Distinguished Service Awards Policy. A Board majority vote is required to approve the candidate(s). There is no limit to the number of awards that can be bestowed in a given year.

Distinquished Service Awards Nomination Policy in PDF format.
Distinquished Service Awards Nomination Form in PDF format.

Press Room

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UCWBG Archives

You Are Awesome!
Read Susan Gallagher's enthusiastically received presentation to the membership on "A Leadership Mindset" at our Annual Meeting.  It is in Powerpoint format. [download]

Past Programs

The UCWBG presents a variety of ways in which our members can connect. We offer an annual speaker series each year that is focused on a particular topic of interest to the membership. In addition, we offer a variety of special interest programs and events. For a full listing of events, go to the Calendar

2002 - 2004 Building Leadership Connections

The theme for the 2002 - 2004 Speaker's Series is: Building Leadership Connections. This theme encompasses connections within The University of Chicago and its Graduate School of Business (Chicago GSB), the business community, the workplace, and the community at large. The theme reinforces the group's vision of being a vibrant, passionate community of women who create connections on multiple dimensions, both personal and professional, throughout their life stages. Upcoming and past events include:

January 28, 2002: Annual Meeting. Keynote address Leading from Where You Are and Who You Are delivered by Cheryl Francis, a GSB Alum and former Executive Vice President and CFO for R.R. Donnelley & Sons. Special appearance by the Dean of the GSB, Dean Edward A. Snyder.

April 28, 2002: Spring Tea. Keynote address Leadership Lessons Learned to be delivered by Sheila Penrose, the Penrose Group. The Distinguished Service Award will be presented at this event.

November 4, 2002: Serving on Non-Profit Boards Luncheon at the Museum of Contemporary Art. Scheduled Guest Speaker - Penny Pritzker. Attendance by volunteer organizations from throughout Chicago.

January 27, 2003: Annual Meeting. Keynote address by Susan Annunzio, President and CEO, Center for High Performance (CfHP) and Adjunct Professor, University of Chicago GSB. Panelists included: Lisa Azzarello, Vice President Corporate Strategy and Planning, RR Donnelley; Sarah E. Smigel, Senior Financial Controller, Motorola Professional Services; and Rita Forden, Vice President, Major and Planned Gifts, United Way.

March 9, 2003: Annual High Tea. Keynote address by Carol L. Bernick, Vice-Chairman, Alberto-Culver Company, and President, Alberto-Culver Consumer Products Worldwide, with remarks by Dean Edward A. Snyder, Dean and George Pratt Schultz Professor of Economics. The Distinguished Service Award was presented to Susan L. Kane at this event.

April 9, 2003: Second Annual Progressive "Connections" Luncheon. Second annual networking luncheon with The Professional Women's Club of Chicago (PWCC).

May 16, 2003: GSB Annual Management Conference - UCWBG Sponsored Panel. UCWBG sponsored panelists to be announced. Go to the Chicago GSB web site for more information on the conference: gsb.uchicago.edu.

November 3, 2003: UCWBG & GSB Business Book Roundtable. Featured Book: WOMEN DON'T ASK. Negotiation and the Gender Divide by Linda Babcock & Sara Laschever. Meet the authors of this new book in the elegance of the Union League Club.

November 7, 2003: Third Annual "Linking Professionals to Non-Profit Boards". Join us at the Mid-America Club for this extremely popular luncheon. Keynote address by Deborah L. DeHaas, Regional Managing Partner, Strategic Client Services, Deloitte & Touche. Numerous volunteer organizations from the Chicago area are invited.

January 29, 2004: Annual Meeting. Leadership...It's About People. The baton was passed to the 2004 Board of Directors by Nancy Scott, outgoing president for 2003. Kathy Flanagan, President for 2004, accepted for the new group of Directors.

Our keynote speaker was Linda Ginzel. Her engaging discussion fit right in with our "Building Leadership Connections" speaker series. Prof. Ginzel spoke to us about what leadership is all about - people, how our assumptions and expectations affect the behavior of others.

Dean Snyder also gave us an update on the trends and activites at the GSB.

February 7, 2004: Welcome 2004. Over 20 members joined the board for the morning to talk about the UCWBG, to meet the UCWBG Board members, and to learn about the opportunities each member has to make a contribution to the Group. Representatives from each committee were there to present mission and answer member questions. We had a fun morning of meeting each other, networking and socializing with fellow members.

February 19 - April 29, 2004: Third Annual Leadership Circle. The Leadership Circle is an initiative that explores different aspects and issues of leadership. It is a chance to assess your leadership style, to discuss your leadership practices and experiences - triumphs and failures, and to investigate leadership as women practice it, with other UCWBG women. It is an opportunity to explore ways to be a better leader - at work, in community organizations, even at home.

