糖心Vlog传媒

Outstanding Women of 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock: Mia Phillips

In honor of Women鈥檚 History Month, 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock is featuring stories about the 鈥淥utstanding Women of 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock,鈥� faculty, staff, students, and alumni who are serving as leaders and making a difference for the university and their communities. 聽 Dr. Mia Phillips is never one to shy away from confronting issues related to culture and diversity on 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 campus. Instead, she鈥檚 building a program to address them head-on. As the director of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock鈥檚 new campus Multicultural Center, Phillips often finds herself at the forefront of many contentious social issues facing not just 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, but the nation as a whole. Above all else though, Phillips鈥� passion for serving her community, the university, and its students has made her into the person she is today. A native of El Dorado, Phillips came to Little Rock shortly after finishing her bachelor鈥檚 degree at the University of Central Arkansas. She enrolled at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock as a student, obtaining both a Master of Arts in professional and technical writing and a Ed.D. in higher education. While working toward her master鈥檚 degree, she was offered a position as a writing assistant for the chancellor鈥檚 office, which kick-started her career in higher education. 鈥淚 got to do so many wonderful things and meet so many wonderful people,鈥� Phillips said. 鈥淚 got to move more into overall communications and special projects quickly and experienced working under two chancellors who each brought different things to the office that I was able to learn from.鈥� In 2018, Phillips was presented with a life-changing opportunity: 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock was preparing to open its new Multicultural Center and needed a director. Having recently finished her Ed.D., Phillips applied for the position and was selected. 鈥淐hancellor Rogerson and my office were incredibly supportive when this opportunity came up. They told me to go for it, so I did and now I鈥檓 here,鈥� she said. As director of the Multicultural Center, Phillips has been tasked with building an extremely important program from the ground up. 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 Multicultural Center opened in October 2018 and seeks to provide culturally responsive programming and education to promote student success, personal growth, and a culture of respect and inclusion on campus. 鈥淏ecause the Multicultural Center is brand new, every day here has been something a little different,鈥� Phillips said. 鈥淢y primary job so far has been taking care of the infrastructure issues that come with establishing a new program and interacting with students to both let them know about the services and resources we can provide to them as well as asking them what they need as far as support, programming, and training.鈥� Phillips鈥� interest in higher education began at a young age; her grandmother, Virginia M. Smith, was the first African-American administrator at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia. 鈥淢y grandmother would have to be one of my biggest role models. She mentored so many women throughout her career that even to this day, 40 years later, people are still talking about the impact she had in their lives,鈥� 聽Phillips said. Phillips also credits the women of 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 faculty and staff as daily inspirations for her. 鈥淒r. Sandra Robertson served this university for 40 years and was a huge inspiration for me as well. I learned so much from her when I started working in the chancellor鈥檚 office,鈥� Phillips said. 鈥淚 think that our deans, like Dr. Jane Wayland and Dr. Ann Bain, are absolutely amazing. Watching them navigate complex professional spaces and lead ethically and professionally has been very encouraging to watch.鈥� For any woman wishing to become a part of 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 community, Phillips offers the following thoughts: 鈥溙切腣log传媒 Little Rock really is a place where you can do anything. There鈥檚 an expert here in any field you can imagine. We have women in leadership who can help you determine the path that鈥檚 best for you and how to be successful. You鈥檒l learn a lot from your coursework, but you鈥檒l learn even more from the experiences of the people around you. It鈥檚 simply a wonderful place, where you鈥檒l have unique opportunities with wonderful people.鈥