Feminist Disability Studies
Published by the National Women's Studies Association (NWSA) and edited by Kim Q. Hall, Feminist Disability Studies has emerged in response to the erasure of disabled women from both disability studies and feminist studies. Within disability studies the figure of the emasculated, disabled man has often been the paradigm for critiques of discrimination. And while the body has figured prominently within feminist theory, the body of the disabled woman has often been invisible in the midst of what Susan Wendell has called the "disciplinary practices of physical control" and "disciplines of normality" that have characterized many discussions of embodiment within feminist theory. For ordering information, visit the Indiana University Press web site, iupjournals.org, and for information on membership in NWSA, visit www.nwsa.org.

Sisters Center for WISDOM
Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia recently received a $2 million grant from the Lilly Endowment to prepare leaders for the church and society. Spelman will use the grant to launch the Sisters Center for WISDOM: Women in Spiritual Discernment of Ministry. The Center's goals include increasing awareness campus-wide about religious vocations; increasing the recruitment and retention of students pursuing ministry as a vocation or religion as a major or minor; increasing the number and type of course offerings; and increasing the research and scholarship on black women, vocation, religion, and spirituality. "Ministry means to serve," says Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum, President of Spelman College and the creative thrust behind the name of the project. "This award will support young women in the spiritual exploration of vocation, helping them to identify their particular call to service. Spelman is only one of two historically Black colleges and universities, as well as one of two women's college's to receive this round of the grant from the Endowment." For more information contact Reverend Lisa Rhodes, Dean, Sisters Chapel, 404-221-2054, or visit www.spelman.edu/news/pressrelease/lillyendowment.html.

Helsinki Group on Women and Science
As part of a European Union project aimed at Improving Human Research Potential and the Socio-economic Knowledge Base, the Helsinki Group on Women and Science has overseen the production of national reports of the status of women in science from the thirty European countries. The reports are available in Word and PDF formats on the web site, www.cordis.lu/improving/women/reports.htm. There is also a report entitled "National Policies on Women and Science in Europe" that examines the European nations collectively and can be found at www.cordis.lu/improving/women/policies.htm. The Human Research project supports the training and mobility of researchers from virtually all scientific fields throughout Europe and increases EU expertise in the socio-economic sciences to help understand how to harness Europe's rapidly changing society.

Shirley M. Malcom receives Public Welfare Award
Shirley M. Malcom was selected by the National Academy of Sciences to receive the Public Welfare Medal. Established in 1914 and the academy's most prestigious award, the Public Welfare Medal is awarded annually to honor extraordinary use of science for the public good. Malcom, an African American woman, grew up in the south during the 1950s and 1960s and witnessed first hand the lack of opportunities for minorities in science. Malcom graduated from the University of Washington, Seattle, where she was usually the only African American woman in her science classes. Through her career, Malcom has served as a high school teacher, a college professor, and is currently head of the Directorate for Education and Human Resources of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). In 1976, Malcom co-authored the landmark report "The Double Bind: The Price of Being a Minority Woman in Science," and she has consistently sought innovative ways to increase opportunities in science for women and minorities. R. Stephen Berry, home secretary of the National Academy of Sciences, said that Dr. Malcom has been "at the forefront in making science available to those normally underrepresented in science careers, dedicating her life to making sure that everyone has a chance to succeed." For more information, visit nationalacademies.org/morenews.

Achieving Salary Equity
When facing the ongoing challenge of achieving salary equity or even responding to claims that their institutions have engaged in pay discrimination against women faculty, institutional researchers find that there are no universally accepted guidelines to use among existing salary-equity studies. New Directions for Institutional Research, edited by Robert K. Toutkoushian, executive director of the Office of Policy Analysis for the University System of New Hampshire, covers essential topics that institutional researchers need to understand when embarking on a salary-equity study of faculty and non-faculty. Synthesizing nearly thirty years of research from economics and past studies, New Directions for Institutional Research initiates an important dialogue between scholars and institutional researchers on the methodology and application of salary-equity studies in higher education. For more information on journal subscription information and online accessibility, visit www.josseybass.com/go/hdir.

Gender Equity or Bust!
Gender Equity or Bust!: On the Road to Campus Leadership with Women in Higher Education, written by Mary Dee Wenniger and Mary Helen Conroy illuminates what women can do to transform the culture of higher education into one that honors their values and contributions. For eight years, the monthly newsletter, Women in Higher Education, has reported women's strategic advances in the academy. Gender Equity or Bust! is a compendium of lively, hard-hitting articles from the successful newsletter. Its thematic sections blend serious commentary, research results, and practical advice with wry humor. Readers will find an overview of recent progress as well as effective strategies from women who have changed the academy. Topics include women's leadership and management styles and strategies, valuing the self, sex, and sexuality, playing politics, and much more. For more information visit www.josseybass.com/cda/product/0,,0787959987,00.html.

Virginia Tech Board of Visitors Changes Non-Discrimination Policy
On March 10, 2003, Virginia Tech's Board of Visitors, voted to remove race, gender, and sexual orientation from its anti-discrimination policy, thereby sparking questions about the future of the school’s diversity efforts. Virginia Governor Mark Warner issued a statement after the policy change, in which he said: “I am concerned that the Virginia Tech Board opted to make such a fundamental change in university admissions and employment policies without advance public notice or, in my view, adequate public discussion. To read more about the resolution and reactions to it, visit Virginia Tech’s (www.bov.vt.edu/03-10meeting/notes.html) web site.