Female & Underrepresented Minority Faculty
Recruiting & Retention Task Force
(aka Task Force or FUMFRR)
Accomplishments
AY 2007-2008
The Task Force met 9 times during the AY07-08 year. One meeting was
cancelled due to an ice storm (February 11, 2008). There were several major
topics that recurred throughout the year. These included child care (6 meetings),
FMLA (4 meetings), the survey of women at the Missouri University of Science &
Technology (S&T) (4 meetings), the Women’s Resource Center (3 meetings), and
the Wine & Cheese reception (5 meetings). The number of meetings given to any
selected topic does not reflect the amount of time devoted to the subject, but only
the fact that the item was on multiple agendas.
In addition, there were several items that were discussed only 1 time, but
had significance to the Task Force. These included a discussion of S&T’s
commitment to diversity, a discussion of getting a mentoring workshop through the
MU-System office, and a report on the hiring of women and minorities for AY
2008-2009.
Significant Topics Considered by the Task Force
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Child Care (on going)
FMLA (adopted by UM System ref: Collected Rules & Regulations
340.070)
Women’s Survey (completed April 2007; compiled and organized in
Summer 2007; presented & discussed in September 2007)
Women’s Resource Center (on going)
Wine & Cheese Event (held January 2008; others on going)
Creation of website to aid in finding jobs for S&T faculty recruits’ spouses
(on going)
Major Issues
Child Care (on going)
Dr. Bih-Ru Lea, Assistant Professor, Business Administration, conducted a
child care survey at S&T in AY 2006-2007. Task Force discussions began with a
review of the survey results showing there was, indeed, a need and desire for a
daycare facility. The most significant problem with a daycare facility on campus is
funding for the facility, its maintenance, and staffing. Information related to
university-affiliated daycare was collected throughout the year. In April 2008,
Provost W. Kent Wray met with Representative Joanne Emerson (R-MO) in
Washington, DC. to discuss this need. The Congresswoman said that Congress
was reluctant to fund “bricks and mortar” projects; however, she suggested that
the university seek a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture which
has a $6 million fund for projects like daycares in rural areas (with populations
under 20,000). This will be pursued in AY 2008-2009.
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) (completed in 2008)
The major concern for the Task Force with FMLA was consideration
needed for female professors at all ranks who desire release time from teaching,
research, and service obligations to attend to family and medical matters. The
Task Force endorsed a policy that would allow said professors to put tenure “on
hold” for one year, that said professors would not be “penalized” for taking a
semester off from university responsibilities, and that said professors would not be
“made” to teach in the summers to “make up” for “lost” classes due to their
maternity or medical leave.
The University of Missouri System has incorporated many of the ideas of
the Task Force into their Collected Rules and Regulations. In fact, in January
2008, the MU System approved FMLA; however, it is presently being revised to
include military leave for employees. The military leave will not affect the leave
policy for faculty members.
In addition, it was recommended that chairs of departments and heads of
units on campus must be kept better informed about policies related to female
professors in need of tenure extensions and time off for family needs.
It was brought to the attention of the Task Force that some women on
campus would prefer to discuss personal matters, such as pregnancy, with a
female colleague instead of speaking with a male chair and/or male administrator.
Women’s Survey (completed in September 2007)
In Spring Semester 2007, a survey was sent to all female professors (all
ranks), lecturers, instructors, and so on to inquire about how they feel about
working at S&T. Elizabeth Cummins, Professor Emeritus of English, conducted
the survey, gathered the results, and gave a presentation to the Task Force in
September 2007.
After several discussions, the Task Force decided to focus on the top 4
responses: strengthen the position of women at S&T, ensure gender equity,
provide family-friendly options, and promote spousal/partner hiring whenever
possible. The need for a Women’s Resource Center was one significant outcome
from the Women’s Survey (see next item).
Women’s Resource Center (on going)
Based on the need identified in the Women’s Survey, the Task Force
developed a proposal for a Women’s Resource Center (WRC) that was
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considered by the University’s Panel of Peers in their review of proposals for new
University programs. The Panel endorsed the WRC proposal, and Chancellor
Jack Carney endorsed the creation of the WRC at a meeting on April 28, 2008. All
female faculty and Task Force members were invited to that meeting. Chancellor
Jack Carney has since charged the Task Force with developing a mission and
mission statement for the Center, outlining the duties and qualifications of the
Center’s director, describing how the Center will operate, and working within a
$50,000/year budget.
Mariesa Crow, Finley Professor of Electrical Engineering, will head the
committee devoted to the creation of the new Center. The proposal is due to the
Chancellor by October 1, 2008. Dr. Crow indicated that there are numerous
centers around the United States and her committee will collect information, as
well as make site visits at universities similar to S&T, such as Georgia Tech.
Website (on going)
Elizabeth Bax of the Rolla Regional Economic Commission has begun a
website (www.rollaecondev.org) to help find appropriate employment for
professional/educated spouses of our administrative and faculty recruits. It is not
yet linked to the S&T Human Resources website. This needs to be accomplished
in 2008-2009.
Important Issues
Wine & Cheese Reception (annual event; on going)
Part of the assignment of the Task Force was to promote collegiality among
the faculty of the university in professional and social settings. With that in mind,
the Task Force hosted a wine & cheese reception that was open to all faculty and
administrators at all levels. In January 2008, the wine & cheese reception was
attended by about 100 individuals. The comments received after the reception
through an email questionnaire were approximately 96% in favor of the event, and
the comments noted that the event was a successful way to bring together all
members of the university in a positive environment.
The success of the event has led to the Task Force sponsoring a second
wine & cheese in September 2008.
Task Force Documents
These included:
 Various FMLA drafts
 Self-Study draft regarding diversity commitment
 Review of child care articles that discussed the benefits of having
child care facilities nearby
 One page synthesis of the child care issue (presented to
Representative Emerson by Provost Wray)
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Professor Anthony Okafor’s request for more details about the
morale, salaries, numbers, and like information concerning women
and minorities on campus.
Article on “family-friendly” polices
Tasks for AY 2008-2009
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Women’s Resource Center
Address Dr. Okafor’s questions
Wine & Cheese, September 9, 2008
Continue Daycare endeavors
Expand Task Force
Increase S&T awareness of the Task Force’s responsibilities, goals,
and accomplishments
Develop “best practices” to emphasize the Task Force’s mission of
“recruit and retain”
Members of the Task Force, AY 2007-2008
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W. Kent Wray, Provost
Diana L. Ahmad, Associate Professor, History & Political Science
Richard Brow, Curators’ Professor, Materials Science & Engineering
Mariesa Crow, Finley Professor of Electrical Engineering
Larry Gragg, Curators’ Professor, History & Political Science
Frances Haemmerlie Montgomery, Curators’ Professor and Interim
Chair, Psychology
Ronaldo Luna, Associate Professor, Civil Engineering
Francisca Oboh-Ikuenobe, Professor, Geological Sciences
Sahra Sedigh Sarvestani, Assistant Professor, Electrical Engineering
Report compiled and written by Task Force member Dr. Diana L. Ahmad, Associate Professor,
Department of History & Political Science, May 29, 2008.
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