Higher Education

While women have made enormous strides in higher education, progress has been uneven. Women now receive a majority of undergraduate degrees but disparities remain, particularly at graduate, doctoral and post-doctoral levels. Colleges and universities still reflect inequities based on race, ability, geography and income. And more efforts must focus on advancing women and women of color into tenured and leadership positions with institutions of higher learning. There is growing concern about the rising cost of higher education and how to improve quality and access. The financial crisis of 2008-09 has shrunk many endowment funds and reduced the number of scholarships available as well as making state and community colleges more competitive and less accessible. The effects of corporatization on college campuses are also a source of concern for the quality and independence of scholarship, including for women’s studies and other inter-disciplinary programs.

Expert Profile

Location:

United States

40° 40' 5.4012" N, 73° 58' 48.234" W

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Lorna Duphiney Edmundson, Ed.D., President Emerita of Wilson College, is recognized as an effective leader, fundraiser, and facilitator of sustainable growth and change in higher education. Dr. Edmundson helps educational institutions build on their distinctions; strengthen finances and planning; create ethnic, racial and gender equity; encourage women and students of color to pursue the sciences; diversify and internationalize campuses; and forge international partnerships. She served as President of Wilson College from 2001-2011 and has held leadership roles at Columbia University, the American University of Paris, Marymount College, Trinity College, and Colby Sawyer College. Dr. Edmundson was honored with the Athena International Leadership Award, an Honorary Degree from Rhode Island College, and an Honorary, Lifetime Membership in Rotary International. She is featured among Asian and U.S. leaders in Women at the Top, by Cheung and Halpern.

Location

Brooklyn, NY 11215

United States

40° 40' 5.4012" N, 73° 58' 48.234" W

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Associated Issues & Expertise:

Mildred Garcia, President, CSU Fullerton

Mildred García, Ed.D., is the incoming president of California State University, Fullerton, and currently serves in that capacity at CSU Dominguez Hills, where she has been since 2007. She is the first Latina president of the CSU system. During her tenure, García has cut costs, boosted enrollment, increased student graduation rates and expanded fundraising. She facilitated the first endowed professorship, the <i>Wallis Annenberg Endowed Professor for Innovation in STEM Education</i>.</p><p>García is a scholar in the field of higher education, and her research and publications have concentrated on equity in higher education and its impact on policy practice.

Associated Issues & Expertise:

Expert Profile

Location:

United States

33° 52' 26.6628" N, 117° 54' 9.486" W

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Mildred García, Ed.D., is the incoming president of California State University, Fullerton, and currently serves in that capacity at CSU Dominguez Hills, where she has been since 2007. She is the first Latina president of the CSU system. During her tenure, García has cut costs, boosted enrollment, increased student graduation rates and expanded fundraising. She facilitated the first endowed professorship, the Wallis Annenberg Endowed Professor for Innovation in STEM Education.

García is a scholar in the field of higher education, and her research and publications have concentrated on equity in higher education and its impact on policy practice. She is a much sought-after speaker at national and international conferences, and serves on the boards of many higher education organizations.

Location

Fullerton, CA 92834

United States

33° 52' 26.6628" N, 117° 54' 9.486" W

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Associated Issues & Expertise:

Increasing Opportunities for Low-Income Women and Student Parents in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math at Community Colleges

Submitted by asklar on Tue, 03/20/2012 - 10:52am

Jobs in science, engineering, technology, and math (STEM) fields are expected to grow by 17 percent between 2008 and 2018, nearly double the growth of all other fields.

URL:

http://www.iwpr.org/initiatives/student-parent-success-initiative/increasing-opportunities-for-low-income-women-and-student-parents-in-science-technology-engineering-and-math-at-community-colleges-1/view

Member Organization:

Institute for Women’s Policy Research

Should the Violence Against Women Act Be Reauthorized?

Teaser:

Essays for and against the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act.

Editorial:

From US News & World Report:

The Violence Against Women Act, a groundbreaking piece of legislation addressing domestic and sexual violence, was first enacted in 1994 and then reauthorized in 2000 and 2005. Among the measures the act has taken to protect victims and prevent abuse, the law strengthened the legal action taken against perpetrators of domestic violence and provided services, including rape crisis centers, hotlines, and community support programs, for its victims. Congress is now debating its reauthorization, as the law expired in September, and while it has received broad bipartisan support in the past it has recently come under political fire from some Republican lawmakers who object to provisions which Democrats have added to this year’s reauthorization. Critics specifically object to provisions which would expand the law’s coverage to illegal immigrants, homosexuals, and American Indians, who would have greater authority to persecute non-Indians who commit crimes against American Indian women. Republicans argue that these were purely political additions designed to induce GOP lawmakers to oppose an otherwise popular bill, giving Democrats more ammunition in their campaign argument that Republicans are “anti woman.” Furthermore, some conservative activists object to the law entirely, arguing that it does not cut down on—and might even increase—instances of domestic abuse while overextending the federal government’s jurisdiction. Should the Violence Against Women Act be reauthorized? Here is the Debate Club’s take:

[...]

Source:

US News & World Report

URL:

http://www.usnews.com/debate-club/should-the-violence-against-women-act-be-reauthorized

Date:

March 20, 2012

Affiliate:

Associated Issues & Expertise:

Expert Profile

Location:

United States

40° 53' 23.3556" N, 74° 11' 41.5212" W

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Dario A. Cortes, Ph.D., is President of Berkeley College, an accredited college offering Associate and Baccalaureate degree programs in eight locations in New Jersey and New York, as well as Berkeley College Online. Berkeley College was established in 1931. Dr. Cortes is an accomplished author, lecturer, and conference leader. He has held increasingly senior-level positions including President and Executive Director of the American School Foundation, A.C. (ASF), Mexico City. He was Vice President for Academic Affairs at the Fashion Institute of Technology, SUNY; Dean at Fairleigh Dickinson University and Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and Research at the University of Maryland College Park.

