The President’s Commission on the Status of Women
Monday, October 11th, 2010
12:00-1:00pm CSU 203
Meeting Minutes
Attendance: Sara Granberg-Rademacker, Rosemary Krawczyk, Heather Camp, Denise
Thompson, Jen Guyer-Wood, Deb Schulz, Jen Turner, Wendy Meyer, Jeni Haddad, Linda
Hanson, Jeane McGraw, Kristin Underwood, Kim Greer, Amy Wagener, Wanda Viento
Regrets: Maria Bevacqua, Greg Wilkins
Absent: Suzie Dugan, Carol Jensen
1. Introductions
2. Chairs will be meeting with the President in two weeks, and will have a revised charge
the next time that the Commission meets
3. Committee Updates
a. Mentor Match Project
i. Met this morning, and went through the timeline from last year
ii. Will send out Mentor Match information to all new women employees
iii. Mentor Match information will also be sent out via campus newsletter and
campus e-mail
iv. Mentor Match was in HR newsletter
v. Committee members will work on researching the different mentor match
programs on campus and what role the PCSW serves in relation to these
other programs
vi. Committee members will also review the website and make notes for any
changes that need to be made
b. Listening Panel
i. Meeting this week
ii. Will need note takers for the event
c. Women of Courage and Vision Recognition Reception
i. Meeting this week
ii. There will be a change in location this year, as the Ballroom will be closed
in the beginning of March
iii. Option of having the Reception in the CSU Hearth Lounge was wellreceived by the attending PCSW members
d. HERS and other opportunities
i. Meeting this week
e. Project of the Year Awards
i. No current updates
f. Research and Professional Development Grants
i. Will be meeting today
4. Other
a. HERS experience
i. Kim Greer
ii. HERS is an alternative to Bryn Mawr Leadership training, which is three
extensive weeks in the summer. HERS is one intense week with two
follow-up weekends
iii. The most outstanding professional development opportunity that she has
ever had, especially because of the outstanding curriculum and faculty
iv. Went in August (2010), had one weekend in September, and her last
weekend is next weekend (mid-October)
v. 50 women with different backgrounds, from all different parts of academia
vi. Curriculum involves spending some time thinking about own career,
where you want to go, formal and informal styles of leadership
vii. Learning about “home” institution as part of your homework
viii. Work on higher education for about a third of the time. This year, first
generation college students was an area of focus
ix. A wonderful opportunity for MSU to continue to support. Perhaps
something to aspire to is to be able to send two women
i. This year there was one other participant from the MNSCU
system, from Bemidji State
ii. When Deb Schultz attended, there was one other participant from
Minnesota, from St. Olaf College
x. Deb Schulz
xi. Through her experience, the realization that MSU is a good university
was solidified with the high prestige it has on many levels
xii. Appreciated the opportunities to talk to the President and Vice President
xiii. Encouraged others (from PCSW) to look at this program
xiv. Last year included information on budget
i. When Jen Guyer-Wood attended, budget and access to education
were both major themes
b. Midwest Women’s Leadership Institute
i. Started as a result of HERS/Bryn-Mawr participants, with a charge from
the President to convey what they have learned. Came out of PCSW
efforts
ii. This year will be held from June 20-24
iii. Encompasses many of the same themes that HERS does, including higher
education, leadership, and career aspirations
iv. 100% of respondents reported that it was an excellent experience
v. Great professional development opportunity for those who HERS is too
big of a commitment
vi. Scholarship applications are available
vii. This year, a focus will be on trying to get women from off-campus to
attend
c. Professional Development Day
i. Extended deadline is the end of October
ii. In the past, have presented on Midwest Women’s Leadership Institute,
HERS, and Bryn Mawr
iii. Kristin Underwood, Heather Camp, Jen Guyer-Wood, Kim Greer, and
Deb Schulz are all interested in taking part in this activity
d. New Women Employee Welcome Reception
i. Suggestion to invite former PCSW members was well-received
ii. Question was raised as to whether or not this event is open to all women
on campus. The clarification explained that this event is really for the new
women employees and their supervisors, as well as co-sponsors and the
President’s Extended Cabinet, as it is meant to be a more intimate
gathering
iii. Should be clearer on the invitation as to who is invited
iv. Too much food was ordered, especially chicken and cake
v. Good feedback on agenda of the event. PCSW members felt that the
message of the PCSW got out, we made an effort to make new women
feel recognized, and gave attendees time to connect
vi. The question of networking was raised- is this meant to be goal of the
event?
vii. Suggestion to ask returning individuals to find someone they do not know
and introduce themselves
viii. Location might be potentially constraining, as people usually stay where
they sit and don’t move around very much. Would we want to consider
changing the location for next year? Possibly the Hearth Lounge?
e. Graduate Assistant Hiring Committee
i. The GA Notice of Vacancy will be sent via e-mail to the PCSW
ii. Invitation for any other PCSW members to be on the Hiring Committee
(along with the co-chairs and the current GA)
i. Heather Camp
ii. Wanda Viento
f. Women’s Center Update- Wanda Viento
i. 12 people working at the Women’s Center, 3 full-time
ii. Som is the new coordinator for Violence Awareness Response Program,
which includes programming and risk reduction for violence against
women
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New peer education theater troupe. 10 students went through the training
“Can I Kiss You” presentation on 10/14
Domestic Violence Vigil 10/13 at fountain
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month
Returning Women’s Mentoring Program is a mentoring program for
women who have come back to school after being out of it for a while.
Mentors are students who have had the same experience, but have been
back in school for two semesters. Every two weeks this group also has a
discussion/networking component, where a different person from oncampus comes to tell the group about different resources
Mommapolooza will take place in January, and there will be a Feminist
Mothering Panel in November
Leadership Conference took place in September
Women of Action Committee (WAC) is a group that provides
programming, leadership skills, and 1-on-1’s with the program
coordinator. This semester, they are doing strength-finder tests to develop
leadership styles
Carol Perkins Lecture Series will be on March 22nd this year. The speaker
will be Jewel Woods, presenting “Feminism and Masculinity: How To Be
A Black Male Feminist.” He speaks about the intersection of race and
gender, as well as black male privilege
Co-sponsoring the Chicana/Latina Mother-Daughter Conference in
November, to expose young Latina women and their mothers to higher
education
g. New Issues
i. Let a PCSW co-chair know if there is an issue you would like the
Commission to be aware of, and it will be added to the next meeting’s
agenda
ii. There is an anonymous feedback form on the PCSW website
i. This is reported to the President, as well as the PCSW as a whole
Minutes submitted by Jeni Haddad