Wake Forest MBA Admissions Director Elected to Fort̩ Board

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.—Stacy Poindexter Owen, director of admissions for the Full-time MBA and Master of Arts in Management programs at Wake Forest University’s Babcock Graduate School of Management, has been elected to the Forté Foundation board of directors. Her two-year board service begins today.

The Forté Foundation is a coalition of major corporations, top business schools and non-profit organizations that work to increase the number of women business leaders. Through education programs, information forums and financial support of MBA students, Forté motivates young women to prepare for careers in business, increases their access to education and business networks and raises their awareness of the social impact they can make through careers in business.

“The Babcock School has a strong commitment to recruiting a diverse student body, including women, and preparing them to compete in today’s more global business environment,” said Dean Ajay Patel. “Stacy has been a leader in that effort, and we know her service on the Forte board will benefit both the foundation and our school.”

Owen joined the Babcock School in 1999. She previously worked for the Burlington House Division of Burlington Industries, in both operations and marketing positions. She earned an MS and a BS from North Carolina State University. Owen previously served as a member of GMAC’s Annual Conference Advisory Board and N.C. State’s College of Management Alumni Board. She currently serves on the board for the Junior League of Winston-Salem.

About Forté Foundation
The impetus for establishing the Forté Foundation came from a groundbreaking study of women in MBA programs conducted by the University of Michigan and Catalyst Inc. and published in 2000. The study, “Women and the MBA: Gateway to Opportunity,” questioned why more women weren’t pursuing MBA degrees and shed light on women’s experiences in the business school environment and their career outcomes. It identified a number of factors that discourage women from pursuing an MBA and associated career paths, including a dearth of female role models, concerns about work/life balance, and lack of encouragement from employers. Deriving its mission from the “Women and the MBA” study, the Forté Foundation was founded in 2001 and is the only organization that provides a national infrastructure to effectively reach, recruit and retain top female talent at every level.