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Dr. Jane Gates, chair of the Political Science Department at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, has been selected as a participant in the 2002 American Issues Forum of Leadership America.

A national, not-for-profit organization, Leadership America is a series of three intensive professional development sessions which occur over a period of a year. Approximately 100 women of accomplishment and achievement are selected annually from female leaders across the country.

"I am very excited to have been chosen to participate in the Leadership America Class 2002," Gates said. "Participants will have the opportunity to discuss their state’s economic needs, challenges and solutions with the Secretary of Labor."

The first session will be held this week in Washington, D.C. and will cover the following topics: "Across the Globe: Other Visions, Other Voices," "The New Administration: One Year Later," and "Journalism in the New Millennium."

The second session will be held in Chicago during July and the final session will be held in October in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Gates began her path to success in what she says was "the best of both worlds." Rural and metropolitan, she spent her school years in Arkansas and her summers in Los Angeles.

Gates received a bachelor’s degree in political science from Arkansas State University, a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, and a doctorate in public policy and administration from Southern Illinois University. Gates also graduated from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education Management and Development program in the summer of 1997.

In addition to serving as department chair, she also holds the position of director of the Center for Learning and the Mid-South Alliance for Minority Participation (MAMP) Program in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Gates is a member of the American Association of University Professors, American Association of University Women, Arkansas Children’s Hospital Foundation, Arkansas Democratic Party, Greater Jonesboro Chamber of Commerce and the National Science Foundation Alliance for Minority Participation.

In spite of her many roles, Gates lists her family, friends and civic activities as the most important things in her life.

"I am strongly committed to the belief that each of us has a fiduciary responsibility to ensure that our children and their children inherit an environmentally safe and politically stable world; and that they become productive citizens in a multi-cultural and diverse society," she said.

Gates is appreciative to Dr. Rick McDaniel, interim vice chancellor for academic affairs, who wrote the institutional letter of support on her behalf.

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