University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Chancellor's Committee on the Status of Women

Meeting Minutes

October 28, 2003

I. Announcements

A. Welcome to all student members: Lynda Cabrales and Annice Fisher!

B. Please mark your calendars for our next meeting date:  Tuesday, December 2, 2003, 3:00-5:00 pm
    @ 500 Swanlund Administration Building.  The Committee will not meet during the month of
    November because of Thanksgiving.

II. Old Business

A. Approval of April 29, 2003, Minutes with revisions, and September 23, 2003, minutes as is.

B. Rape Awareness and Prevention Committee - CCSW Undergraduate Student Representative update
     by Annice Fisher

1. No report as committee has not met thus far.

C. Senate Equal Opportunity Committee - CCSW Representative update by Linda Beale

1. Problems arise when defining "flexibility" in terms of the flexible tenure process.

2. Developing a practice of probing University faculty's views on what "flexibility" should
    mean.

D. CCSW Flyer - report by Secretary Marcy Townsend

1. Completed, however, issues remain with duplication due to copyrights of the proposed
    image.  A new, and legally reproducible image will be produced and used in place of the
    existing one.

E. CCSW 2002-2003 Annual Report - report by Secretary Marcy Townsend

1. Completed and distributed at meeting.  Remaining copies will be brought to next meeting
    for those who did not pick one up, or who were not in attendance today.

III. New Business

A. Update on Campus Conduct, Sexual Harassment, and Gender Discrimination issues on campus -
     report by guest Mary Ellen O'Shaughnessey, Associate Director of Academic Human Resources.

1. Process started in 1995 when Chancellor Aiken wanted to update the current
    University's policy and procedure of sexual harassment and discrimination.  CCSW was
    instrumental in this process in that the committee insisted on the employment of
    workshops to educate women.

2. New policy referred to as "Campus Conduct."

3. Issues and topics covered by new policy are based around this central question:  What
    does it mean to be a good and respectful colleague? (re: gender, race, ethnicity, sexual
    orientation, etc.)

4. Presentations are given not only to University-wide functional gatherings (like Freshman
    Orientation), but also to individual units (such as residence halls and Schools within the
    University).

a. Small group workshops seem most effective.

b. Intent vs. Impact:  do people really realize what they are doing? 
    Sometimes people do not know they behave in inappropriate ways until
    they are educated.

c. Behavior Counseling vs. Resource Counseling:  instead of just telling
    people how to behave, they need to know what to do and where to go if
    misconduct happens.

5. Posters and Postcard mailings were developed to raise awareness in University
    community.

a. Great backlash to the Provost's Office because of these mailings.  People
    saw the production of these things as "wasteful."  Some complaints went so
    far as to condemn the University for promoting such a policy.

6. Highlight of the new campus conduct program is the anonymous website to register
    complaints against individuals within the University population.  This idea was unpopular
    at first during the planning stages, however it has proven enormously effective.

a. 68 complaints (many very serious) have been received to date; 62 of those
    pertain directly to UIUC.

7. Confidentiality can never be promised due to legal issues pertaining to individual cases,
    however, the victim's feelings towards confronting the issue are always fully
    accommodated.

8. Issues still remain with student knowledge of the Campus Conduct policy and its
    available resources.  Perhaps better integration into student affairs groups and freshman
    dormitories will raise awareness.

a. The University at a smaller scale, such as within these individual units, need
    to take ownership of this issue.  Otherwise, misconduct will continue to
    thrive in such a misinformed environment.

9. CCSW suggestions to better educate the University

a. Do not rely solely on mass email:  many automatically delete such
    messages, or some do not even use email.

b. Postcard mailings seem most effective by reaching each individual.

c. Since most first year students go through University Housing, they are
    potentially the best audience.  Perhaps by having workshops around
    November, when new students are better adjusted, would be most
    effective.

d. Attempt to reach both newcomers and longtime colleagues.  Some
    longtime colleagues feel more comfortable on the job, and hence take
    liberties in their speech and actions that may be inappropriate.

10. Mary Ellen O'Shaughnessey may return later in the year for a follow up to this meeting.

B. Review on current status of women's spaces on campus - report by Jacque Kahn

1. Unable to attend, will report at a later date

C. Open discussion and updates on Commitment to Action Chart

1. Kathleen Pecknold will be meeting next week with Jack Dempsey regarding women's
    restrooms on campus.  Will report at next meeting.

2. Kathleen Pecknold and Carol Bresnahan will be discussing the University of Michigan
    mentoring program with Sarah Mangelsdorf, current Head of Psychology, and a
    colleague of Sarah and Chancellor Nancy Cantor's, who was involved in the Michigan
    program.  Both will report back at the next meeting.

3. Kathleen Pecknold reported that the Success by 6 Leadership Committee, chaired by
    Chancellor Nancy Cantor, heard a report on the Drop-In Childcare Program, which is
    up and running successfully.  The committee also approved the implementation of a Sick
    Child Care Program, which will be run by Family Service of Champaign County, a
    not-for-profit agency with current elder care programs.

4. Kathryn Anthony reported that she has contacted with Carol Livingstone of the Division
    of Management Information about monitoring faculty women's salaries.  There is no
    report to give thus far, as this is only done every other year due to budget cuts.  There is
    an upcoming report for January 2004, and will be reported to CCSW in early Spring
    Semester.

5. Joyce Wright announced that she could aim to report on Women Administrators of
    Color during her Sabbatical during Spring Semester in 2004.

6. Joyce Wright requested that CCSW try to intervene in getting the restroom on the upper
    floor of the undergrad library repaired.  One toilet stall has been missing a door for over a
    year.  Numerous requests to repair this have been unsuccessful to date. 
    Kathryn Anthony will contact Jack Dempsey, Executive Director of Facilities and
    Services, on behalf of CCSW to follow up.

7. Kathryn Anthony reported that Chancellor Nancy Cantor expressed great enthusiasm in
    updating the portraiture across campus and is willing to commission portraiture projects
    as needed.  There is no need to research the problem, as a discrepancy is already
    recognized.  CCSW is to brainstorm ideas about where new portraits are needed (what
    are potential places with captive audiences), and what they are to depict.  Included in this
    can be images usually not portrayed on our campus, such as events, scenes, portraits of
    individuals or groups like women and persons of color, etc.