A taste of Honey is in order for the Office of Women in Higher Education.

Dr. Delores Honey, assistant vice president for assessment and institutional research, was recently elected to be on the American Council on Education Network Executive Board.

The Office of Women in Higher Education is a division of ACE, the major coordinating body for higher education institutions in the United States.

Honey said the main goal of OWHE is “to help develop women into administrative positions.”

She has been with the organization since 1984 when she was on the state planning committee. In 1996, she moved up to state treasurer.

She then was state coordinator from 1999 until July of this year when the executive board voted her onto the national board.

“I was very surprised,” Honey said.

This is the first time anyone from Missouri Southern has been on the board and only the second time anyone from Missouri has been on the board.

“It’s given me the chance to have some impact on the national scene,” Honey said.

The executive board is made up of 20 members from across the United States. These members represent all different types of colleges and universities.

“They try to bring a variety of perspectives to this board,” Honey said.

The OWHE was started in 1973 and Claire VanUmmersen, vice president and director of the OWHE in Washington, D.C., said the program is “devoted to the advancement of women in higher education.”

In each state, committees work to develop programming, workshops and conferences for the personal development and improvement of women.

VanUmmersen said the workshops focus on teaching skills and making information available to women who are looking to advance in their higher education careers.

Honey will be in charge of three states, working closely with each state’s coordinator. Missouri, Mississippi and Arkansas are her responsibility.

“I think that Delores was an excellent state coordinator, and that’s the reason she’s now serving on the executive board,” VanUmmersen said. “We’re lucky to have her.”

Honey will serve a three-year term on the board. She said she thinks it’s a good thing that Southern will be represented at a national level like this.

“It makes me want to do my job better here, but also to help other women who want to move up,” she said.

Honey said helping people advance is “what education is all about.”