March 21, 2004: Annual High Tea. The Annual High Tea has become a UCWBG tradition and is a wonderful way to see old friends, make new connections, and indulge in the delicious High Tea menu of the Ritz Carlton. (Hats are optional.) 

The keynote address was given by Joyce Simon, CFO, The John G. Shedd, and GSB '75 alumna. The Distinguished Service Award was presented to Cheryl Francis, Linda Stone, and Eva Ziegler. 

April 14, 2004: Third Annual Progressive "Connections" Luncheon with the Professional Women's Club of Chicago (PWCC). Networking luncheon to be held at The University Club.

May 8, 2004: Wealth Management Workshop. A distinguished panel of financial, legal and philanthropic professionals led discussions on retirement planning, estate planning, portfolio management and social investing.  Marilyn Moats Kennedy was the keynote speaker. 

May 14, 2004: GSB Management Conference. The UCWBG is sponsoring a panel on international entrepreneurship, Building Leadership Connections In Entrepreneurial International Business, moderated by Waverly Deutsch, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship at the Chicago GSB.

October 12, 2004: Women in Funds Management. Women are increasingly breaking through to the top ranks of the mutual fund industry. What are the career possibilities for women in this world paced by quarterly performance rankings and assets under management? What social trends are influencing the investment portfolios and market positioning of successful fund groups today? How are governance and regulatory changes affecting investor expectations of fund managers? Our panel of four top performers shared their insights and career experiences on how being a woman in funds management has helped or hindered personal advancement, lthe essons learned, the impact of women investors on the funds business, trends in funds management, and career opportunities.

2001 - Leading Chicago Women

The theme for 2001, "Leading Chicago Women", was selected to emphasis the new initiatives the UCWBG was embarking upon. The "Leading Chicago Women" Speaker Series featured prominent women leaders, whether GSB alumnae (ie "Chicago Women") or from the Chicago business community more generally. These speakers shared their personal stories and observations of what attributes propelled them to their leadership positions.

In addition, the UCWBG spearheaded leadership training programs and curriculum options that would address the attributes of leadership women needed to be successful. A related initiative was implementation of mentoring programs with the expectation that, by providing mentors and role models, we could inspire our members, our "Chicago Women" to new levels of leadership and success.

January 2001: Annual Meeting. Keynote address delivered by Alison Winter, Executive VP, Northern Trust, GSB alumna.

March 2001: Keynote address delivered by Linda Wolf, CEO, Leo Burnett International

May 2001: Spring Tea. Keynote address delivered by Sheli Rosenberg, Executive VP, Equity Office Investments

November 2001: Maggie Daley, President, Pathways Awareness Foundation Chair, Gallery 37 Committee. Luncheon to connect alum with not-for-profit boards.

November 2001: Changing Careers with Part-Time and Volunteer Work Facilitators: Bob Wilcox, Executive Director and Anita Brick, Director - Office of Career and Corporate Alliances (OACCA) Graduate School of Business. In this workshop, the participants assessed preferences and skills, identified resources and developed strategies.

1999 / 2000 - Inspiring Extraordinary Lives

The theme for 1999 / 2000, "Inspiring Extraordinary Lives", was used to illustrate our plan to gather together to hear the inspirational stories of extraordinary lives: women, who in a variety of different ways, have used their professional training and unique gifts to make a different and accomplish something extraordinary. We heard women speak from many walks of life: corporate, entrepreneurial and public service. We asked some of these remarkable women to share their personal stories with us, their definitions of success and how they achieved it, the choices they made, the resulting tradeoffs, their personal struggles and lessons learned, to help guide the rest of us.

In the process, we celebrated our alumnae, but looked to others as well. Always, our emphasis was on the personal story. We inspirational stories of some of these remarkable women served to empower us and facilitate the sharing of our own stories to build a stronger community of women. Events included:

March 1999: Keynote address delivered by Sr. Sheila Lyne, CEO, Mercy Hospital, GSB alumna.

May 1999: Spring Tea. Keynote address delivered by Jocelyn Carter Miller, CMO, Motorola, GSB alumna.

October 1999: Keynote address delivered by Sue Lin Gin, CEO, The Flying Foods Group.

November 1999: Dinner. Keynote address, Women's Lifes, A Kaleidoscope of Choices was delivered by Brenda Barnes, former CEO, Pepsi-Cola, North America.

January 2000: Annual Meeting. Keynote address delivered by Polly Kawalek, President, Hot Breakfast Division, Quaker Oats, GSB alumna.

March 2000: Keynote address delivered by Hedy Ratner, Co-founder and Co-director, Women's Business Development Center.

April 2000: Spring Tea. Keynote address delivered by Doris Christopher, President and Founder, The Pampered Chef, (Annual sales in excess of $500 million).

September 2000: Keynote address delivered by Terry Savage, nationally recognized journalist, author and financial authority.