| Feb. 8, 2010 CONTACT: Pamela Owens, programming and communications director, 512-989-7950, pam.owens@womensresources.org WTAMU Professor Named to Leadership Texas Class of 2010 CANYON, Texas— Dr. Monica Smith-Hart, assistant professor of English at West Texas A&M University, has been selected to join a network of more than 2,500 women as a member of the Leadership Texas Class of 2010. “Dr. Smith-Hart is one of 120 outstanding women leaders competitively selected from across the state to participate in the longest-running women’s leadership development program in the United States. Throughout the year-long program, she will have the opportunity to broaden her perspective on our state by exploring five Texas cities and receiving cutting-edge information from renowned experts, government officials and other leaders,” said Candace O’Keefe-Mathis, CEO of the Foundation for Women’s Resources, said. Launched in 1983 as the first statewide program for women’s leadership development, Leadership Texas is patterned after, though not affiliated with, the co-educational civic programs that have found success in a number of cities throughout the state and nation. The theme for the 2010 program year is “Leading with Strength into the Future.” Participants will visit Dallas, Laredo, Lubbock, Waco and Austin where each city’s opportunities and challenges will help to illuminate the participants’ knowledge of the state across three common themes–the economy, education and the environment. “We consider it a privilege to offer these influential women leaders from a broad diversity of professional and personal backgrounds some new perspectives, opinions and validation on some of the issues, people and places they might not otherwise encounter outside of the program. We recognize that it is necessary for today’s successful leaders to understand the cultural, social and economic shift before us and the programming of Leadership Texas provides opportunities and access to help the women impact the future of our evolving state,” O’Keefe-Mathis said. Through the generous contributions of the Leadership Texas Program Partners, the program continues to provide the most up-to-date information on leadership and issues affecting Texas. —WTAMU— | 