Women Leading the Way in Innovation

Wednesday night’s discussion in the Reiman Theater highlighted the multiple benefits of a diverse workplace. “Research shows that diversity allows innovation to expand exponentially,” said Chancellor Rebecca Chopp, who hosted the conversation. “Diversity is having different people, beliefs, backgrounds, perspectives and bringing them together in the thinking of ideas. So women are key to that.”

Phillips, who co-founded ViaWest, which provides cloud, infrastructure and security services, linked diversity to good business practices. “When you think about how you develop the most competitive companies in the world today, the criticality of diversity within the ranks is really an important factor,” she said.

Open discussions about innovation, entrepreneurship and diversity should encourage DU students of different backgrounds to take risks when they want to accomplish something. “I’m living proof that the art of the possible is absolutely there for the taking,” Phillips said. “Don’t let anyone take you off your vision and your path. You really have to have the fortitude, the vision, the dream and you have to surround yourself with a lot of good people that might be there purely to encourage, but also help you because you can’t do this alone.”

Chopp echoed her call for diligent pursuit of goals. “I want students to be confident in their skills. I want students to be confident in their imagination. We want to educate them to be entrepreneurs and to be innovators,” she said, noting that her own life story provides a perfect example of taking risks and breaking down barriers to achieve an ultimate goal.

“I grew up in the 1950s and I grew up in Kansas, and we didn’t think about women becoming college professors, much less chancellors or innovators. But what I always tell women is, ‘you can do it, have the confidence. You have the skills, you have the talent, you have the imagination.’"