This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Community colleges, says Cynthia Bioteau, can be critical to a state's economic health.
That belief, coupled with programs she has fostered during her five years as president of Salt Lake Community College to help women and others start and grow businesses, has earned her the Salt Lake Chamber's Athena Award.
The honor, part of a national program to recognize a recipient's roles in helping women reach full leadership potential, will be given Tuesday to Bioteau at the 34th annual American Express Women & Business Conference/Wells Fargo Women's Financial Services Luncheon.
The award was launched nationally in 1982. The Salt Lake Chamber joined the effort two years later.
"I'm pleased that Salt Lake Community College is being recognized as a very important player in the business development of our state," said Bioteau, who also serves as CEO at SLCC.
"First and foremost, the importance of women supporting women in business and their careers is critical, and the Athena Award embodies that kind of woman-to-woman support," she said, adding the award also recognizes the importance of every business and industry partner supporting each other. "When we work together, [the resulting] mosaic is really a picture of the community."
Chamber President and CEO Lane Beattie said of Bioteau: "From the first day she arrived, she has been a valued partner in the business community." He pointed to SLCC programs that offer custom-fit training and retraining for current and potential employees of Utah companies.
"There aren't too many positions and policies [the chamber] has initiated that Doctor Bioteau has not been involved in," Beattie said.
For her part, Bioteau is most proud of SLCC's Women's Business Institute, on the community college's Miller Campus in Sandy. It was started during the first two years of her presidency.
"The Miller campus has a cluster of business-support programs — an incubator for small-business owners to come and have their offices on the college campus and run their businesses from there," she said. The broader programs include business people of both genders. The Women's Business Institute offers more specialized help to women entrepreneurs who want to start businesses or take them to the next level. On top of that, Bioteau has overseen development of the Women's India Trust at SLCC, where faculty members travel to India to provide business-development workshops and act as mentors for women there. The program then exports products the Indian entrepreneurs make and provides a retail outlet for them in the U.S.
Bioteau said she learned about the economic importance of community colleges when she was at Forsyth Technical Community College in Kernersville, N.C.
Past Athena recipients
2009 • Chris Redgrave, Bonneville Salt Lake Radio Group
2008 • Patricia Jones, Dan Jones & Associates
2007 • Margo Provost, Log Haven
2006 • Marilyn Tang, Certified Handling Systems
2005 • Pamela Atkinson, Community advocate
2004 • Gov. Olene Walker
2003 • Becky Berkey Potts, AT&T Wireless
2002 • Susan Glasmann, Questar Gas Co.
2001 • Lori Giovannoni, Lori Giovannoni and Associates
2000 • Patricia Richards, First Security Bank
1999 • Lorraine Miller, Cactus & Tropicals
1998 • Deborah Bayle Nielsen, American Red Cross, Greater Salt Lake Area chapter
1997 • Carol Carter, IC Products
1996 • Ramona Rudert, Predictable Building Systems
1995 • Joan Lewis, Nesco Service Inc.
1993 • June Morris, Morris Air
1992 • Rhoda Ramsey, Ramsey Group
1991 • Patricia Freston, Questar Corp.
1990 • Jacqueline Nicholes, Quality Press
1989 • No award given
1988 • Carol Browning, certified life underwriter
1987 • Patricia Shoemaker Glessner, KSL TV
1986 • Isabelle Jensen, Questar Corp.
1985 • Carol Fay, Internal Revenue Service
1984 • Phyllis Steorts, Westin Hotel Utah —
Conference and luncheon
P Where • Little America Hotel, Salt Lake City
When • 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Tuesday
Who • Anyone who wants to attend is invited. The conference (but not the luncheon) is free, although organizers are asking for a $30 donation to the Women's Business Center.
Luncheon • Noon. Cost is $75.
Registration • slchamber.com/womenandbusiness