THE STANDING
COMMITTEE ON WOMEN’S ISSUES
JANUARY 2003 UPDATE & EVALUATION
The purpose of the January reports and meeting is for the Standing Committee on Women’s Issues to provide the Chancellor and Provost with a review of its activities and to create a time for dialog on progress towards our goal of improving the climate for all on campus, including ways to strengthen our commitment to a better balance of work and family life for all members of the campus.
Since last January the Committee has divided its energy into four areas: Child Care, Student Health Care, LGBT Issues, and general collaborative ways to improve the campus climate. This report will review the activities and progress in these four areas, and then discuss the aspects of the campus climate to focus on in 2003.
After our meeting last January the Chancellor appointed two task forces that began their work in March, 2002 and were asked to provide reports by December 2003.
Child Care: The first was the Task Force on Child Care. This Task Force is composed of faculty, academic and classified staff, and students. Students have a hard time consistently meeting because, you guessed it, child care and juggling parenting and schooling. However over the year we did meet regularly and believe that we have made substantial progress on this. (See attached Child Care Report.) The Task Force suggests that the future Child Care facility be connected to the new academic building as a “laboratory school” for Early Childhood education. The Teacher Education Department has laid out in that report how a state of the art facility/program could greatly benefit its Early Childhood minors (the campus’s largest minor with 80+ students), and its Elementary Education majors. Other departments/programs have expressed an interest in a convenient early childhood program arrangement that would facilitate undergraduate and graduate learning and enhance child development as well as our support to staff and students. The Task Force is working with and has the support of Vice Chancellor for Administration/Finance, Jan Hanson, and Dean of Students, Jim Lund, on this proposal. A year from now we expect to provide you with a specific proposal on this, including floor plans, potential usage, and endorsements from UWS students, WITC, and community groups. When you read the Child Care Report, note the memo from TED, the Table of Day Care Programs at other UW campuses, and the email from UW River Falls on their process.
Student Health Care:
The second task force appointed is the Task Force on Health Care. This
task force, composed of a cross-section of campus, has met less regularly but
has also made progress. (See attached Progress Report.) The outcome is that
Student Health Care Services are being considered for the proposed remodeling of
RSC. Again, with the assistance of
VC Jan Hanson and Dean Jim Lund, this concern has been recognized and is being
included in planning. From the survey work that has been accomplished to date it
does appear that the location of the health services in Sunquist has been
a problem and that services that are more centrally located may be more highly
utilized. According to those who
have utilized the Health Services and completed a survey, both Toni Kari and
Michelle Stronach receive high marks for being student oriented and supportive,.
Randy Gabrys-Alexson has handed over chairing the Task Force to Ms
Stronach but will continue with the Task Force.
Their intention is to have a final report for you, possibly by May 2003.
If the major remodeling of RSC does not go ahead, then we will need
alternate plans.
Besides the Task Forces, we set up a Working Group and collaborated with AAEO, Office of Multicultural Affairs, Senate, Women’s Studies, Athletics, and the Dean on several other areas.
LGBT Issues Working Group: This group is composed of several members from the Standing Committee and QASU. The group is working from the 1995 UW Superior climate study on Lesbians, Gays, and Bisexuals Issues. That report pointed out numerous areas in need of work but it basically sat on the shelf for six years. Many of the observations are still valid and in need of attention, yet some progress has been made. The Office of Women’s and Gender Issues, the coordinator’s position, and what Dianna Hunter, as coordinator, has accomplished is the most visible manifestation of this progress. Looking at her enumeration of the requests for her services and the ways in which she has helped to get the discussion of diversity, harassment, and inclusion on the table indicates the progress we are making and the distance we have to go. (See report from the Coordinator.) The Committee is concerned that the Coordinator’s position has been reduced from 50% to 37%. We would be alarmed if this was made permanent rather than seen as a temporary move to handle the freeze on hiring a full time faculty woman for Women’s Studies Director. We may not be able to afford a full time Coordinator but I have no doubt there is sufficient work for a full time position, especially given the dual role of the present Affirmative Action Officer.
