Committee on the Status of Women: Year-End Report
By: Betty Glass
October 5th, 2006
Submitted by: Betty Glass and Indira Chatterjee, Co-Chairs, 2005-06
The Committee on the Status of Women had a very productive year and worked on several issues. Members chose to work on one or two of four subcommittees: Campus Safety, Classified Staff, Faculty, Students. The reports from the four subcommittees, as submitted by the conveners of those subcommittees, are summarized below.
Report from the Subcommittee on Faculty Issues, submitted by Gale Craviso, convener:
Several years ago a survey of Women in Science and Engineering that had been conducted by the subcommittee resulted in a number of recommendations that were made to the University of Nevada, Reno, administration. We have been following up with the administration to determine the status of their response to these recommendations.
In an effort to continue to assess the needs and concerns of women faculty, the subcommittee directed their efforts towards crafting a climate survey instrument that would be appropriate for distribution to all women faculty. The goal was not to craft one de novo but to instead modify climate survey instruments used by the University of Rhode Island, the University of Arizona, and UCLA.
While this effort was underway, we became aware of a campus-wide climate survey that would soon be conducted for accreditation and felt it would be in our best interests to postpone our survey of women faculty until next year. In the meantime, we have had discussions with Eric Herzik, who is charged with conducting the campus-wide climate survey, regarding specific diversity issues we would like to ensure are covered in his survey instrument. We submitted a series of questions to him, half of which he indicated would likely be in the survey plan for accreditation.
Report from the Subcommittee on Student Issues, submitted by Heidi Hurst, convener:
The Student Subcommittee’s main focus this year was to address a variety of student issues on campus by recommending the re-establishment of a campus women’s center.
A full proposal was then submitted at the request of Interim President Crowley, and the committee has received a response. The response essentially states that the recommendations are thoughtful and reasonable, and that President-elect Glick needs to be substantially involved in the discussions of how best to move forward toward implementation.
There was reference to a lean budget for 2006-7 and the need to find a site for the Women’s Center so as to assure it is more centrally located than was the case with the previous center. Dr. Glick will begin his tenure on August 1. He will be apprised of the proposal, the history of the Women’s Center, and related matters. President Crowley requested Heidi Hurst to thank her colleagues on the committee for a job well done. The subcommittee hopes to be able to have meaningful conversations with President Glick and make some progress on the re-establishment of the Women’s center this coming year.
The committee also began evaluating the rights of graduate students as employees and expects to meet with Marsha Read and Mark Brenner over the summer.
The third issue considered was the climate of certain tutoring services on campus, along with the gender imbalance of those seeking tutoring assistance. This issue was incorporated into recommendations made in the women’s center proposal, and further progress on this issue depends on the outcome of that proposal. Members of the committee assisted in planning a women’s social as part of Intercultural Month with the Center for Student Cultural Diversity. The Center was excited about the event and is hoping for future collaborative events.
Report from the Subcommittee on Campus Safety, submitted by Betty Glass, co-chair of the CSW:
The Campus Safety Subcommittee asked all members of the CSW to help obtain input from their various campus colleagues about safety concerns. Co-chair Glass attended a meeting of the Staff Employees Council and got input from that group about safety issues.
Two topics brought to our attention were already being addressed by the Campus Police Dept. and the Faculty Senate: better night lighting around campus with “Blue Light” towers and the placement of the Sierra Spirit Shuttle stops on North Virginia St. at the University Inn and just north of the 9th Street intersection. The City of Reno has taken steps to improve pedestrian visibility in that area by adjusting the Sierra Spirit Shuttle stops.
Other specific concerns were organized into an Excel chart and submitted to Michael Coray and Ron Zurek via e-mail, to be discussed at the President’s Council and forwarded to the appropriate people on campus.
On July 7, 2006, Adam Garcia, Director of Police Services on campus, advised Ron Zurek and other key campus personnel of new solar powered speed signs obtained as part of a Highway Safety Grant that are now installed on Virginia St. near the College St. intersection and on Sierra St. near Artemesia. In-street pedestrian crosswalk lights have been approved for installation and are scheduled to be installed during August 2006, again on Virginia Street (2 locations) and on Sierra St. at the College St. intersection.
NDOT will monitor these devices to determine which are most effective. In a message to the President’s Council on July 8, Ron Zurek noted the CSW Safety Subcommittee’s role in raising awareness for the need for greater pedestrian safety on Virginia and Sierra.
Report from the Subcommittee on Classified Issues, submitted by Betty Glass and Indira Chatterjee, co-chairs of the CSW:
This subcommittee met with the Staff Employees Council and will hopefully be able to coordinate with them to work on issues specific to women classified employees on campus. An effort will be made to recruit more members for this subcommittee for 2006-07.
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