Commission on the Status of Women
Minutes
Friday, September 20, 2013; 1:00 – 2:00pm
Little Niagara, Davies Student Center
The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is charged with making recommendations to the Chancellor
regarding issues, policies, and initiatives affecting women, as well as seeking input from and providing
information to those individuals, departments, units, and organizations interested in the status of women.
ATTENDANCE: Teresa O’Halloran, Jody Schneider, Mary Canales, Judy Gatlin, Christopher Jorgenson,
Asha Sen, Brittany Matti, Theresa Kemp, Grace Deck, Casey Coughlin, Shelley Mather, Mitra Sadeghpour,
Kate Hinnant, Arin Vanwormer
Welcome & Introductions
APPROVE PAST MINUTES:
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May 5, 2013 – Not Available
FUTURE MEETINGS:
 Discussed duration & frequency of meetings and decided to meet for 1.5 hours once a month, 2nd or
3rd Friday
 Teresa will identify which future meeting the Chancellor will attend
 Future meetings will be held from 1-2:30 pm in Council Oak (Rm 260) Davies Center
o Friday, October 11
o Friday, November 15
o Friday, December 13
o Friday, January 24
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
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Guest speakers: Pam Forman & Ellen Mahaffy
o Shared information, posters, & flyers on the upcoming Eau Queer Film Festival, to be held in
Woodland Theater, Davies Center, October 2-6.
o Opening film & reception with the filmmaker will be Wednesday October 2 beginning at 7 pm.
The filmmaker is available for classes, individual meetings, dinner, etc. If faculty is interested to
have her attend a class or meet w/her individually, contact Pam or Ellen to schedule.
o Pam & Ellen have been working to secure baseline funding for the film festival so it can
continue beyond this year. If unsuccessful, this will be the final festival event.
Women’s & LGBTQ Resource Center
o Nite Out film series: all films at 7 p in the Woodland Theater-Davies w/free popcorn, soda &
candy
 Chris shared a flyer for the entire series
 Next film will be September 25, “Saving Face” a 45 minute film with a discussion to
follow
 The film scheduled for November 27, “Soldier’s Girl” is now November 12
o By-stander Intervention Training
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New 4-hour training being developed. It will be offered as a pilot via focus groups to
gather feedback before it is opened more broadly to the campus community
 Chris has met w/Amanda from CASA and is gathering information and resources to
share with participants as well as skills training exercises for how to act and what to do
when faced with a bias incident.
 The goal is to have the training for anyone interested; ultimately envision it as a “train
the trainer” model in the future.
o Internships available
 There will be two (2) internships available at the Center beginning in January 2014
 Very flexible schedule/hours with wide variety of opportunities available
 Share internship opportunities with students and direct any questions to Chris J.
Women’s Studies
o Asha shared that WMNS will be hosting Women’s Writing open house every other Wednesday
from 4-5 pm in the Hibbard Penthouse. All are welcome to attend to share their writing or
listen to the words of others.
o Next event is September 25.
Other Announcements
o Mitra -Women of Hass
 Mitra provided an update on the Women of Hass history project. She has been
collaborating with Gretchen Peters and several students to identify women and their
roles in the UWEC music department over time. They reviewed year books and music
ensembles to collect data. Conclusion: women are missing from many areas of UWEC
music including the curriculum and performances.
 They brought the research results to the Music Department; their efforts led to the
2013-14 Year of Inclusivity. There will be a website, events, and showcase in the lobby.
There is also a new course, Women & Music.
 CSW would like to invite Gretchen and her students to present their research results and
meet in Hass once the showcase is ready for public viewing. Mitra will contact Gretchen
to assist in setting up this meeting.
o Centennial Celebration
 Mitra shared that Jim Oberley is the point person for planning the Centennial
Celebration.
 Discussed inviting Jim to a future meeting to hear what is planned thus far and how CSW
can be involved to ensure women are featured in the events/highlights.
NEW BUSINESS:
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Naming of buildings to honor UWEC women and increase visibility of women on campus
o The events occurring in Hass led to a further discussion of naming of buildings, last year’s effort
to influence the naming of the new education building, and possible strategies for naming
building spaces (labs for example) after women.
o There is a UWEC Foundation policy and a UW System policy. UW Madison recently waived their
policy when they named a new building after Aldo Leopold.
o Discussed ways that CSW could advocate for naming space within buildings. This may be an
area for a sub-committee to explore in more detail including current policies for naming
buildings.
CONTINUING BUSINESS:
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Student Health Services
o The committee charged with reviewing the proposals met during the summer.
o The committee will be meeting next month (mid-October) to hear presentations about the two
proposals. Chancellor’s staff and student leaders will attend. These meetings are closed to the
campus community.
Chamber of Commerce Wellness Initiative
o Brittany Matti shared that UWEC was awarded a Bronze for campus wellness efforts.
o Brittany will keep CSW informed of any efforts in the future and if/how CSW can assist.