General Campus Climate: One of the most telling comments about the work to be done still on climate is the Provost’s question after reading the 1999 Status of Women Report. Dr Prior asked, “What has changed, other than Dianna’s position and office?” For those of us who have been here a decade or more we can say with certainty “It is changing”. But as our report and the System-wide report stated, this is a systemic problem. There is no easy fix, no easy prioritizing of easy-to-accomplish tasks. This has to be a commitment for the long haul. The Chancellor’s Welcoming Remarks at the Fall Opening Day exercise, the Provost’s remarks at the Title IX event, and remarks by both again on January 13th are major steps forward, even if they do not produce any immediate or visible change. They send an important message, yet it will also take repeating over time for the message to truly trickle down so that others believe the institution’s commitment . There is great resistance to this change. Constant vigilance, ongoing analysis, and a willingness to listen to the experiences of those who are still receiving messages of hatred, prejudice, and fear is necessary. Their experiences may not appear significant to one removed from these attacks but that does not disqualify their experiences or our mandate to respond. Responding so publicly and strongly to the anonymous mailings sent late last semester shows you were willing to listen and to respond.
Besides these public remarks, what progress has there been on campus:
Ø The discussion in August on what makes staff feel included brought several areas to light that we can work on to improve climate. Your lunches are a concrete gesture of your interest in continuing that dialog and such gestures back up your words. But what else is being done to follow-up on these issues of power and inclusion? What is or will be done to train managers to respond more respectfully and inclusively?
Ø The Policy on Consensual Relations has been approved and then distributed again as a reminder; a good move. The suggestions from off campus and on that we revisit it were duly derailed. I doubt that we have heard the last of these challenges.
Ø The number of women faculty and departments with more than one women faculty is slowly increasing. (However, five departments remain at that abysmal level.) More women are needed, as are more people of color.
Ø The new plan developed by AAEO’s subcommittee on Recruitment and Retention of People of Color is another positive step. If Dr Mary Lee Vance is an indication of the caliber of women of color we can attract then we are headed in the right direction. (Though let me remind you, Dr Trina Redmond, an equally talented and articulate woman of color, left after two years, fed up with the racism and sexism on this campus. If we are not careful that could happen again. There are still many here who are uncomfortable with strong women, and especially with strong women of color and intellect.) The freeze and budget restrictions make progress in recruitment in this area difficult but not impossible so it is crucial that we go move ahead with that commitment.
Ø We held a Title IX Anniversary Reception and began discussions inside Athletics on improving the climate, a first step. It will take time, constant pressure, and persistence to get momentum there. The campus has a male/female ratio of 42/58, but an athletic operating expense ratio of 55/45, and a recruiting budget ratio of 63/37. There is apparently little internal or external pressure to move towards parity. Changes in directing and oversight would help tremendously with that momentum. Without that, both Athletics and Health and Human Performance may stand as monuments to “business as usual”, a` la 1953 rather than 2003.
Ø The development of a Classified Council and the recent efforts to extend a warm welcome to classified staff and to bring them more into the community is laudable and has great potential. Classified staff add a tremendous amount of energy to campus and are so often overlooked that this Council could tap into a wealth of new ideas and creative solutions. (I wonder how many departments turned to their classified support to help them find budget savings ideas.) They and academic staff need more opportunities for an active program of mentoring and career development. As you model respect for them and their role, we may chip away at the engrained habits of discourteous and disrespectful behavior shown them. The decision by the Governor not to support the Classified contract comes at a hard time and, while we cannot change that, we ought to find ways to support their work environments and the work they do.
Additionally, this budget process underway is hard on everyone. Morale is hurting and everyone is watching. Such times require increased vigilance because of our tendency under pressure to fall back on old behaviors. It becomes crucial that budget cuts and position decisions be scrutinized from many perspectives – including that of gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, age, able-ism, and other diversities. Progress may be slowed, but regression is neither necessary nor acceptable. We strongly recommend that administration seek out and listen carefully to the full diversity of opinions.
In conclusion, the Standing Committee continues to see progress and to create progress, even as old and new problems become more apparent. In response to the Provost’s initial response, we would like to be able to say a year from now: here is some proof of the progress and here is where we, collectively as a campus and especially its leadership, need to continue our work. In the meantime:
Ø We intend to work with the Office of Multicultural Affairs on a climate survey this spring and then follow up with focus groups in the fall and an updated report on the Status of Women and Gender Issues to follow;
Ø We will continue with out Task Forces, Issues Group, and collaborative work with other groups, primarily here on campus, interested in improving climate;
Ø We promise to remind you to be vigilant and to point out areas that appear problematic and in need of your attention.
Respectfully submitted,
Suzanne C Griffith, Chair