Ruth Williams

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Phone:

(785) 532-3111

Ruth’s passion is her belief in equality for women, personally, and professionally. This passion has driven her for several decades and has taken her into leadership positions, provided her the opportunity to be mentored and to mentor, and given her the opportunity to testify in front of legislative committees—none of which she would have envisioned when she graduated from high school!

Ruth believes in the power of networking with people of all ages and enjoys the opportunity to meet new people. Because of this, she loves the work she does with the Great Plains Interactive Distance Education Alliance (Great Plains IDEA) and the consulting work with other institutions. Ruth believes in flexibility and does not live in a “black and white” world—there are a lot of “gray” areas in her life—including her silver hair.

Ruth is a Kansas Supreme Court Approved mediator and when working with groups uses her mediation skills to explore options of different ways to do things. Her leadership style is to “lead by example,” and believes in empowering those around her. Ruth is organized and detail-oriented. Ruth uses her strong interpersonal skills in her work with the Great Plains IDEA Board of Directors as well as all groups she works with. She is task oriented and used that skill as a committee member with the Great Plains IDEA to develop their bylaws, Memorandums of Agreement and policy and procedure manual. Although she is normally patient, easy going and relaxed, she does have high expectations of herself and the IAA staff. Because she is receptive and listens well, she prefers to gather information and process it prior to reacting.

Ruth has worked within academic institutions her entire professional life and has been at Kansas State University since 1975, and was part of the team that formed the IAA. When Ruth isn’t at work, she enjoys cuddling her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, watching a good movie with her husband, trying new “healthy” recipes, traveling, spending time with her family including three grandchildren, and playing Bunco with friends. When she retires, she’s looking forward to spending more time traveling, and especially excited about the opportunity to visit the many friends she’s made throughout her life and career.