Present: Virginia Cassidy, Deborah Haliczer, Amy Levin, Judith Lukaszuk, Shirley Mashare, Jan Rintala, Julie Robertson, Rhonda Robinson, Lise Schlosser, Debbie Smith-Shank, Marianne Tomlinson, Josephine Umoren.
Absent: Dee Abrahamson, Barbara Burrell, Karen Baker, Glenda Jones, Lisa Kay, Doreen Mace, Regina Rahn, Denise Schoenbachler, Lorraine Scurti.
Guest: President John Peters
The meeting was called to order at 1:05 p.m. by Chair, Josephine Umoren in Altgeld Hall 203. Jan Rintala made a motion to approve the minutes from the October 11, 2006 meeting. Deborah Haliczer seconded the motion. The minutes were approved unanimously.
President John Peters asked to join our meeting to share what he learned at an October 23 meeting of the American Council on Education Office of Women in Higher Education, Commission on Women in Higher Education meeting held in Washington, D. C. that he attended. He was picked by Judy Bailey to join this group in an attempt to balance the region. American Council of Education (ACE) is the umbrella organization of which David Ward is the current President. ACE is a networking organization for university presidents and has many training opportunities. In 1973 OWHE (Office of Women in Higher Education) found a need for networking and developing leadership skills of women; Donna Burns Phillips is the Director and Ann Caldwell is the current chair. A recent Gender Equity in Higher Education:2006 report was discussed at this meeting and the President encouraged all members to read the report (this is the report that was distributed at the September 2006 meeting). Jan Rintala informed the President that he will be receiving a report from the PCSW soon regarding Gender Equity at NIU. The President stated that mentoring was an important issue for him.
AAUP Report Blames Colleges for Gender Inequity Among Professors, The Chronicle of Higher Education (November 3, 2006, issue) by Robin Wilson, was distributed by Amy Levin.
Affirmative Action Diversity Resources Report: Deborah Haliczer announced that she attended the last AADRR meeting and they were reorganizing. Their next meeting will be held November 21. More will be reported at the December meeting.
Campus Climate and Quality of Life: Amy Levine reported:
The FMAL issue is being compared to U of I. The results should be available by the next meeting.
Members were asked if it would be ok to invite members of the Secretarial Advisory Council to share information they have gathered regarding treatment of secretaries. Members agreed this would be appropriate.
The need of a Campus Climate Survey focused on women versus a general survey covering all diversity issues was discussed. Numerous groups are considering surveys at this time and individuals may resent being surveyed multiple times. Possibly AADRR could be requested to coordinate one large survey to encompass all concerns. There was the comment about the past Social Justice survey which ended up being very difficult to complete. Consensus was one survey would be best. Also discussion about paper versus electronic versions of survey resulted in the decision that individuals should probably be given a choice of how they would like to complete the survey.
Personal Professional Development: Julie Robertson announced that the November 3rd Networking Luncheon went well. Deb Smith-Shank presented information on her peer-reviewed journal. The next luncheon will be held November 29th, the speaker will be Kerry O. Ferris, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, speaking on celebrity impersonators and their audiences.
Research: Jan Rintala reported that the committee will be meeting next week to finalize the report on gender equity. If anyone has comments please contact them. The report will be forwarded to President Peters upon completion.
Awards and Recognition: Betty Baugh reported that a memo was sent to the departments of English, Communications, Women’s Studies and the Northern Star asking them to invite their teaching staff to announce the Martha Cooper Journalism Award in their classes. Funding for this award has been increased to $500.00 for this year by the addition of a generous donation from the Provost Office (Virginia Cassidy). Dr. Lois Self has been contacted regarding permanent financial support for the Martha Cooper Journalism Award in the future from the Communications Department. We haven’t heard back from her as yet. Everyone should have received their nomination notices in the campus mail by now for the Outstanding Women Students. We have received ten nominations so far and the deadline is December 20th.
Virginia Cassidy was asked to review the proposed new awards. The first award proposed is Women Who Make a Difference. This award would be given to NIU women civil service, professional staff and faculty. It would be a one-time award. Nominations would consist of a nomination letter and two supporting letters. One or two of these awards would be presented annually. The deadline would be March 1st and they would be awarded at the April PCSW Networking Luncheon. Award recipients will receive a certificate and engraved Lucite paperweight. The publicity will be a direct mailing, announcement(s) in Northern Today, and posting on PCSW website. Critera for the award would be: shows outstanding dedication to the empowerment of NIU women by making changes at the unit level; makes important contributions to addressing issues that are important to women; goes "the extra mile" to assist others.
The second award proposed is Outstanding Mentor Award. This award would be given to NIU women civil service, professional staff and faculty. It would be a one-time award. Nominations would consist of a nomination letter and two supporting letters. One or two of these awards would be presented annually. The deadline would be March 1st and they would be awarded at the April PCSW Networking Luncheon. Award recipients will receive a certificate and engraved Lucite paperweight. The publicity will be a direct mailing, announcement(s) in Northern Today, and posting on PCSW website. Critera for the award would be: shows exceptional commitment to advancing the career and/or educational goals of NIU women students, staff, and/or faculty; consistently acts as an exemplary teacher/coach/advisor/facilitator/resource in helping NIU women achieve career and/or educational goals; creates opportunities that help protégés achieve their goals; demonstrates the characteristics of an outstanding role model within their area of expertise.
Dee Abrahamson suggested that these awards be named after someone. Members should come to the next meeting prepared with suggestions of possible names for these awards.
Women’s History Month Update: Amy Levin reported that an artist for the poster has been chosen. Two speakers have been found: Dr. Susan J. Douglas, Department of Communication Studies, The University of Michigan, "The Mommy Myth — The Idealization of Motherhood and How It Has Undermined Women" and Dr. Elizabeth A. Beaulieu, Department of Interdisciplinary Studies, Appalachian State University, "'Opaque with confusion and shame': Maternal Ambivalence in Rita Dove's Poetry". The theme is motherhood but it is inclusive.
Lise Schlosser made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Deborah Haliczer seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously. Josephine Umoren adjourned the meeting at 2:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Betty Baugh