He serves on numerous community and non-profit boards including the New Jersey Council of Presidents; the Boys & Girls Club of Paterson and Passaic, NJ; and Hispanic Education Technology Services.

Location

Woodland Park, NJ 07424

United States

40° 53' 23.3556" N, 74° 11' 41.5212" W

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Associated Issues & Expertise:

Women Leaving Collegiate Coaching Jobs

Teaser:

Longtime female coaches say that many qualified candidates, especially those who are mothers or plan to be, leave the profession rather than juggle the demands of coaching and motherhood.

Editorial:

From The New York Times:

Only 14.3 percent of Division I coaches are women, the fewest since 1992, according to a national survey by the former Brooklyn College professors R. Vivian Acosta and Linda Jean Carpenter.

Longtime female coaches say that many qualified candidates, especially those who are mothers or plan to be, leave the profession rather than juggle the demands of coaching and motherhood.

Fewer, they say, are willing to uproot their families to pursue jobs, as men routinely do, or toil for 10 years at modest pay for a chance to be a head coach when so few women are hired. Most Division I assistants make $40,000 to $50,000 a year. The median salary for Division I head coaches is $125,100, according to the 2004-10 N.C.A.A. Gender Equity Report.

[...]

Source:

The New York Times

URL:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/sports/in-college-hockey-female-coaches-often-skate-away-from-demands-of-the-job.html

Date:

March 17, 2012

Affiliate:

Associated Issues & Expertise:

Women's Studies As Civic Engagement: Research and Recommendations

Submitted by asklar on Sat, 03/17/2012 - 5:28pm

This report argues that women's studies has key lessons to offer about fostering civic engagement at the course level that will deepen student learning in the college setting, contribute respectfully to communities in which they become involved, and produce lifelong civic leaders.

Prepared on behalf of:
The Teagle Working Group on Women’s Studies and Civic Engagement and the National Women's Studies Association
By Catherine M. Orr, September 2011

URL:

http://082511c.membershipsoftware.org/files/WomensStudiesasCivicEngagement2011Revised_Finalpdf-1.pdf

Member Organization:

National Women's Studies Association

Who Are the Next Generation's Leaders in Technology, Science, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)?

Teaser:

In the next five years, STEM jobs are projected to grow twice as quickly as jobs in all other fields according to the U.S. Bureau of Statistics. While all jobs are expected to grow by 10.4 percent, STEM jobs are expected to increase by 21.4 percent. Similarly, 80 percent of jobs in the next decade will require technical skills.

Editorial:

From the Huffington Post:

By this measure, future STEM jobs represent a huge opportunity to today's students. But to put these numbers into perspective, of the 3.8 million ninth graders in the U.S., only 233,000 end up choosing a STEM degree in college, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. This means only 6 percent of ninth graders will become STEM graduates. And of these graduates, women will be even more underrepresented in most STEM fields.

These are alarming statistics. How do we get more young boys and girls to be interested in STEM-related fields? It isn't an easy task. Schools do not always adequately prepare students for these rigorous subjects, and college programs are designed to weed out the less persistent. Nationally, only 41 percent of initial White and Asian American STEM majors who begin a degree in STEM-related fields complete their degree in less than six years.

In addition, societal pressures continue to loom over girls who might otherwise consider the STEM fields. A couple of years ago, I met amazing parents, both of whom had a background in engineering and hoped their 10 year-old daughter would follow in their footsteps. They encouraged her to take an after school science/robotics program. When she got there, she found she was outnumbered 6:1 by boys in the class. As the only girl, she came home crying much of the time because she was teased and told that geeky girls are not welcome in the boys' club. Ironically, by the time young adults are entering college programs in STEM fields, many complain about the lack of gender diversity.

[...]

Source:

Huffington Post

URL:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ivo-lukas/girls-stem_b_1342471.html

Date:

March 14, 2012

Affiliate:

Mixed News for Female Sci-Tech Faculty

Teaser:

For female faculty in scientific or technical fields, a new study has good news, with some caveats.

Editorial:

From LiveScience:

Overall, women in these fields, collectively known as STEM, for science, technology, engineering and mathematics, are staying in these positions at the same rate as men, according to work done by Deborah Kaminski of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Cheryl Geisler of Simon Fraser University.

"This is really good news, it means if we hire them we are going to be able to keep them," Kaminski said in a podcast released by the journal Science, in which the study appears. The two also found that men and women receive promotions at about the same times.

In these fields overall, half of faculty will have departed within 10.9 years of their careers. One discipline bucks the overall trend, however. In mathematics, half of women leave by 4.45 years, and half of male faculty by 7.33 years into their careers, the study found. (A study released this week found that due to the demands of a professorship, many women choose motherhood over academics in math and science fields.)

Source:

LiveScience

URL:

http://www.livescience.com/18517-women-stem-faculty-retention.html

Date:

March 14, 2012

Affiliate:

Associated Issues & Expertise:

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NCRW is a network of leading university and community based research, policy, and advocacy centers with a growing global reach dedicated to advancing rights and opportunities for women and girls. We also have a Corporate Circle comprised of senior diversity professionals from leading U.S. and global member companies and a Presidents Circle of college and university leaders who share our commitment. NCRW harnesses the collective power of its network to provide knowledge, analysis, and thought leadership on issues ranging from reducing women’s poverty to building a critical mass of women’s leadership across sectors.

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