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Engaged Women: Student Engagement Stronger
at Women's Colleges
A new study by the National Survey of Student Engagement reports that
students at women's colleges are more engaged than their peers at
coeducational institutions. The findings reported in "Women Students
at Coeducational and Women's Colleges: How Do Their Experiences Compare?"
are a part of a larger study of student engagement at 290 four-year
colleges, including twenty-six of the sixty-eight U.S. women's colleges.
Compared to women at coeducational institutions, students at women's
colleges report higher levels of academic challenge, higher degrees
of engagement in active and collaborative learning, and more participation
in activities that integrate curricular and co-curricular experiences.
Among women's college students, however, African American and Asian
Pacific Islander report lower levels of satisfaction than do their
white peers. Nevertheless, the authors note that the study's findings
support long-standing claims that women's colleges "offer female students
a more equitable, and therefore a higher quality, developmentally
powerful learning environment." While more research needs to be done
to learn about the policies and practices that shape the learning
environment at women's colleges, the study's findings suggest that
coeducational institutions, which enroll 98% of all female students,
have much to learn from women's colleges about improving the campus
climate and learning environment for all students. To read the full
report, visit www.iub.edu/%7Ensse/pdf/research_papers/ASHE_2003_womens_colleges.pdf.
Gender Equity on Campus: Two AAUW Reports
Two new reports from the American Association of University Women
(AAUW) document women's progress--or lack thereof--towards
achieving gender equity on campus.
Tenure Denied: Cases of Sex Discrimination in Academia (2004)
reports on nineteen cases from the Legal Advocacy Fund's archive of
sex discrimination cases. The focus of the report is not second-guessing
judicial decisions. Instead, Tenure Denied draws on analyses
of these cases to examine the tenure process and describes the difficulty
of pinpointing and proving sex discrimination in the tenure promotion
process. The report also challenges universities to take a closer
look at their hiring and tenure/promotion systems, systems that privilege
the status quo and perpetuate sex discrimination in academia. To read
more about the report or to purchase a copy, visit www.aauw.org/newsroom/presskits/tenure_102004.cfm
Under the Microscope: A Decade of Gender Equity Projects in the
Sciences argues that the first step to achieving gender equity
in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is to understand what has been done thus far and
which approaches have been favored or ignored. To that end, Under
the Microscope examines and analyzes more than 400 gender equity
projects specifically aimed at increasing the participation of girls
and women in STEM disciplines.
The report identifies programmatic patterns, highlights the strengths
and weaknesses of different approaches, and provides both a synthesis
of gender equity projects and a road map for the next generation of
STEM gender equity projects. Visit www.aauw.org/research/microscope.cfm
to learn more about the report or to download a free copy.
Women of Color Research Collective Awarded
Ford Foundation Grant
The Ford Foundation has awarded a $300,000 grant to Delia Saenz, Kathleen
Wong(Lau), and Caroline Turner to examine the role of diversity in
the professoriate in 20 public research universities. The research
project, "Diversification and the Academy," will track changes
in diversification practices related to recent critical Supreme Court
cases and will also examine the experiences of women of color faculty.
Saenz, Wong, and Turner are members of the Women of Color Research
Collective (WoCRC), a national consortium of researchers and higher
education administrators whose main activities involve research on
the participation, contributions, and experiences of women of color
in higher education. WoCRC, based in the Intergroup Relations Center
(IRC) at Arizona State University, also works to identify and develop
best practices in the area of diversification and the academy. Wong
serves as the executive director of WoCRC.
NWSA Announces New Executive Director
After twelve years of volunteer leadership, the National Women's Studies
Association board has decided that the organization has grown significantly
and that the time has come to transition once again to a full-time
executive director. After a national search, Allison Kimmich was appointed
to the executive director position. Dr. Kimmich was among the first
wave of Women's Studies PhDs in the United States, having earned her
master's and doctorate degrees in Women's Studies from Emory University
in Atlanta. She assumes leadership of NWSA after five years at Barnard
College in New York where she was the Director of Pre-College Programs
and taught Women's Studies. Her prior experience includes working
with the Women Involved in Living and Learning program at the University
of Richmond and serving as a consultant for the Georgia Department
of Human Resources' sexual assault prevention program. Jacquelyn Zita,
NWSA president and Associate Professor of Women's Studies at the University
of Minnesota, notes that Dr. Kimmich's leadership in building educational
organizations, graduate training in Women's Studies, teaching experience,
and activist record provide the necessary vision to steward the National
Women's Studies Association into a new era of growth. With more than
2,000 individual and institutional members nationally and internationally,
the National Women's Studies Association has been the leading organization
dedicated to advancing feminist teaching and research for more than
25 years. NWSA conducts and disseminates research on graduate and
undergraduate programs in Women's Studies, hosts an annual conference
to highlight the latest issues in feminist teaching, scholarship,
and activism, and publishes the NWSA Journal.
The Women's Review of Books to
Suspend Production
The Women's Review of Books recently announced that its December
2004 issue will be its last, at least for the time being. Hosted by
the Wellesley Centers for Women (WCW) and in production for over twenty
years, Women's Review costs have risen while subscription
and advertising revenues have fallen over the course of the past ten
years. Editor-in-chief Amy Hoffman attributes the financial difficulties
to several sources: "the faltering economy, the conservative political
climate, the rise of the Internet, the demise of independent bookstores,
cutbacks in library subscription budgets, [and] paper and postage
price increases." Hoffman reports that the Women's Review
can no longer rely on WCW's support alone while continuing to operate
at a loss. Because the financial troubles are chronic, the publication
has decided against making an appeal to readers for more funds. Instead,
production will be suspended while editors search for additional,
long-term support for the Women's Review. For updates on
the status of the Women's Review or to suggest ideas for funding,
visit www.Wellesley.edu/womensreview.
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