Association of American Colleges and Universities
Program on the Status
and Education of Women
http://www.aacu-edu.org/psew/index.cfm
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[Return to Index of Expertise] Last updated 10/24/02
Contact Information:
1818 R Street, NW
Washington, DC 20009
Phone: 202-387-3760, x426
Fax: 202-265-9532
CENTER DESCRIPTION
Founded in 1971, the Program on the Status and Education of Women (PSEW) at the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) continues AAC&U’s pioneering role in developing and empowering women as transformational leaders of a more engaged and equitable academy. PSEW assists faculty and academic administrators in curricular and pedagogical matters, works with leaders at all levels to improve the campus climate, and promotes institutional policies and practices to ensure women’s full intellectual and leadership potential are tapped. AAC&U is also the administrative home for the National Initiative for Women in Higher Education (NIWHE), an initiative to complete the unfinished business of gender equity in higher education and magnify women’s transformational leadership. The NIWHE web site provides resources for women in higher education as well as instructions for subscribing to the CampusWomenLead listserv (http://www.campuswomenlead.org). AAC&U also administers a web site devoted to issues of diversity broadly defined in higher education. This resource can be accessed at http://www.diversityweb.org.
AREA(S) OF EXPERTISE
Curriculum and faculty development; diversity in higher education and campus climate; feminist thought and scholarship; global issues; higher education; institutional transformation; leadership and leadership development; science and technology; women of color; women's studies development.
RECENT PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES
The National Initiative for Women in Higher Education is a unique alliance promoting a multicultural women-led agenda for the sustained transformation of higher education for the twenty-first century. NIWHE includes leaders and activists from campuses, research centers, government and non-governmental organizations, and the corporate sector. NIWHE advances research, analysis, and collective action to achieve gender equity and engage women's leadership to create diverse, democratic educational institutions. The project maintains a listserv for women in higher education and the web site http://www.campuswomenlead.org..
Curriculum Development
Women and Scientific Literacy: Building Two-Way Streets. Through a grant from the National Science Foundation, PSEW has created a three-year curriculum and faculty development project that aims to integrate new scholarship on women and gender into the content of science courses and feminist science studies into women's studies courses. Ten institutions, guided by an Advisory Board of seven scholars in the field of gender and science, are participating in the initiative. For full campus project description, syllabi, and bibliography, see www.aacu-edu.org/Initiatives/scilit.html
PUBLICATIONS
Financial Aid: A Resource for Women 6th ed., Julie Kuhn Ehrhart and Amanda Lepof (1998). Addresses how and where to begin to find financial aid for education. Also describes the different types of federal grant and loan programs, specific independent scholarships, and how students apply for such aid.
On Campus with Women (OCWW), a quarterly newsletter, is a compact digest of the most relevant trends and issues on campus climate, curriculum, and pedagogy, and new research on women.
The Classroom Climate: A Chilly One for Women?, Roberta M. Hall and Bernice R. Sandler. This document, in which the term "chilly climate" was coined, suggests ways that classrooms emphasize inequalities between men and women and offers concrete suggestions for improving classroom dynamics.
The Campus Climate Revisited: Chilly for Women Faculty, Administrators, and Graduate Students, Bernice R. Sandler with Roberta M. Hall. Looks beyond the classroom to the institutional climate for women as a whole and how to improve it.
Success and Survival Strategies for Women Faculty Members, Bernice R. Sandler. Offers concrete recommendations for improving the overall institutional climate for women faculty members.
Cultural DiversityAsian Pacific American Women in Higher Education: Claiming Visibility and Voice, Shirley Hune. A study of Asian Pacific American women that examines the perils of being seen as a "model minority." Includes recommendations for improving campus climate and developing a more inclusive curriculum for all students. Also addresses broadening access, increasing retention, and reforming institutional policies and practices.
Black Women in Academe: Issues and Strategies, Yolanda T. Moses. A study of African-American women, students, faculty, and administrators in higher education and ways that race and gender stereotypes can combine to create double obstacles for black women. Each section includes concrete policy recommendations for creating more open and affirming educational environments.
Hispanic Women: Making Their Presence on Campus Less Tenuous, Sarah Nieves-Squires. A study of Hispanic women in higher education with recommendations and strategies to ensure the full participation of Hispanic women in the intellectual, social, and economic growth of the community.
Achieving Faculty Diversity: Debunking the Myths, Daryl G. Smith, with Lisa E. Wolf and Bonnie E. Busenberg. A report dispelling myths about the labor market for faculty of color. Explores the career experiences of white men and women and minority scholars from three fellowship programs in a variety of disciplines. Examines how and where the candidates found jobs, retention and mobility issues, and projections about the academic job market.
Diversifying the Faculty: A Guidebook for Search Committees, Caroline Sotello Viernes Turner. A crucial resource for successfully recruiting and retaining faculty of color, offering practical suggestions for before, during, and after the search.
Diversity Works: The Emerging Picture of How Students Benefit, Daryl G. Smith. Summarizes and analyzes research on the effects of campus diversity on students from 300 separate studies on diversity in higher education. The evidence documented makes a strong case for the success and importance of diversity initiatives in supporting educational excellence throughout the campus.
The Drama of Diversity and Democracy. Challenges conventional arguments that equate diversity with balkanization and calls on higher education to lead the way in connecting diversity issues, academic excellence, and building inclusive democracies.
Curriculum DepartmentBoundaries and Borderlands: The Search for Recognition and Community in America Seminar. Descriptions and bibliographies taken from "Boundaries and Borderlands," the curriculum and faculty development network of the American Commitments project, featuring readings and seminars from institutes held at Williams College.
Science and TechnologyFrequently Asked Questions About Feminist Science Studies. Describes the contours of this new scholarly area. Free while copies last; also available on web site.
Gender, Science, and the Undergraduate Curriculum: Building Two-Way Streets, Caryn McTighe Musil, Editor. This anthology emerges from AAC&U's curriculum and faculty development project, Women and Scientific Literacy: Building Two-Way Streets. The project examined the core questions: "How can things be done differently to increase the numbers of women who study science, math and engineering?" and "How will the new scholarship about women and gender alter science itself and how science is understood both within its own disciplines and beyond?" The essays in this book demonstrate ways to integrate this new scholarship-known as feminist science studies scholarship--and new teaching practices into basic science courses, for non-majors as well as majors, and into women's studies courses. Authors address issues of course content, pedagogy, institutional change, and policy. They describe new and revised courses in the fields of biology, chemistry, mathematics, engineering, history, physics, and women's studies.
Rx for Success: Improving the Climate for Women in Medical Schools and Teaching Hospitals, Julie Kuhn Ehrhart with Bernice R. Sandler. Short paper that suggests strategies for improving the lives of women medical students.
Warming the Climate for Women in Academic Science, Angela B. Ginorio. This report provides a review of women's status as undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty members in science, mathematics, and engineering.
Academic Mentoring for Women Students and Faculty, Roberta M. Hall with Bernice R. Sandler. Offers a blueprint for establishing successful mentoring programs.
The Courage to Question: Women's Studies and Student Learning, edited by Caryn McTighe Musil. Reports from seven colleges and universities assessing student learning in women's studies courses.
Executive Summary of The Courage to Question, edited by Caryn McTighe Musil. A summary designed to make core research findings from The Courage to Question accessible to a wide audience.
Students at the Center: Feminist Assessment, edited by Caryn McTighe Musil. Collection of assessment tools and frameworks that can be used by a variety of disciplines to assess what students are learning in their courses.
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