"The APRU Asia Pacific Women in Leadership (APWiL) program has confirmed its two new co-chairs, Dr. Sabrina Lin (Vice-President for Institutional Advancement of HKUST) and Prof. Joanna Regulska (Vice Provost and Associate Chancellor of Global Affairs at the University of California, Davis). The new APWiL Co-Chairs are seeking to build on the program’s foundation over the past four years by designing the program’s future activities around members’ needs and expectations.

As their first move of action, the co-chairs are surveying APWiL members, collecting feedback on the program’s focus areas and key activities. The survey covers topics such as women’s advancement in higher education, building a gender equity regional research network to influence public policy, and further development of APWiL program-related initiatives, projects and collaboration with external partners. Results of the questionnaire and the future direction of APWiL will be reported at the 2019 Annual Presidents’ Meeting on June 23-25 at UCLA.

“Research shows that diversity, including gender balance and equality, improves the growth and the sustainability of an economy. APWiL can enable us to realize a diverse, equitable and inclusive future,” says Sabrina Lin.

A former top executive in the IT sector, Dr. Lin, the Vice-President for Institutional Advancement at HKUST, is responsible for advancing and enhancing the University’s position across academic, research, innovation and industry domains in collaboration with faculty, students, and staff. Her current focus includes public affairs, development and alumni, global university and enterprise network and partnership, and mainland university and enterprise network and partnerships. As one of the 2017 Forbes China’s Top 50 Business Women, Dr. Lin is also tasked with developing gender equity programs on campus.

“It’s my honor to serve as a co-chair of APWiL. Gender bias, glass ceilings, and discrimination are often impediments within women’s experiences, and international education is no exception. We have an opportunity to change that,” says Joanna Regulska. “Through various APWiL program initiatives, member universities can collectively address gender discrimination and inequality head-on and on a grand scale.”

Joanna Regulska is the Vice Provost and Associate Chancellor of Global Affairs at the University of California, Davis, where she also is a professor of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies. For more than three decades, Prof. Regulska has led large-scale programs, established collaborative partnerships, and substantially improved internationally focused services for students, faculty, and staff. Most recently, Prof. Regulska has developed initiatives at UC Davis, striving to provide all students with valuable international or intercultural experiences before graduation and strengthening the university’s international research, education and engagement efforts."

Read the full story at the APRU website.