Cmte. on the Status of Women Fall '07 Report

Fall 2007

Faculty Senate Committee on the Status of Women

The high point of our Fall semester was the December 11 meeting with Provost Lisa Staiano-Coico, at which a 10-page report was presented, and which provided an excellent forum for discussion. Much of the Fall semester’s work revolved around formulating and drafting this report, which was also informed by previous semesters’ research and discussion.

The Faculty Senate Committee on the Status of Women respectfully submitted the following four recommendations, which were followed in the report by detailed discussions of each item.

Data on gender equity should be collected and published on a yearly basis. The manner in which the data is collected and analyzed should be transparent.

Gender inequities experienced by individuals must be identified and addressed. A process needs to be instituted to automatically review salary, workload, and promotion differentials for individuals on a yearly basis. When inequities are identified, they must be rectified. A system of accountability must be instituted for administrators at all levels of the university. In addition, a process must be instituted whereby individuals can raise concerns outside the typical chain of command and without retribution.

An evaluation of how the “rules of the game” need to be changed to accommodate diversity. Specifically we need to assess if and how the standards of hiring, merit, tenure and promotion systematically disadvantage women (and some men). Furthermore, we need to assess if these standards support or hinder the ability of Temple to achieve its multiple missions. This represents a paradigm shift in two ways. First, it requires thinking of ways that the university can change to integrate women (and diversity more broadly) rather than thinking of ways that will enable women to conform to the university. Second, it requires thinking of the research, educational, and outreach missions as synergistic rather than antagonistic. Therefore, we believe that increased research excellence requires that we achieve greater access and public accountability.

The creation of a high level committee to implement and evaluate recommendations 1-3. This committee should make recommendations to the president and provost to take action on the findings. We request that the CSW have a representative on the committee.

Following is a summary of the additional Fall semester activities of the CSW

The CSW was involved from the inception of the Advance Grant proposal that was submitted to the National Science Foundation on December 6, with several CSW members serving on the Grant committee. The CSW Chair met with Heidi Grunwald, Office of Research to discuss the shaping of the proposal, after the committee conducted research on Advance Grant project implementation in a number of other universities. Temple’s proposal aims to transform the STEM disciplines, by increasing the hiring, retention and advancement of women and underrepresented minority faculty in the College of Science and Technology and College of Engineering. Faculty diversity in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) departments would be enhanced by stimulating institutional awareness of and changes in policies and practices.

A blackboard website has been constructed for the use of the CSW, to serve as an announcement board, forum for discussion and access to relevant literature that is continually being collected, on current research and subjects such as family friendly policies and hiring practices.

Guests at meetings included Patricia Meltzer, Director of the Womens’ Studies program, and plans were made to collaborate on a Spring semester event for new female faculty members. Arthur Hochner, President of TAUP, reported to the CSW on the findings of the union’s Work-Family Balance Survey, which led to further discussion and work on data collection concerns.

Other new initiatives include proposals on supervising a student intern on the design of a Committee website, and holding an annual themed conference with an invited speaker. The CSW has an ongoing collaborative relationship with the Faculty Senate Committee on the Status of Faculty of Color, and with the Committee on the Status of Women Faculty in Medicine.

Respectfully submitted by Joyce Lindorff, Chair

OFFICERS BY LAWS FACULTY HANDBOOK MEETING SCHEDULE MINUTES COMMITTEES FACULTY HERALD ELECTIONS SENATE HOME TEMPLE HOME		Committee on the Status of Women Fall 2007 Faculty Senate Committee on the Status of Women The high point of our Fall semester was the December 11 meeting with Provost Lisa Staiano-Coico, at which a 10-page report was presented, and which provided an excellent forum for discussion. Much of the Fall semester’s work revolved around formulating and drafting this report, which was also informed by previous semesters’ research and discussion. The Faculty Senate Committee on the Status of Women respectfully submitted the following four recommendations, which were followed in the report by detailed discussions of each item. Data on gender equity should be collected and published on a yearly basis. The manner in which the data is collected and analyzed should be transparent. Gender inequities experienced by individuals must be identified and addressed. A process needs to be instituted to automatically review salary, workload, and promotion differentials for individuals on a yearly basis. When inequities are identified, they must be rectified. A system of accountability must be instituted for administrators at all levels of the university. In addition, a process must be instituted whereby individuals can raise concerns outside the typical chain of command and without retribution. An evaluation of how the “rules of the game” need to be changed to accommodate diversity. Specifically we need to assess if and how the standards of hiring, merit, tenure and promotion systematically disadvantage women (and some men). Furthermore, we need to assess if these standards support or hinder the ability of Temple to achieve its multiple missions. This represents a paradigm shift in two ways. First, it requires thinking of ways that the university can change to integrate women (and diversity more broadly) rather than thinking of ways that will enable women to conform to the university. Second, it requires thinking of the research, educational, and outreach missions as synergistic rather than antagonistic. Therefore, we believe that increased research excellence requires that we achieve greater access and public accountability. The creation of a high level committee to implement and evaluate recommendations 1-3. This committee should make recommendations to the president and provost to take action on the findings. We request that the CSW have a representative on the committee. Following is a summary of the additional Fall semester activities of the CSW The CSW was involved from the inception of the Advance Grant proposal that was submitted to the National Science Foundation on December 6, with several CSW members serving on the Grant committee. The CSW Chair met with Heidi Grunwald, Office of Research to discuss the shaping of the proposal, after the committee conducted research on Advance Grant project implementation in a number of other universities. Temple’s proposal aims to transform the STEM disciplines, by increasing the hiring, retention and advancement of women and underrepresented minority faculty in the College of Science and Technology and College of Engineering. Faculty diversity in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) departments would be enhanced by stimulating institutional awareness of and changes in policies and practices. A blackboard website has been constructed for the use of the CSW, to serve as an announcement board, forum for discussion and access to relevant literature that is continually being collected, on current research and subjects such as family friendly policies and hiring practices. Guests at meetings included Patricia Meltzer, Director of the Womens’ Studies program, and plans were made to collaborate on a Spring semester event for new female faculty members. Arthur Hochner, President of TAUP, reported to the CSW on the findings of the union’s Work-Family Balance Survey, which led to further discussion and work on data collection concerns. Other new initiatives include proposals on supervising a student intern on the design of a Committee website, and holding an annual themed conference with an invited speaker. The CSW has an ongoing collaborative relationship with the Faculty Senate Committee on the Status of Faculty of Color, and with the Committee on the Status of Women Faculty in Medicine. Respectfully submitted by Joyce Lindorff, Chair

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