Work:life Balance

RESEARCH

Center researchers are currently analyzing the results of the Faculty Work-Life Study, a joint project of the Center for the Education of Women and the UM Center for Research on Learning and Teaching. The survey of UM faculty included questions about climate, workload, sources of satisfaction and stress, and incorporate AAUDI questions for comparison to similar institutions.  This project also provides comparison to the 1998 FWLS.

Contingent Faculty in a Tenure Track World - CEW researchers held focus groups with full- and part-time non-tenure track (NTT) faculty at twelve research universities across the country. In total, we conducted 24 ninety-minute focus groups with a total of 343 full- and part-time NTT faculty. A report of the project is available  and a video based on the project explores the responses of focus group members. The project was funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

The National Clearinghouse on Academic Worklife  (www.academicworklife.org) combines into a single website information resources and community discussions to support those who study or participate in academic work.  Up to date articles and policy examples are available on topics ranging from family-friendly benefits, tenure attainment, and faculty satisfaction to policy development, productivity, and demographics.  An email newsletter is also available free to subscribers. This clearinghouse was developed  through a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

The Dual Career Ladder Project, funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, resulted in several publications based on the findings of our institutional survey of U.S. institutions of higher education.  highlighting the numbers, working conditions and perceived contributions of non tenure track faculty.  These are available on the CEW website.

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

CEW’s Advanced Leadership Program offers middle management University of Michigan staff, recommended by their supervisors, an eight-month skill development workshop series and accompanying change management project.  This program has been offered annually for nearly 10 years. 

Focus on Leadership, addresses the need for leadership development and training for staff not yet in key middle-management positions or not yet ready for the more extensive Advanced Leadership Program.  Offered to approximately 30 individuals annually, this program offers participants an introduction to leadership concepts while it assists participants in developing an identity as a potential leader.

Emerging Leaders Iniative  CEW is currently developing an innovative nine-month program for emerging leaders (those with less than 6 years in their career fields) over the course of two years. The program will focus on women from a specific Michigan urban region, combining those from the private and the non-profit sectors.  The program combines in-person sessions, career coaching by senior leaders, and ongoing support and learning using web 2.0 tools including social media and online learning. 

PROGRAMS

CEW offers about 50 programs each term, covering topics such as careers, career change and job searching, work-life balance, leadership development, and focused programs for graduate students and post-docs.  In addition, CEW brings special events and speakers to the campus and community. 

In addition, CEW leads three support networks for University of Michigan women: Women of Color in the Academy Project and Junior Women Faculty Network for women faculty and the Women of Color Task Force for women staff.  These networks offer support, mentoring, and learning opportunities for participants.  The Task Force delivers a campus-wide career conference annually, with about 550 participants. 

CEW provides free counseling to students, faculty and staff of the University as well as to women and men in the community.  Each year over 1,000 adults are seen by CEW’s professional counselors.

Post-Apartheid South Africa: Creating Critically Leaderful Schools that Make a Difference, 
Juliet Perumal, University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa) and CEW Visting Scholar, 2007.

How American Men's Participation in Housework and Child-care Affects Wives' Careers. 
Renge Jibu, CEW Visiting Scholar

The Gender Impact of the Proposed Michigan Civil Rights Initiative: Research Brief. 
Susan Kaufmann

It Isn't Over: The Continuing Under-Representation of Female Faculty, paper presented at AIR, 
May 18, 2006, Louise August.

Tenure Clock, Modified Duties, and Sick Leave Policies: Creating 'A Network of Support and Understanding' for University of Michigan Faculty Women During Pregnancy and Childbirth, 
Jean Waltman and Louise August

Women and the MBA: Gateway to Opportunity­ (Findings) A joint report from CEW, Catalyst, and the University of Michigan Business School 
Women and the MBA. The full report is available through Catalyst.

The Michigan Faculty Work-Life Study 1999. Executive Summary, Complete Report
.

Visiting Scholar Program

The Visiting Scholar Program is an opportunity for scholars to pursue research projects relevant to women using the vast resources available through the Center for the Education of Women (CEW) and the University of Michigan. Scholars must hold a Ph.D. or equivalent degree. A scholar's stay at the Center can range from one to twelve months, as appropriate to the scholar's research needs. Visiting Scholars prepare a working paper based upon their research, which is published as part of the Center's series of occasional papers.

Robin Wright Graduate Fellowship

The Center for the Education of Women announces the Robin Wright Graduate Fellowship with a grant of up to $3,200. The fund will support research by a graduate student from the Islamic World or Africa matriculating in the Rackham Graduate School.

* The Hadassah-Brandeis Institute 

The WSRC houses The Hadassah-Brandeis Institute (HBI) - the world's first university-based research institute devoted to the study of Jews and gender. The mission of HBI is to produce and promote scholarly and artistic projects and to build a strong, international network of Jewish women.

* Student-Scholar Partnership Program

The goal of the Student-Scholar Partnership is to match undergraduate women and men with scholars at the WSRC and faculty affiliated with the Women's Studies Program to work collaboratively on research or artistic projects. The emphasis of the program is to enable students and scholars/faculty to work collectively on projects that focus on women and women's issues in many different fields. Two unique aspects of the program include emphasis on mentoring and students' contributions to the projects. The program supports the important work that the scholars/faculty are conducting on women's lives and provides Brandeis undergraduates with a unique opportunity to work closely with established professionals in their field of interest.

* The Arts Program

The Arts Program creates a space for the display of and education about women's art. The Program presents exhibitions in the Kniznick Gallery with a particular focus on the display of women's artwork, and provide information on women artists and their achievements. The program also makes studio space, "a space of one's own," available to women artists, and offers educational opportunities and programming to Brandeis students, outside schools, and adult groups.

* The Scholars Program

The Scholars Program of the WSRC is an innovative and mutually supportive community of qualified scholars engaged in significant research and artistic endeavors. Working in the arts, humanities, sciences and social sciences and their intersections, our mission is to focus on questions related to women's lives and gender dynamics. The scholars make intellectual contributions to the local, national, and international communities and advance the social justice mission of the University.

* C-Change: National Initiative on Gender, Culture, & Leadership in Medicine 

ReSearch - the e-zine of the Women’s Studies Research Center at Brandeis University, where research, art and activism converge.

Adelman, Penina, Ali Feldman, and Shulamit Reinharz.The JGirl's Guide: The Young Jewish Woman's Handbook For Coming Of Age. 2005. Jewish Lights Publishing.

Reinharz, Shulamit. 2004. American Jewish Women and the Zionist Enterprise. Brandeis University Press.  

Scholars Program

The mission of the Scholars Program of the Brandeis University Women’s Studies Research Center is to be an innovative and mutually supportive community of Scholars engaged in research and artistic activity. Working in the arts, humanities, sciences and social sciences and their intersections, these researchers and artists focus on questions related to women’s lives and gender dynamics. Advancing the social justice mission of Brandeis University, Scholars contribute intellectually to the University as well as to the broader local, national and international communities.

Student Scholar Partnership

The WSRC Internship Program: Student-Scholar Partners (SSP), currently coordinated by Kristen Mullin, was launched in the spring of 1997 as a project of the Women’s Studies Program at Brandeis University.  Today, the Program continues as an important component of the Women’s Studies Research Center (WSRC).  This paid internship opportunity is designed to give undergraduate students a unique learning experience by allowing them to work side by side with a Scholar or faculty member in an interdisciplinary environment.