UW-Superior, Yellowjacket Athletics and Cenovus Energy have announced the inaugural event of the Cenovus Women in Leadership Program will be held Wednesday, April 3.
 
Last month, UW-Superior and Cenovus Energy announced the expansion of its corporate partnership, with one aspect of the expansion being the creation of the Cenovus Women in Leadership program, an annual event focused on helping to develop the next generation of female leaders at UW-Superior and in the community.
 
“Cenovus recognizes the importance of having women in leadership roles. Diversity of thought, experience and background helps make our business, company and community stronger,” said Doreen Cole, Executive Vice-President, Downstream. “We’re excited to fund this program at UW-Superior, which will develop the next generation of female leaders at the university and in the region.”
 
The first-ever event will feature Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Lindsay Whalen as its keynote speaker. Whalen, a native of Hutchinson, Minn., is widely regarded as the most successful female basketball player in Minnesota history. After a four-year career at the University of Minnesota, where she led the Golden Gophers to three NCAA tournaments and the only Final Four in program history, Whalen embarked on a successful career in the WNBA with the Connecticut Sun, who drafted her in the first round of the 2004 WNBA Draft, and the Minnesota Lynx.
 
A six-time WNBA all-star, Whalen helped the Lynx to four WNBA titles and was named to the WNBA’s W25 – ranking her as one of the 25 greatest, most influential players in league history. Whalen is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and has had her jersey retired by the University of Minnesota as well as both the Sun and the Lynx.
 
Whalen has been inducted into the Minnesota Sports Hall of Fame (class of 2019), the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame (2023) and the College Sports Communicators Academic All-America Hall of Fame (2023) in addition to her 2022 induction into the National Basketball Hall of Fame.
 
“Lindsay Whalen is a well-known athlete and professional who has inspired women and girls throughout her incredible career. As a player and a coach, Lindsay has shown the importance of inclusivity, and empowerment which at Cenovus is part of our Do it Together value. We are thrilled to welcome Lindsay to Superior and have her be our first speaker,” Cole said.
 
Tickets for the April 3 event are $25 and will go on sale March 1. They will remain on sale until March 29. The event, which will be held in the Yellowjacket Union Great Room and is open to the public, will include a dinner and a meet-and-greet in addition to the keynote address.
 
“As a department we couldn’t be more grateful to Cenovus Energy for coming forward to help establish our Women in Leadership program,” UW-Superior Director of Athletics Nick Bursik said. “We have wanted to bring a program like this to our campus for a long time, and we are confident that our first event will lay a great foundation for this program to continue to grow. We are fortunate to have a partner like Cenovus Energy who shares our vision for developing leaders and champions in all walks of life and are excited for the future of the Cenovus Women in Leadership program.”
 
For more information on this and other events or to register, contact Yellowjacket Athletics at 715-395-4619.
 
About Cenovus:
Cenovus Energy Inc. is an integrated energy company with oil and natural gas production operations in Canada and the Asia Pacific region, and upgrading, refining, and marketing operations in Canada and the United States. The company is focused on managing its assets in a safe, innovative, and cost-efficient manner, integrating environmental, social and governance considerations into its business plans. Cenovus common shares and warrants are listed on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges, and the company’s preferred shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. For more information, visit cenovus.com.