MEMORANDUM
TO:
CWU Diversity Council
FROM:
Status of Women Commission
DATE:
May 23, 2005
RE:
End of the Year Report
The main goal of the Status of Women’s Commission for 2004-05 was to become an active, vital,
working commission for the community of Central Washington University. In this regard, it has
been a very successful year for the Status of Women Commission!
We began the year by working to develop a mission statement. The commission on December 8,
2004 approved the final product as follows:
The CWU Status of Women Commission serves as a strong advocate for all women
in the university community by:
 Increasing awareness and understanding of issues affecting all facets of women’s
lives (family, workplace, education, etc.)
 Monitoring and improving campus climate for women;
 Overcoming discrimination against women;
 Promoting opportunities for women to develop skills and to continue their
education; and,
 Recognizing women for their accomplishments.
The Commission annually reports to the Diversity Council and CWU President on
its activities, findings and recommendations for future initiatives and goals.
The commission developed “Priorities for 2005” which support the mission (see attached). We
wanted the priorities to be both long-term and short-term. We wanted to be able to say that we
accomplished some things and that we are continuing to work on others.
Central Washington University
Status of Women Commission
Priorities for 2005
(As composed at December 8, 2004 meeting)
and Accomplishments linked to those Priorities
1.
Develop and launch website for Status of Women Commission.
The Status of Women Commission website is in development. Ms. Anna Creech,
faculty member in the library, has agreed to be the lead on this effort. Software has
been purchased, training has been scheduled, and plans are in the works. The
commission’s website will be linked to the CWU Diversity website at
www.cwu.edu/~cwu_diversity/. Ideally, the website will be fully functional by midsummer.
2.
Sponsor and support community building activities for women.
A potluck gathering to welcome new women faculty was held on Friday, October 22,
2005 in the SUB. About twenty people attended. It was a good beginning to
resurrecting an old tradition.
3.
Analyze Women’s Studies Program.
a. Compare program template with reality.
b. Investigate solid funding and support for Women’s Studies Program.
Sometime soon the Status of Women Commission will meet jointly with the
Women’s Studies Program Advisory Group. Our intention is to find ways that the
commission can be supportive of the Women’s Studies Program. Important areas
may include securing solid funding and support, developing marketing strategies, and
initiating discussion about new classes at the upper division level.
4.
Hold Status of Women Commission gatherings in conjunction with other events,
including:
a. Vagina Monologues (February 4-13, 2005, Empowerment Center)
b. Carol Moseley-Braun lecture (February 24, 2005, Diversity Center)
c. Naomi Wolf (April 12-13, 2005, Office for Equal Opportunity)
The Status of Women’s Commission has lent sponsorship to a few events on
campus including Vagina Monologues, lectures by Carol Moseley-Braun and Naomi
Wolf, as well as the CWU Social Forum. Several gatherings for women have been
held to bring women together to discuss issues and build community.
5.
Support, encourage, and mandate the use of gender neutral language in:
a. General Education and Basic and Breadth courses including English,
b. University 101
6.
Examine and propose curriculum revitalization in terms of women.
Accomplishment on these last two priorities has been slow and will take more than one year to
accomplish. How to support, encourage, and mandate the use of gender-neutral language has been
a topic of conversation. Determining how to best approach this priority through established
academic committees has been daunting. Equally difficult is finding avenues through which to
examine and proposed curriculum revitalization for women. Status of Women Commission
members remain committed to these priorities and will continue to explore ways to advocate for
women. In addition, in the following year, we plan to address the priorities of increasing the
membership and visibility of the committee, and we will continue to collaborate on various
programs that focus on women and gender issues.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank members for their commitment to the status of
women at Central Washington University. We would accomplish nothing without their
involvement.