Current Issues in Faculty Development and Equity
Candid Conversation about Diversity in Graduate Studies
The Chronicle of Higher Education, December 13, 2011
On Dec. 6-10th, 2011 in Scottsdale, Arizona, over 600 leaders of colleges and universities around the nation met for the Council of Graduate Schools’ 51st annual conference. While session topics ranged from globalism to grants, several graduate deans convened for an impromptu, candid conversation on the topic of diversity. They pointed out the lack of racial diversity at the conference itself as a reflection of higher education at large. Also, they stressed a bottom-up approach to diversifying higher education: institutions should increase the rates of underrepresented minority undergraduates in order to create a more diverse postgraduate, faculty, and administrative community.
New Book Explores Aging in Academia
Inside Higher Ed, December 7, 2011
Yale University Press has recently published a book by University of Michigan Law professor, William Ian Miller, entitled Losing It: in which an aging professor laments his shrinking brain, which he flatters himself formerly did him noble service. In the book, Miller explores six aspects of aging, including mental decay, wisdom, complaint, retirement, personal reflection, and, lastly, “how to out in style.” Miller, who has a J.D. and Ph.D. in English from Yale, credits the security of his tenure position with his ability to investigate such a “tragic-comic” topic, although he begrudgingly acknowledges that tenure has put the onus on deciding when to retire onto academics themselves.
"Micro-Biases" Cause Women to Abandon Engineering Careers, According to Study
American Sociological Association, October 25, 2011
A recent study from Stanford University’s Clayman Institute for Gender Research challenges the long-held assumption that women engineering students leave the profession because of life choices such as raising children. Instead, according to the study’s lead author, Erin Cech, women engineering students typically develop less confidence in their engineering abilities, despite their equal – if not greater – GPA’s as their male counterparts. In Cech’s words, this inequality “stems from very subtle differences in the way that men and women are treated in engineering programs and from cultural ideologies about what it means to be a competent engineer.” Authors suggest remedying these “micro-biases” by inviting women engineers into the classroom as guest speakers as well as promoting internships and mentoring relationships.
Couple Sheds Light on University’s Unequal Health Care Policy
Chicago Tribune, October 14, 2011
In June 2011, Northwestern University professor Robert Fourer and DePaul University professor Sandra Maria Benedet entered into a civil union partially because they support equal rights for same-sex couples. When Fourer attempted to add Benedet – his partner of four years – to Northwestern’s top-tier PPO insurance plan, he was told that he could not on the basis of Benedet’s gender. According to the current policy, same-sex domestic partners can enroll in the university’s PPO plan, but opposite-sex domestic partners must get married in order to enroll in the plan. Benedet says, “I was not only disappointed by Northwestern's position on opposite-sex civil unions, but was angered by it, and knew that Bob and I had to do something about it.”
The National Science Foundation (NSF) Announces New Flexible, Family-Friendly Policies
Inside Higher Ed, September 27, 2011
Female scientists are twice as likely as male scientists to regret not having more children, according to a study released by Rice and Southern Methodist Universities in August 2011. In response to this study and in an effort to increase the rates of female tenure-track faculty in STEM fields, the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced a series of new policies related to federal research grants. The NSF will allow grant suspension for parental leave, fund more research on the effectiveness of pro-female scientist policies, and permit virtual peer review panels. Researchers behind the Rice and Southern Methodist Universities studies hope that universities will follow the NSF’s lead and adopt similarly flexible, family-friendly tenure policies.
