Women's Leadership Program: A Case Study
This article, written by Cynthia Berryman-Fink, Brenda J. LeMaster, and Krisi A. Nelson and published by the Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U), examines the Women's Leadership Program at the University of Cincinnati. To promote gender equity, a Women's Leadership Program was developed using campus resources and based on careful research and planning. This case study follows the development and achievement of the three-year-old project and indicates directions for its future. To read the article, published in the winter 2003 issue of AAC&U's quarterly Liberal Education, visit www.aacu.org/liberaleducation/le-wi03/le-wi03Perspective.cfm.

Women Make Movies: Girls Go Global
Established in 1972, Women Make Movies (WMM) is a multicultural, multiracial, non-profit media arts organization that facilitates the production, promotion, distribution, and exhibition of independent films and videotapes by and about women. The organization provides services to both users and makers of film and video programs, with a special emphasis on supporting work by women of color, through its Distribution Service and its Production Assistance Program. The Distribution Service, WMM's primary program, is the leading distributor of women's films and videotapes in North America and works with organizations and institutions that utilize non-commercial, educational media in their programs. The Production Assistance Program provides training, fiscal sponsorship, and information services to independent media artists.

WMM has recently announced its NEA-funded new initiative, The Girls Project, a unique collection of films and videos centered on girls' lives around the world. With a mix of 25 documentary, shorts, and feature-length films, The Girls Project introduces young women to their counterparts around the world, encourages dialogue on a number of issues--including sexuality, peer pressure, cultural identity, and body image. To support the use of these films in classrooms and community centers, WMM has created teaching modules and study guides to facilitate dialogue about the films and the issues they portray. For more information about The Girls Project or Women Make Movies, call (212) 925-0606 or visit www.wmm.com.

Women in Science Award
Susan Staffin Metz, executive director of the Lore-El Center for Women in Engineering and Science at the Stevens Institute of Technology, has been chosen to receive the Maria Mitchell Association's annual Women in Science award. The Lore-El Center works to introduce girls to careers in engineering and science and provides academic and professional development for undergraduate and graduate students. As the site of WEPAN, Women in Engineering Programs and Advocates Network, Eastern Regional Center, the Lore-El center also conducts research on women in engineering and science and develops training material and curricula. The Maria Mitchell Association, named for the first woman Professor of Astronomy, supports scientific research and education. Metz will receive the $10,000 on October 3.

Making Sense of the Gender Gap in Higher Education
The Urban Institute will be conducting research to examine the widening gender gap in higher education. Data from the U.S. Department of Education indicate that by 1996 there were 8.4 million women and 6.7 million men enrolled in college, with the largest gap among African Americans. The study, to be conducted by Dr. Paul Offner and Dr. Glen Cain and supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, will study three cohorts of students who graduated from high school in 1972, 1982, and 1992. By including analyses of African Americans, Hispanics, and, if the data allow, Native Americans, the research will bring a more nuanced and balanced perspective to the existing literature on the gender gap in education.

Duke University Takes Action to Improve Campus Equity
Duke University's Women's Initiative has recently released its report on the status of women--from undergraduate, graduate and professional students to faculty and staff--on campus. One of the significant findings of the study, which draws on data from surveys and focus group interviews, is that while women are equally represented at the undergraduate and graduate levels and in several professional schools, the percentage of women assistant professors has remained stagnant. In her introductory essay, Duke President Nannerl O. Keohane argues that these and other findings discredit "trickle up" or "pipeline" hypotheses. Further, the Women's Initiative findings challenge the idea that the pipeline is "leaky" at all stages, a common explanation for why the many women graduate students are not making their way, eventually, to tenured faculty positions and academic leadership roles. Keohane argues instead that the pipeline is blocked, not leaky, at particular points, including such key moments as tenure review, promotion to full professor, or transition to senior administrative leadership positions.

As for students, the report uncovers a suffocating atmosphere for women students, who are expected to achieve "effortless perfection" and conform to strict cultural norms that dictate everything from diets and clothing to interest in leadership and achievement in academics. Much like the staff at the University of Arizona, Duke staff members reported difficulties with work/life balance, pay equity, professional development, and work environment.

Although the full report has just been issued, many of the recommendations in it have already been implemented. For instance, Duke recently announced its new parental leave benefit, which will provide greater support for Duke employees who are balancing the demands of work and family life. The new policy allows eligible staff three weeks of parental leave with base pay and is designed to allow employees to save their vacation and sick time for other needs. Employees, female or male, make take the leave for the birth or adoption of a child. Other recommendations being implemented include the expansion of Duke's childcare center and enhanced tenure-clock relief and parental leave policies for faculty.

To read the full report, visit www.duke.edu/womens_initiative/index.html.

Beefing Up Sexual Assault Policies
Campus sexual assault policies are getting a second look across the nation, according to Michelle Moye of AAUW's Legal Advocacy Fund. The scrutiny comes in the wake of reports of problems with the U.S. Air Force Academy's policies and procedures, as well as court cases and investigations into such policies on other campuses. After public charges by more than 50 female cadets that the Air Force Academy failed to punish offenders and penalized victims, as well as a congressional investigation into the matter, the Academy has implemented new policies and changed leadership. Moye points to several other high-profile cases that are prompting colleges and universities to review their own policies. A former Yale University student is suing the university for allegedly failing to take action to protect her against harassment when she was raped. Harvard University's new sexual harassment policies are under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights. The policy requires victims to produce "corroborating evidence" of sexual misconduct before the university will even launch an investigation. While Harvard claims the policy is intended to protect victims and the accused, critics argue that the policy violates Title IX legislation.