University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Chancellor's Committee on the Status of Women

Meeting Minutes

3:00-5:00 p.m., 500 Swanlund Administration Building

1. Approval of Minutes from September 29, 2002 meeting: Minutes Approved
2. Announcements
   1. Heidi Johnson will take place of member Emily Bland on CCSW committee
   2. Next Meeting: Tuesday November 19, 2002
   3. Informational postcards
      1. The committee discussed the need and effectiveness of informational postcards. Routine informational postcards were distributed in past years to all female graduate students, staff, and faculty. Members agreed that yearly informational postcards and posters, in addition to e-mail reminders, are effective ways to advertise the committee and its events. However, the CCSW website may currently serve the same function for those who have dedicated computers. Deanie Brown expressed a concern that some women on campus without dedicated computers may not be aware of CCSW and its efforts.
   4. CCSW Commitment to Action Chart
      1. CCSW has implemented a Commitment to Action Chart for use at regular meetings. The CCSW Commitment to Action Chart is in a format comparable to that of the Commitment to Action Chart displayed in the Executive Summary for the National Initiative for Women in Higher Education. The Committee will use the chart as a method for listing issues/concerns, as well as keeping track of the current status of each issue. During monthly meetings, delegated members will report on specified issues/concerns.
3. New Business
   1. CCSW 2001-2002 Annual Report
      1. The CCSW 2001-02 Annual Report was distributed and discussed. The committee discussed projects and initiatives stated for continuation in 2002-2003:
         1. Completing the status report on undergraduate women: Member Pat Morey discussed the difficulty in completing the status report due to a lack of continuity of graduate assistantships. The status report is a survey of women undergrads and their perceptions of various issues on campus. The status report has been written but not yet sent out. The web-based survey will be offered to a random sample of undergraduate women with monetary rewards given to the "nth" student who completes the survey. Delegated members Susanne Aref and Pat Morey will update the committee on the completion of this report.
            1. By contrast, the Senior Survey has been sent and analyzed. It is sent yearly to all senior students including men and women.
         2. Monitoring the implementation of recommendation of the Diversity Initiative Committee and the Gender Equity Committee (Task Force): Delegated member Kal Alston will oversee recruitment issues, and member Kathleen Pecknold will monitor retention. Kal and Kathleen are also responsible for monitoring "exit interviews." Member Heidi Johnson will be asked to serve as the CCSW representative on the Diversity Committee.
         3. Monitoring faculty women's salary through the salary equity study: Monitored by Carol Livingstone, the salary equity study, conducted yearly, examines the percentage of salary discrepancies, or salaries that are under the norm. The next salary study will be released in January 2003.
         4. Monitoring Faculty Excellence, TOPPS, and other new hires: Delegated member Kathleen Pecknold will monitor and inform the committee of issues concerning new hires. The next set of statistical information will be available in March 2003.
         5. Monitoring Progress in Childcare Facilities: Kathleen Pecknold discussed four activities surrounding childcare facilities.
            1. Newly expanded Child Development Facility: The new facility will consist of 96 childcare openings, of which 24 will be for babies, 24 for toddlers, and the remainder for 2-3 year-olds. The facility is scheduled to open January 6, 2003. Any ideas for celebration of the facility's opening should be e-mail to kpecknol@uiuc.edu.
            2. The Chancellor has written a letter in support of the construction of a childcare facility adjacent to the MTD remote lot (near Assembly Hall). Expenses for the childcare facility will be covered by transportation dollars. The federal government will pay 80% of construction costs. Under the management of Bright Horizons, the childcare facility is expected to have 80-110 slots.
            3. Proposal for drop-in childcare program is being developed. Partnered with United Way, the childcare program will prepare children for school. The childcare program is designed for working parents. Member Victoria Gonzalez expressed a concern for a program for children who are too old for childcare and too young to stay at home alone.
            4. A Request for Proposal (RFP) is ready to go out for providing sick childcare and/or possibly eldercare for elder parents.
         6. Monitoring the implementation of CCSW's proposal for mentoring: Delegated member Kathleen Pecknold is responsible for updating the committee on the status of this issue. The Provost will send letters to deans to monitor the progress of their units concerning mentoring.
         7. Continuing to express the need on campus for domestic partner's benefits: A proposal will be sent to the Board of Trustees (BOT) in November providing benefits for same sex partners. Seven of 11 CIC schools have same sex benefits (Minnesota Model). Same sex benefit policies would provide the equivalent amount of what state would cover for a spouse.
   2. Analyze deficiencies and improve the state of women's restrooms across campus: Delegated member Deanie Brown updated the committee on surveys conducted by custodial staff, examining the condition and status of every restroom on campus. The location of diaper-changing stations was also reported. Deanie Brown will provide the committee with a report summarizing the research conducted.